Markus Harm - saxophone (jazz-pop)

“Easy and unpretentious jazz is on offer, Harm with its warm and melodic playing gives a velvety texture. The new star in the jazz sky” – this is how Nürnberger Nachrichten describes the exceptional musician. Markus Harm is considered one of the leading German alto saxophonists of his generation. Born in Stuttgart in 1987, the musician grew up in a musical home and discovered his passion for improvisation at an early age.

After studying saxophone at the Hochschule für Musik Nuremberg, Harm toured Europe with numerous ensembles as sideman and bandleader of his own projects. In 2022 he was appointed professor of jazz saxophone at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where he teaches at ipop (Institute for Popular Music). Harm can be heard on more than 50 releases, in the year 2023 his fourth solo album „Foresight“ was released on Double Moon Records.

“What is convincing about his music is the variety of stylistic tricks with which he gives each piece its unmistakable character between balladic softness and the speed of hardbop pieces. ” – Jazzpodium 2023

Course description

The course is aimed at all wood wind players and brasses, i.e. trumpet, trombone, clarinet or flute. Starting from every individually musical level, each participant will learn technical and musical ways to improve their skills. We will consider and analyse individual stumbling blocks and we will find strategies to solve them stresslessly. Foci of the course will be a flexible and creative use of the instrument in various styles and the comprehension of harmonic and rhythmical flow. Concerning the combo work, we will focus on collective playing and improvising, joint dynamics, attentive listening, spontaneous arranging, phrasing a movement with different instruments, interplay and the comprehension of genre-specific styles of interplaying and improvising.

The course is not suitable for beginners. Prior knowledge is required.