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Fabia Mantwill

Fabia Mantwill is a Berlin-based saxophonist, vocalist and composer with an international focus. She has been gaining increasing recognition as an important young German contemporary composer and musician with her own message.

Fabia Mantwill is releasing her debut album EM.PERIENCE in May 2021 featuring her 24-piece Fabia Mantwill Orchestra and world renowned guest soloists such as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ben Wendel and Nils Landgren. She has been written for the Metropole Orkest (NL) feat. Becca Stevens and conducted by Vince Mendoza. In November 2018 her orchestra work, Sasa ndio Sasa, was premiered at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, where she was featured as a composer, conductor and soloist.

In 2017 she was selected for the International Workshop for Jazz and Creative Music at Banff Centre Canada, curated by Vijay Iyer and Tyshawn Sorey. In 2016 she received the Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Residency by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.

Fabia’s work as bandleader and composer bridges several distinct musical worlds, from jazz to folk and classical music. One of the projects in which she is featured combining her many talents is the Fabia Mantwill Orchestra.

Musical highlights include concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and the Apollo Theater in New York City, as well as festivals and tours in China, India, Brazil, West Africa, Canada, USA and Europe.

She has performed with the Metropole Orkest Academy 2016 in Hilversum (NL) and was a member of the LaJJazzO Brandenburg, conducted by Jiggs Whigham. In summer 2015, she led a two-months music program in Accra, training Ghanaian musicians and actors.

Fabia Mantwill holds a Master of Music & Composition from the HfMT Hamburg, a Bachelor in Jazz from the Jazz-Institute Berlin and was a guest student at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in 2015.


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Radio & Podcasts

Fabia Mantwill Orchestra, Vincent Meissner Trio, Joe Farnsworth & more

Read "Fabia Mantwill Orchestra, Vincent Meissner Trio, Joe Farnsworth & more" reviewed by Marek J. Śmietański


The 114th episode focuses on July's new releases. It features several international bands, three albums from Poland, a solid dose of American jazz, and a touch of jazz from Germany and Norway. Notably, there is no shortage of exciting debuts. Musically, it is mainly contemporary jazz and post-bop, but with plenty of variety. Podcast in Polish (Bemowo FM radio broadcast). Dive in and enjoy! Playlist Intro: Hank Levy “Whiplash" from Whiplash: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Varèse Sarabande) Host ...

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Play This!

Fabia Mantwill Orchestra: Whirl the Wheel

Read "Fabia Mantwill Orchestra: Whirl the Wheel" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


German saxophonist Fabia Mantwill is also an adventurous composer and arranger for large ensembles. Her new album, In.Sight, is her most ambitious to date--a wide-ranging and deeply imaginative project recorded with the Fabia Mantwill Orchestra, which features a vibrant mix of young players from Berlin's buzzing jazz scene. The album also marks Mantwill's debut on GroundUp Music, the label founded by Snarky Puppy's Michael League--further cementing her growing international presence. The new release features high-profile guests including Anat ...

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Album Review

Fabia Mantwill Orchestra: In.Sight

Read "In.Sight" reviewed by Neil Duggan


Slow, haunting strings usher listeners into Fabia Mantwill Orchestra's ambitious album In.Sight. This bold statement involves a 32-piece orchestra with six virtuoso soloists, performing compositions co-written by Mantwill, Snarky Puppy's Michael League and Greek composer Magdalini Giannikou. The album opens with “Satoyama," where those melancholic strings gradually bloom into bright melodic passages. The piece moves through a soundscape that weaves together jazz, classical and cinematic drama before Mantwill's expressive tenor saxophone emerges as the leading voice. Each composition ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Size Matters: (Mostly New) Jazz for Big Bands and Orchestras, Part 3

Read "Size Matters: (Mostly New) Jazz for Big Bands and Orchestras, Part 3" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


Big bands and orchestras have something smaller ensembles cannot offer, sheer power and energy, and that often equals tons of fun, like you will find in our ongoing deep-dive into the world of forward-looking big bands and orchestras [after Part 1 and Part 2]. This show features mostly new and upcoming albums from some of the best large ensembles from around the globe. Sometimes bigger is actually better! Happy listening! Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme ...

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Interview

Fabia Mantwill: Realizing a Dream

Read "Fabia Mantwill: Realizing a Dream" reviewed by R.J. DeLuke


As a child in Germany, it seemed clear Fabia Mantwill would do something in the field of music. She went to a musical kindergarten. That's how early on she was touched by the arts. At the age of 6, she was taking classical piano lessons. By age 10, it was on to saxophone. Now in Berlin, she is a young composer, saxophonist and singer of considerable talent. Her parents were not musicians, but music always intrigued and inspired ...

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Album Review

Fabia Mantwill: Em.Perience

Read "Em.Perience" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


«Non mi interessa in quale stile o genere possa essere classificata questa musica—dice Fabia Mantwill—che sia jazz, classica, folk, canzone d'autore, soul. Penso che i confini stiano diventando sempre più sfocati». Il debutto discografico della giovane bandleader, sassofonista e cantante tedesca contiene elementi di tutti quei generi musicali e non ha alcun senso cercare etichette. È comunque certo che la 28enne artista di Berlino è un talento tanto versatile quanto singolarmente precoce per questi anni: ha fondato ...

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Recording

Fabia Mantwill Announces New Album IN.SIGHT, Featuring Her 32-piece Orchestra To Be Released On Groundup Music

Fabia Mantwill Announces New Album IN.SIGHT, Featuring Her 32-piece Orchestra To Be Released On Groundup Music

Source: Vivo Musique Internationale

Acclaimed composer, saxophonist, and conductor Fabia Mantwill Orchestra, together with GroundUP Music, announces the upcoming release of her new album, IN.SIGHT, featuring the Fabia Mantwill Orchestra, mixed both in stereo and Dolby Atmos. IN.SIGHT is set for release on GroundUP Music on July 25, 2025 across digital platforms and in physical formats (CD and LP). Berlin-basedFabia Mantwill’s musical vision blends influences from jazz, classical, and world music traditions into a large-scale orchestral work. Featuring original compositions for a 32-piece ensemble, ...

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

In.Sight

GroundUP Music
2025

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