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Uli Lenz: pianist, composer and arranger Uli Lenz grew up in a musical family and began with classical piano at the age of four. His father Emanuel Lenz, a professional classical organist, pianist and composer, taught him piano and in the discipline of improvisation and theory of harmony. He was first drawn to jazz through listening to recordings by Earl Hines, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. In the seventies, he studied piano and cello at the Frankfurt Conservatory and subsequently pursued his instrumental and composing academic studies at the Frankfurt Academy of Music and the Performing Arts. During this time Lenz also played in bars and nightclubs and worked intensively with well-known tab dancers. In the eighties he moved to Berlin and went on numerous tours to France, Spain, Italy and Israel, where he played with well-known local saxophonists and horn players. In Berlin he performed solo and with his bands in jazz clubs. |
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This was followed by an increasing number of appearances at festivals including as a solo pianist at JazzFest Berlin in 1985 and at the Jazz Ost West festival in Nuremberg. In 1986, he went on a solo tour to Israel, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Romania. In 1987, he went to the USA for his first longer stay and spent the majority of his time in New York City where he played in the club scene with local bands. Subsequently, he had an accident in which his left hand was injured and from which his recovery was tediously slow. Lenz nonetheless saw the accident and its side effects as an opportunity to experience music more deeply and, ultimately, was able to fully recover as a result. He is known for his brilliant technique and his particularly strong left hand, which makes his style instantly identifiable. In 1988, the Uli Lenz Trio, with Cecil McBee and Joe Chambers was booked for the Hennessy Village Jazz Festival in New York and recorded live at the top New York club “Sweet Basil”. After that, the new Uli Lenz Trio with Günter Lenz and Allen Blairman went on an extensive tour in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central and South America. In 1989, this trio performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival. In the 1990s Uli Lenz worked with Abbey Lincoln, Patricia Nomakosazana Dhlamini, Steve Grossman, Johannes Barthelmes, Hannibal Marvin Peterson, Idris Muhammad, Ed Schuller, Victor Jones, Pepe Berns and Thomas Alkier and toured repeatedly throughout Europe, the Near and Far East and Africa. There he was given the sobriquet: “The man who dances on the keys”. Uli Lenz performed increasingly on big stages around the world, including “Queens Hall” in Trinidad/Tobago and the "Sam Houston Park" in Texas. The Goethe Institute sent him as a musical ambassador to Greece, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Africa, China, and Southeast Asia. On these travels, Lenz was on the lookout for intercultural encounters and gave workshops and music clinics for local talents.
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