GEORG RUBY ...

( born 1953 / piano, clarinet, composer, arranger / lives in Cologne )

... is co-founder of ’Kölner Jazz Haus e.V.’ (Stadtgarten, Cologne / Germany) and founder / manager of the CD label ‘JazzHausMusik’ (on which meanwhile more than 150 productions have been released, six of them awarded with the prize of the German Record Critics). His compositions and arrangements are featured on more than 20 different CD productions.

He is ... Professor for jazz and improvised music at the college of music and theatre in Saarbrücken, ... jury member of national and international jazz and improvised music competitions, workshops and master classes (on behalf of the Goethe Institute, Deutscher Musikrat and lots of colleges of music in Germany and abroad), ... prizewinner of German orchestra competition 1996 in Gera.
His recording ‘Ruby Domesticus Vulgaris’ was voted to be year’s best foreign production (Cadence Poll 1987 / New York).

WORLDWIDE TOURS / SOME FESTIVALS:

International Jazz Festival Malta
Cologne meets New York (New York)
Post This Neo That (Cologne)
International Jazz Festival Lyon
International Jazz Festival Leningrad
Jazzfest Berlin
Jazz Festival Panama and Mexico City

CURRENT GROUPS / PROGRAMS:

I.
Georg Ruby Piano Solo
Personal Songbook

The opening concert of the jazz festival ‘Post This Neo That’ at the Philharmonie in Cologne was the starting point for Georg Rubys successful career as solo pianist. In his ‘Personal Songbook’ he uses sort of networking technique, combining traditional jazz improvisation with elements of New Music, German popular music of the 1920ies and 30ies and HipHop of the 1990ies. Ruby integrates into his music groove and swing as well as lyrical elements, abstract free-jazz-like aggressive components and free improvisation.
Thus it may occur in a concert, that Theo Mackebens ‘Bei dir war es immer so schön’ alternates with a free improvised ‘instant composition’ and a special version of ‘Bye, bye, blackbird’. Spontaneity mixes with structure, sound imbues groove.

The current CD: Georg Ruby Piano Solo / ‘Personal Songbook’
will be released October, 25th in 2008 on JazzHausMusik.

MP3-Soundfiles (‘Pre’-Tracks):

II.
Georg Ruby Village Zone
feat. Ulla Oster and Nils Tegen

The musical preferences of Georg Ruby, Ulla Oster and Nils Tegen are obvious: first, they enjoy to re-arrange old standards. Here, they don’t refer to worn out hits of the jazz era, but personal versions of the songs of Theo Mackeben and Frederick Hollaender, the german song and standard composers of the 1930ies/40ies.
Second, Village Zone loves free and spontaneous improvisation, so-called instant composing - and third, performing their own material with no reference to obsolete, classical trio hierarchy structures.
Georg Ruby Village Zone currently features bass clarinet player Michel Pilz from Luxembourg. No doubt, Michel Pilz is one of the most renowned European improvisators, e.g. as long-time member of the ensembles of Manfred Schoof and Alex von Schlippenbach (Globe Unity Orchestra).

LINE UP:

MICHEL PILZ – BASS CLARINET

GEORG RUBY – PIANO

ULLA OSTER – DOUBLE BASS

NILS TEGEN – DRUMS

Current CD ‘GEORG RUBY VILLAGE ZONE’:
Georg Ruby VILLAGE ZONE - Mackeben Revisited
(JHM 121 / JazzHausMusik)

MP3-Soundfiles (taken from the above CD):

III.
Willeke - Ruby - Strauch

For several years now Claas Willeke, Georg Ruby and Oliver Strauch are working on their trio concept. They know each other since the year 2000 from their work at the course of jazz studies at the College of Music Saar in Saarbrücken, Germany. In the last eight years each one of them has contributed in many projects to find new ways of expression at the cutting edge between tradition and free impsovisation. Their work has led to a great number of recordings, radio broadcasts and concert tours all around the world.

LINE UP:

CLAAS WILLEKE – SAXOPHONE, ELECTRONICS

GEORG RUBY – PIANO

OLIVER STRAUCH – DRUMS

MP3-Soundfiles:

IV.
Blue Art Orchestra
Conductor: Georg Ruby

The Blue Art Orchestra, conducted by Georg Ruby, has found its very personal way of interpreting contemporary works for jazz orchestra. Compositions and arrangements of Georg Ruby as well as of musicians as Kenny Wheeler, Django Bates and Maria Schneider are part of its program.
Of course, the BAO feels also very comfortable with groovy jazz: it features a great deal of the otherwise seldom performed band book of the Kenny Clarke / Francy Boland Big Band - Francy Bolands very special rhythm concept for big band is, as ‘straight-ahead’-experience, still a great pleasure for fans of the biggest possible band constellation.
And what would a jazz orchesta be without its voice: BAO features singer Edith van den Heuvel from the Netherlands - as solo singer and (in addition to that) as sort of colourful sound source without any lyrics.

AVAILABLE PROGRAMS OF THE BAO:

- ‘Village Zone Session’
(arrangements of Georg Ruby)
- ‘The Music of Tito Puente and Arturo Sandoval’
(BAO goes Salsa)
- ‘The Music of Francy Boland’
(BAO in straight-ahead-mode)
- ‘Tribute to Gian-Luigi Trovesi’
(homage to the great Italian musician)
- ‘Soundscapes - Music for Jazz Orchestra’
(arrangements of Christina Fuchs)
- ‘The Sweet Time Suite’ (the famous suite
of the Canadian trumpet player Kenny Wheeler)
- ‘Discovering Metal’
(program with music of Django Bates)
- ‘The Music of Maria Schneider’
(an evening with arrangements of Gil Evans’ colleague)
- ‘Foxy Lady’
(Jimi Hendrix goes Big Band)

MP3-Soundfiles:
all taken from the CD ‘BAO - The Topaz Session’ (rubyRec 03)

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