"Excellent, like discovering new life in the
back garden." Plan B
"Ohlmeier is an unusually eclectic performer, who seems to push and drive this music forward whenever he’s at the plate."
Jazzwise Magazine ,Duncan Heining
"Lothar Ohlmeier has one of the most attractive tenor sounds you're likely to hear, rich, sonorous and affecting"
gig reviews by Chris Parker/London
Lothar has, over a career of more than 30 years, performed and recorded with a litany of jazz and improvised music’s most respected bandleaders, notably Tobias Klein, Tom Arthurs, Jorrit Dijkstra, Benoit Delbecq, Jim Black, Ingrid Laubrock, Steve Arguelles, Julie Sassoon, Jaap Blonk and Harry Spaarnay amongst many others. Revered for his exceptional control of tone, virtuosic phrasing and mastery of musical settings from contemporary classical music to jazz and free improvisation, Lothar continues to seek out new settings and protagonists to experiment and collaborate with.
Four new releases in 2024
The Album LEFT SIDE RIGHT is the first of four albums that will be released in spring 2024.
Tobis Klein on bass clarinet / alto saxophone and myself on bass clarinet and tenor saxophone got some great response in blogs and press.
Left side right is the name of the album by this phenomenal duo, and if you just listen to the excerpts I am showing you here, you will know that two men are going on a musical adventure together, and that you, as a listener, can consider yourself lucky that recordings have been made allowing us to enjoy it now. In short, a sublime record that only gets better the more you listen to it, and that, as we all know by now, is the true mark of true quality.
Holly Moors
A CD on which two bass clarinets play a starring role, performed by two musicians who have worked together in various capacities for 30 years, then it might turn out nice? Nice? 'Left side right' is a dyke of an album and a paragon of high class improvisation.
It is the broad gesture and the bringing to life of tiny details that make free improvisations valuable and interesting. These are plentiful on Left side right. With the knowledge that both musicians never hold back and manage to forge a tight unit as gifted individuals, this album adds value that sticks. Even after many listens.
The bass clarinets are manifestly present because of their sound character. That could hardly be any different. But Lothar Ohlmeier has brought along his tenor saxophone and Tobias Klein his alto saxophone. In doing so, they enlarge the overall sound of the five of their own pieces in an almost delicate way. Not that they thereby give the bass clarinets any rest, but rather that the two saxophones' sonorous humming drums take away some of their impressive efforts in a measured way. To their own credit. Thankfully, makes it all even more beautiful.
RINUS VAN DER HEIJDEN
JAZZ NU
What could be better than a bass clarinet? Two bass clarinets! After two duo CDs with Oguz Büyükberber, Amsterdam-based German Tobias Klein now presents an album with his compatriot Lothar Ohlmeier: 'Left Side Right'. The pair have been hanging out together for over 30 years, including in the revived group Dalgoo. For their first duo album, they recorded five improvisations in Berlin, demonstrating a hefty dose of lyricism and sense of beauty. From the very first notes of 'Effortless sweetening', the listener is drawn into a wonderful world of sound offered by the rich overtones of the two bass clarinets. Klein and Ohlmeier set out their lines thoughtfully, and their virtuosity is particularly evident in their listening behaviour that leads to those brilliant harmonies. However, the pair do not shy away from the shakier sounds either, and the contrast with that unruliness actually accentuates the beauty. After all, only beauty gets boring in the long run. In 'Burning Money', they pick up the saxes in a piece that is more about phrasing, but again, the collective sound is something to enjoy. 'Peptide' uses (fake) air, noise and 'extended techniques', but always with musical adventure in mind. 'Left Side Right' is a varied album that gains even more depth on repeated listens.
Herman te Loo
Jazzflits
When I'm sent a disc where two bass clarinets play the main role, in addition to tenor and alto saxophone, I'm at home. Because the bass clarinet has really become a favourite instrument for yours truly in recent years. Here they start with "Effordless sweetening", where they go quietly and beautifully into a beautiful duo sequence that almost sounds classical. But this doesn't last longer than the first song. In "Burning money" more happens, but not so that they "take off". This is a duo for alto and tenor saxophone, and one immediately thinks of the World Saxophone Quartet. It seems as if the sound here is turned up a bit, the interaction and communication is perfect and the song is creatively and finely resolved. In "Peptide" the bass clarinets are back in place, and we get a slightly lingering and calm piece, where they let the air passing through the instruments become part of the music. A lovely ballad in the modern landscape.
Then we get "Sweet sorrow", which is also a ballad-like piece, where the two bass clarinets almost wrap themselves around each other like a loving couple, before ending with the title track "Left side left", where Klein's alto saxophone enters into a nice conversation with Ohlmeier's bass clarinet. Klein is more "assertive" here, and I feel Ohlmeier defends himself in the many "claims" that come from Klein. But they part as friends, and can pack up their instruments knowing that they have made an outstanding duo disc of musical conversation that fascinates.
Jan Granlie
salt peanuts
CONCERTS
02.05.25 Azolia @ Kult, Braunschweig
21.09.24 Dalgoo @ Studio Jazz, Nürnberg
29.08.24 Julie Sassoon 4tet, Jazzclub, Singen
29.05.24 Inside Colours, Atrain, Berlin
24.03.24 Azolia @ Studio Jazz, Nürnberg
22.03.24 Azolia @ Porgy and Bess Jazzclub, Wien
22.02.24 Inside Colours, Vortex, London
18.02.24 Dalgoo, Amsterdam (NL)
11.02.24 Julie Sassoon 4tet, Jazzkeller69, Industriesalon, Berlin
28.01.24 Inside Colours, Brucknerhaus, Linz
26.01.24 Inside Colours, Magdeburg
20.01.24 Azolia @ Nürnberg
09.12.23 Julie Sassoon 4tet Jazzclub, Villingen
08.12.23 Julie Sassoon 4tet, Cafe Museum, Passau
07.12.23 Julie Sassoon 4tet, Jazzclub Unterfahrt, München
16.11.23 Azolia @ Bflat, Berlin
10.10.23 Julie Sassoon 4tet, ‘Inside Series’ at Schlot, Berlin
21.07.23 Azolia, Festival, Wien
20.06.23 Rudi Mahall, Olaf Rupp, Rudi Fischerlehner, Lothar Ohlmeier, Galiläakirche, Berlin
13.05.23 Inside Colours, Wuppertal
28.04.23 Inside Colours, Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin
09.03.23 Julie Sassoon 4tet, Bflat, Berlin
05.03.23 Inside Colours, Hechingen
24.02.23 Lothar Ohlmeier Isambard Khroustaliov, Kühlspot, Berlin
05.02.23 Dalgoo, Zaandam (NL)
18.12.22 Bass clarinet Festival, Bimhuis Amsterdam
05.11.22 Schwarm 13, Georgensaal, Berlin
14.10.22 Dalgoo, Saarbrücken
09.10.22 Azolia @ Bflat, Berlin
08.10.22 Azolia @ Saxstall, Tharandt
07.10.22 Azolia @ Das Kult, Braunschweig
06.10.22 Azolia @ Schwerin
19.08.22 Inside Colours, Berlin, Schlot
30.06.22 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Berlin, Theaterschiff
18.06.22 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Lana JazzFestival, Italy
17.06.22 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Zoglau 3
20.05.22 Azolia @ Kunsthaus sans titre, Potsdam
01.05.22 Ohlmeier, Kroustaliov, Fischerlehner@ Kaleidophon, Ulrichsberg
28.04.22 Ohlmeier, Kroustaliov, Fischerlehner@ Biegungen im Ausland, Berlin
23.04.22 Dalgoo @ Plusétage, Baarle-Nassau
22.04.22 Dalgoo @ Jazzen Leer, Leer
10.04.22 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ jüdische Kulturtage - Vienna
01.04.22 Azolia @ Studio Jazz, Nürnberg
11.03.22 Inside Colours, Regensburg
06.03.22 Inside Colours, Bflat, Berlin
26.02.22 Dalgoo @ Saxstall, Tharandt
25.02.22 Dalgoo @ Kunsthaus sans titre, Potsdam
24.02.22 Dalgoo @ Klub Dragon, Poznan, (Pol)
21.02.22 Dalgoo @ Jazzkeller 69 im ZigZag, Berlin
10.12.21 Baskind, Seidel, Ohlmeier @ Au Topsi Pohl, Berlin
08.12.21 Solo @ Kühlspot, Berlin
04.12.21 Inside Colours, Regensburg corona cancelled
28.11.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ jüdische Kulturtage - Vienna corona cancelled
26.11.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ van der Heydt Museum - Wuppertal
18.11.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ ZigZag - Berlin
24.10.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Synagoge - Hechingen
23.10.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Hospitalhof - Stuttgart
22.10.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Bunker Ulmenwall - Bielefeld
21.10.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Tage der jüdischen Kultur - Forum Gestaltung - Magdeburg
14.10.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Jewish Museum, Amsterdam
26.09.21 Azolia @ Le Bois du Cazier,Marcinelle, Belgium
25.09.21 Azolia @ Lokerse Jazzclub, Lockeren, Belgium
24.09.21 Azolia @ Jazzfestival Bochum
22.09.21 Azolia @SChleswig-Holstein-Haus, Schwerin
21.09.21 Azolia @Women in (e)motion, Radio Bremen
29.08.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Cottbus
29.08.21 Azolia @ Cottbus
28.08.21 Azolia @Saxstall , Pohrsdorf
27.08.21 Azolia @ Ilmenau
12.06.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Gruveniushaus, Sassnitz corona cancelled,,
10.06.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ von der Heide Museum, Wuppertal
09.06.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ place tba, Köln
08.06.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Jüdische Kulturtage, Wien
20.05.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Synagoge, Hechingen
02.05.21 Ohlmeier, Kroustaliov, Fischerlehner@ Ulrichsberg, Kaleidophon corona cancelled
30.04.21 Ohlmeier, Kroustaliov, Fischerlehner@ Ausland Berlin
16.04.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Bunker Ulmenwall, Bielefeld
06.03.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Gruveniushaus, Sassnitz corona cancelled
04.03.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Wien, Abschlusskonzert Jüdische Kulturtage corona cancelled
03.03.21 Azolia @ Porgy and Bess Jazzclub, Wien live stream
01.03.21 Julie Sassoon 4tet @ Glad Haus, Cottbus corona cancelled
06.02.21 Olaf Rupp, Frank Paul Schubert, Lothar Ohlmeier @ Pandatheater, Berlin, live stream
Elbphilharmonie Hamburg 2018
