It was the hottest, sunniest, day of the year – until 5pm.
Good news for the people in Bonn Centre though was that they could take refuge in one of Bonn’s Tube Stations and not only keep dry, but hear some great Jazz too.
July’s offering from the SWB sponsored Jazztube was as varied and entertaining as ever and choosing the best for an appearance at The Harmonie in October is going to be very, very difficult.
My tram arrived at Bonn main station in a torrential downpour, fellow travellers, dressed in shorts and Tshirts, all debating whether to maybe get off at Beuel instead. nowhere near where they intended to be – but at least it might be dry by then.
At the Thomas-Mann-Strasse end of the Bonn Underground (okay, lets go American – Tube Station) the people seeking only refuse had found something else too – Jazz Music. The Benedikt Hesse Quartett to be exact, and if the weather wasn’t hot anymore, the Band certainly was. Keeping it loud and lively for the most part to compete with the Deutsche Bahn announcements of delays due to the sudden storm. Florian Esch on trumpet particularly got the blood flowing in our cold cheeks.
Florian Esch
Down the line at Universität/Markt (when the storm had died down, and the tram was back on track) there was a similar set-up of drum guitar and bass but this time with sax wielded by multi youth-music Award Winner Anna-Lena Schnabel, a waif of a girl whose instrument looked to weigh more than she did – but man could she play it soulfully! Rafael Krohn on drums had put together a fine band (some of whom I’ve seen already on the Jazztube as supporting musicians). Again we had a long wait for the next tram – and again it was no problem because we had great music to listen to.
Anna-Lena Schnabel
Final stop for the evening was Museumsmeile. It’s always an odd venue because in comparison to the previous stops there is half as much light and seemingly twice as much atmosphere. As on the previous occasions at this Station there was a fine female Jazz Vocalist holding court. Eva Buchmann now lives in Cologne but was born in Belguim and has already made a name as winner of the Polish ‘Voicingers’ Jazzmusic Competition. It’s easy to see why after hearing her beautiful rendition of a song about India that praises Englands favourite tipple, tea, from a Portugese writer she told me later. Maybe it’s because I’m English, but it’s my favourite song of Jazztube so far.
Eva Buchmann
What better way to end a long working week than to sit in relaxed lighting with eyes closed tight and ears wide open to a mellow refrain? Easy to forget I’m actually in a Tube Station in Bonn until I hear the nearby hum of an electric escalator and the dull thump of tram doors opening. They’re waiting for me – and so is the sunshine. Another mellow end to the week courtesy of SWB and more excellent Jazz musicians. Choosing a winner out of the musicians will be hard, but for the people of Bonn hearing all this fine Music, we are all winners.
