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The German Jazz Prize: Efficiency, Attitude And 22 Triangles

Courtesy Robert Winter

By Matty Bannond
June 30, 2025
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Silver triangles flashed beneath pastel-toned stage lights at the German Jazz Awards in north-west Germany on June 13. The three-sided trophies got pressed into the clammy hands of winning artists and projects in 22 categories. It was a snappy-paced evening, where a heap of equilateral gongs got handed out within just three hours—alongside three live performances and a meandering speech from the Mayor of Cologne. Now that is German efficiency.

This year's event marked the fifth edition of the awards, which aim to promote the impact of jazz in Germany and worldwide. Cash helps that happen: The total budget of €500,000 arrived via the national government's central funding institute for the music industry, Initiative Musik. All 76 nominees received €4,000, while winners padded their purses with €12,000.

The 22 award categories are organized into five groupings. One winner per grouping is described below and a full list of all winners appears at the bottom of the page.

Artists

Philo Tsoungui earned the judges' pick in the Drums / Percussion category. The German artist has a background in classical percussion but started exploring popular music and jazz in 2017. She put her triangular trophy straight to work, striking it with a drumstick during a live performance where electronics, effects and abstractions created a disconcerting soundscape.

Recording / Production

Sonic Interventions won the Newcomer of the Year award. The group formed in Berlin five years ago and its diaspora-futuristic output combines ideas from free jazz, Latin and hip-hop traditions. They delivered a vigorous and politically charged performance that began with twelve members wearing white blindfolds and one bound in wrist-to-ankle shackles.

Live

The team behind PENG Festival picked up the triangle for Festival of the Year. This jazz event in nearby Essen places a sharp focus on supporting female artists and promoting freedom from oppression, dominance and power structures. Its young organizers used their acceptance speech to emphasize the need for safe spaces in today's chaotic and hostile environment.

Composition / Arrangement

Birgitta Flick collected the only award within this grouping in recognition of her contribution to the project, PlanetWoman. It is a collaboration between the vocal ensemble VoNo and artistic director Lone Larsen that responds to a poem by Zsuzsanna Ardó. Flick developed the score for this project via an improvisation-driven method.

Special Prizes

Jazzpilot*innen (Jazz Pilots) emerged victorious in a newly introduced category, Music Mediation. This project is led by the German Jazz Union and aims to combine jazz with political education for children, teenagers and adults. It has engaged more than 70 musicians to reach 2,500 young people in Germany since it was launched in 2020.

As the audience headed for the exits, the presenters made an urgent plea for all award winners to climb the stage for a group photo. A ragtag bunch assembled— from teenagers to septuagenarians in pin-stripe suits, soccer shirts, platform boots and sandals. The German Jazz Awards in Cologne was characterized by a spirit of inclusive unity, with an outward-looking and forward-facing attitude. And that spirit and attitude shone out from the triangle-wielding gang of artists and project representatives grinning together beneath pastel-toned lights.

Artists

Large Ensemble of the Year

Carl Wittigs Aurora Oktett

Artist of the Year International

Marshall Allen

Large Ensemble of the Year International

Jihye Lee Orchestra

Recording/Production

Album of the Year

Love Avatar—Peter Gall

Debut Album of the Year

Do you remember?—Sonic Interventions

Radio Production of the Year

Allgäu meets India—Frankfurt Radio Bigband featuring Matthias Schriefl

Album of the Year International

ØKSE—ØKSE

Debut Album of the Year International

Good Intentions—Alden Hellmuth

Live

Live Act of the Year

Andromeda Mega Express Orchestra

Live Act of the Year International

Nduduzo Makhathini

Composition/Arrangement

Composition/Arrangement of the Year

PlanetWoman—Birgitta Flick

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