Alexandra Lehmler & Matthias Debus
Biography Alexandra Lehmler & Matthias Debus
Alexandra Lehmler
When Alexandra Lehmler is calling one of her albums "Jazz, Baby!" there is good reason behind it: music in general and jazz in particular are constants in her life.
Born in 1979 in Bad Ems (Lahn) the saxophonist, who is living in Mannheim since many years, knew very soon where her path should lead. It started with her time in the Landesmusikgymnasium (grammar school with focus on music) Rheinland Pfalz. Studies at the conservatoire in Mannheim followed, which Lehmler completed with a straight grade A. This success was crowned by a semester abroad in Paris, which she performed within the scope of her postgraduate studies at the conservatoire in Stuttgart.
As far as the external frame, however, but what would studies be without applied performances, without countless days and nights in the recording studio or at stage? The fact that a musician can only develop herself, when playing with other musicians or in front of an audience, is something Alexandra Lehmler realized quite early. She was a member of youth jazz orchestras of the federal states Rheinland-Pfalz and Baden-Württemberg and played in the elite institution Bundesjazzorchestera (official youth jazz orchestra of the Federal Republic of Germany under Peter Herbolzheimer) from 2002-2004.
Since 2000 she is keeping her own band, with which she is successfully on the road at home and abroad for many years. Meanwhile five CDs and two LPs have been released from Alexandra Lehmler as a band leader: "Sundance, "Die Welt von unten gesehen", "No Blah Blah", "Jazz Baby", "Sans mots" "Live" and in 2020 the newest release "Studiokonzert".
The debut album "Sundance"from 2007 has promptly been nominated for the "Quarterly Critics Award of the German Record Critics".
Also the release "Jazz Baby" has been nominated for this award.
In 2014 Alexandra Lehmler has been awarded with the jazz price of Baden-Württemberg for her artistic work up to now.
Also in 2014 she was Stipendiatin of the Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg and she got the GBG price for"Cultural education". In 2018 she got the "New german Jazz Price" for the best composition.
Her quartet forms the centre of her creative activity, here she can fully implement all her talents as musician, composer and band leader. With this however, her working days are not over yet: Alexandra Lehmler regularly plays at theaters and teaches. Another focal point in her work is the introduction of music to young audiences. For more than 10 years, she's successfully put kindergarten and primary-aged children in touch with jazz music by the means of the project "Herr Hering, die liebe Frau Gerbug und die Jazzband" (Mr. Hering, dear Ms. Gerbug and the jazz band).
In 2012 the saxophonist has been chosen for the Bundeswerkstatt Jazz (experimental ground of the german jazz scene). On behalf of the bands in which she also regularly appears, the Worldmusic-Jazz-Latin-Band "Netnar Tsinim" is to be mentioned.
Not only at home does the mother of three take care for her offspring, but also teaches at the district school of music in the Rhein-Pfalz district. Alexandra Lehmler is a known quantity in the Rhein-Neckar area by now: she is a member of the IG Jazz Rhein-Neckar, where she organized the "Neue Deutsche Jazzpreis" (New German Jazz Price) for a long time. She is a founder member of the "Hermann Art Kollektiv", which is an association of musicians and literature-and film creators, who aim to mix jazz with other artistic genre.
Currently she is in the board of the German Jazzunion.
