I was very fortunate to be one of the first groups who performed in the first month of the Atrane's existence and now I am very happy to have been asked to be represented on it's 20th year Jubiläumsfest. When I first had the privilege to walk through the construction site with the visionary, designer and creator of the A-Trane, Ralf Rudolf, I knew then that this was going to be one of the best jazz venues in Europe....not just in Berlin.....and in my opinion that is still true today. Because of the acoustic designing techniques applied to the room in it's construction, the A-Trane became a place for serious music listening, not just another club to come in and talk and treat the music and musicians on stage as only background entertainment. This is a place to experience the music as a true art form as well as feel the music «up close and personal». I have seen so many great international musicians from around the world, as well as musicians from Berlin and other parts of Germany, which have passed through these doors of the Atrane in the last 20 years. It has definitely been a home for me and my various musical groups over the last 20 years as I had the opportunity to showcase my works as a composer and performer as well as given the opportunity to conduct jazz workshops at the A-Trane. The A-Trane also holds a very special place in my heart because I recorded my first «live» CD with my «Ensemble» 14 years ago (Fuasimodo Rings A Bell, 1998). I'm looking forward to the next 40th year Jubiläumsfest because I am sure, under the direction of Sedal Sardan, it will be around another 20 years from now.
Fuasi