Projects

The quartet led by Berlin-based pianist Alexander Wienand merges poetic melodies and captivating grooves into a balanced sound wrapped in the language of contemporary modern jazz. Versatile and organic, the ensemble moves through sophisticated themes, original harmonies, and soaring solo flights.

“Music full of lightness, but never trivial… it has to groove, and it certainly does.” (BR Jazztime)

Alexander Wienand is a composing pianist for whom the worlds of jazz and so-called serious music are inseparable fields of inspiration. He is internationally active with his own ensembles and has been a guest on stages such as the Musikfest Stuttgart, the European Weeks Passau, the Düsseldorf Festival, the Jazzahead Bremen, or the Cologne Jazznight. He is a recipient of the Bavarian Art Promotion Award and has been a scholarship holder of various foundations, such as the German Foundation for Musical Life, the NRW Cultural Secretariat, and the German Association of Musicians. Wienand grew up in Calw and lives in Berlin.

Uli Kempendorff studied saxophone and improvisation at the HfM "Hanns Eisler" Berlin and in New York at City College. Kempendorff's work is documented on more than two dozen CDs, records and radio recordings, on labels such as WhyPlayJazz, ECM, Enja/Yellowbird or Four Music. Among them are five of his own productions with “Field” and Yellow Bird. In addition to his own projects “Field” (since 2018 with Christopher Dell, Peter Bruun and Jonas Westergaard) and “Yellow Bird” (a modern-roots band with former Lucia Cadotsch, Manon Kahle and Ronny Graupe), Uli Kempendorff is and was active in groups with, among others, Benjamin Weidekamp, Julia Hülsmann, Felix Henkelhausen, Tobias Delius, Rudi Mahall, Wanja Slavin, Markus Pesonen, Janning Trumann, Pablo Held, Mike Pride, and Christian Weber; he also played with SEEED, Rolf Kühn, Jimi Tenor and 'Little' Jimmy Scott. Kempendorff received several project, studio, and composition grants from the Berlin Senate and in 2006/07 was a DAAD one-year scholarship holder in New York City.

Marc Muellbauer was born in London in 1968, but has lived in Germany since the age of three. After studying at the Folkwang University, he moved to Berlin in 1996 to continue his studies with Michael Wolf at the University of the Arts. There he founded his nine-piece band Kaleidoscope in 2000. Muellbauer has a wide range of musical backgrounds, from jazz to contemporary classical music. He has been a lecturer in double bass at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin since 1998.

Diego Pinera, award-winning jazz virtuoso, is a unique personality who truly breaks new ground for music by juxtaposing the poetic-rhythmic freedom of jazz with other metric systems. His strong personal style is characterized by an advanced rhythmic concept of playing, a jazz sound with a Latin touch as well as the urge for improvisational freedom. However, musical complexity as well as virtuosity always remain subtle with Pinera – a special freshness and lightness flows through his artistic work. Since 2002, Diego Piñera has received several awards both as a drummer “instrumentalist” and as a songwriter, both internationally and nationally, including the ECHO JAZZ 2017 and the German Jazz Award 2023. The album Odd Wisdom, released on ACT Records, featuring Donny McCaslin among others, received a Grammy nomination. He is considered an exceptional artist in his field.

Joy of life made sound, Cuban salsa and exciting European jazz: nothing less than that is what Sergio Medina, Alexander Wienand and Urs Johnen promise with their current formation Havana Berlin Express.

At the beginning of their joint work, the three of them went in search of the origins of salsa, son and rumba – or rather: Sergio, who is well known in the Cuban capital and has been an important figure in the local music scene for decades, took his friends on a journey through the musical world of the Caribbean island.

Together with soloists from the international scene, Havana Berlin Express present a rousing fusion of traditional Cuban salsa and contemporary jazz improvisation – and make it almost impossible not to dance …

The Silent Jazz Bar Berlin, run by Alexander Wienand and Urs Johnen, is much more than a jazz bar. It is a laboratory, a living room, and a meeting place all at once – a space where music can be experienced in an intimate and unique way.Located at Naumannstraße 3 in Berlin-Schöneberg, the bar opens its doors daily from 5 p.m. Away from the structures of traditional clubs, it offers a stage for small ensembles, subtle soundscapes, and concerts played at room volume. This creates a rare closeness between musicians and audience – jazz here is not only listened to, but truly lived.The musical program is deliberately diverse: from modern and traditional jazz to Latin, world music, and international folk traditions, all the way to singer-songwriter evenings. What always matters is the poetic quality of the music, its intensity, and its connection to improvisation.
The Silent Jazz Bar thrives on a spirit of collaboration: Berlin-based musicians as well as international guests shape concerts, listening sessions, album releases, and discussion formats. In this way, the bar becomes a place not only for performances but also for a dialogue about music and art.The atmosphere is simple, warm, and rustic – a small stage, carefully selected drinks, and a consciously reduced setting. Admission is often free, with audiences invited to support through donations. This makes the bar an open cultural space dedicated to music that truly matters to its curators and artists.With the Silent Jazz Bar, Alexander Wienand and Urs Johnen have created a space that presents jazz and improvised music in all its variety – authentic, approachable, and full of energy.​​​address: Naumannstrasse 3, D-10829 Berlin