Peter Less

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Peter Less (* 1964 in Hamburg ) is a German jazz saxophonist.

Live and act

Less began on the clarinet before he switched to the saxophone , and after graduating from high school, he took part in the experimental program of "Popular Music" at the Hamburg University of Music and Theater until 1984 . Until 1992 he studied jazz at the Cologne University of Music with the degree "summa cum laude". Via Peter Herbolzheimer , who together with Dieter Glawischnig encouraged him to become a professional musician in Hamburg, he became a member of the Federal Jazz Orchestra in 1987 and in 1993 of the SWR Big Band in Stuttgart as the first tenor saxophonist.

At the end of 1999 Peter Less became a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts (ensemble, saxophone) and moved to the capital. He now teaches at the Jazz Institute Berlin (JIB), which was founded in 2005 by the University of the Arts and the Hanns Eisler University of Music , and was its artistic director until July 2019. Less also works as a composer and band leader as well as a teacher at many workshops in Germany and abroad.

Peter Less has released fourteen albums under his own name so far. He played u. a. with Hubert Nuss , Conrad Herwig , John Abercrombie , Rufus Reid , Adam Nussbaum , David Liebman , Carl Allen , Dennis Erwin, John Schröder , Jeff Hamilton , Christian Ramond , Lynn Seaton , Wolfgang Haffner , Decebal Badila , Rob Pronk , David Friedman , Riccardo Del Fra , Topo Gioia , Randy Brecker , Phil Donkin and the Metropole Orkest .

He has also made and / or toured recordings with many artists and ensembles. a. with David Friedmans Tambour , Martin Wind , Matt Wilson , Bill Mays, Jasper van't Hof ´s "Pili Pili", Maceo Parker , Billy Cobham , Eddie Palmieri , Lionel Richie , Django Bates , Mike Stern , Leni Stern , Peter Herbolzheimer ' s Rhythm Combination & Brass , Paul Kuhn & the Best, and the big bands from SWR, HR , NDR and WDR .

Prizes and awards

In 1996 he received the quarterly prize of the German Record Critics' award for his CD “Tip Tap” . In 1988 he won the "Tonger Music Competition" in Cologne and in 1989 at the Karlovy Vary Jazz Festival . In 1996 he received the SWR Jazz Prize and in 1998 the "Jazz Pott". On February 22, 2013 Deutschlandfunk broadcast a one-hour portrait of Less in the series “JazzFacts”.

Discographic notes

TWO IN ONE The Concert Peter Fessler (guit, voc) / Peter Less (soprano sax)

POINT OF DEPARTURE Peter Less, saxophones / Don Grusin, keys / Hanno Busch, guitar / Claus Fischer, bass / David Haynes, drums   

NOW! (Special edition Point of Departure: CD contains one improvised track of '54: 48.) 

RETRO Friedman - Less Duo David Friedman, vibes / Peter Less, saxophone    

SING YOURSELF A DREAM Peter Less Quartet Peter Less, saxophones / Hubert Nuss, piano / Martin Wind, bass /

LEGAL PARADIZER Peter Less Trio Peter Less, saxophone / Decebal Badila, bass / Wolfgang Haffner, drums 

THE SOCCERBALL Peter Less, saxophone / Martin Wind, bass / Bill Mays, piano / Matt Wilson, drums /

WEIRDOES Peter Less Quartet Peter Less, saxophones / Hubert Nuss, piano & keys / Christian Ramond, bass / John Schröder, drums 

METROPOLE ORCHESTRA Feat. Peter Less Metropole Orchestra dir. Rob Pronk feat. Peter Less, saxophones 

TIP TAP Peter Less Quartet Peter Less, saxophone / Hubert Nuss, piano / Dennis Irwin, bass / Carl Allen, drums

I MEN YOU Peter Less Trio Peter Less, saxophones / Jeff Hamilton, drums / Lynn Seaton, bass 

KEY OF THE MOMENT Peter Less Quartet Peter Less, saxophones / John Abercrombie, guitar / Rufus Reid, bass / Adam Nussbaum, drums / guest: Dave Liebman

THE POINT OF PRESENCE Peter Less, saxophones / Conrad Herwig, trombone / Hubert Nuss, piano

ZUPPA ROMANA Band Zuppa Romana John Schröder, drums / Roberto DiGioia, piano / Marc Abrams, bass / Peter Less, saxophones

HYMN TO GOBRO Less Nuss Quintet Peter Less, saxophones / Hubert Nuss, piano / Conrad Herwig, trombone / Ingmar Heller, bass / Hardy Fischötter, drums

PRIVATE CONCERT Peter Less, saxophones / Hubert Nuss, piano

Web links

Single receipts

  1. ^ From power player to melodious lyricist , Deutschlandfunk, February 22, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Less, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German jazz saxophonist
DATE OF BIRTH 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg