Celebrating the 100th birth year of Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917-2017) the Ed Neumeister trio with Morten Ramsbøl - bass and Howard Curtis - drums, both fellow professors with Neumeister at the KUG University in Graz, will be performing their versions of classic and lessor know compositions by Monk. Included are some of his hits like Round Midnight and In Walked Bud and lessor known masterpieces such as Crepuscule With Nellie and Trinkle Tinkle.

As an added special occasion, we get to celebrate the great impresario Christoph Huber’s Birthday. Happy Birthday Christoph!! (Ed Neumeister)

Ed Neumeister’s profile is the result of long and deep experience. As a performer he has been at the forefront of Jazz for more than 40 years developing a unique voice. Having also worked with high level classical orchestras and ensembles nurtured his focus on conducting and composing. He knows what the musicians need because he was there.

Ed Neumeister was born in Topeka Kansas and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 50’s and 60’s. He began playing music at the age of 5 with trumpet. He switched to trombone when he was nine. He was a longtime fixture on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene.

After moving to New York in 1980, Ed performed for 15 years in the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and 19 years with the Mel Lewis Big Band (which during Neumeister’s tenure became the multi Grammy-nominated Vanguard Jazz Orchestra).

Other renowned artists he performed and recorded with include Jerry Garcia, Gerry Mulligan, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn. Not limited stylistically he also collected experience by performing with classical orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Ballet.

His dynamic voice and spirited work equals that of a significant body of work any artist or patron of the arts can appreciate.

In 1992, Ed toured for the first time as a guest soloist in Europe. Since then he has been invited extensively as a conducter and guest soloist in Europe and US. Many of these invitations include composition commissions because of his unique mixing from the traditions of Big Band Jazz and Contemporary Classical. His arrangement of A Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Through his conducting and composing activites Ed established, among others, a regular relationship with the Metropol Radio Orchestra (Netherlands) and the Budapest Jazz Orchestra (Hungary).

Beginning back in San Francisco, Ed has always been leading and composing for his own ensembles. He is the founder of the NeuHat Ensemble in New York, an 18-piece hybrid ensemble, and of ENJO Ed Neumeister Jazz Orchestra in New York and Los Angeles. As a leader, he has recorded seven albums.

Since 2007 Ed has also been active in the film music business. He has contributed orchestrations for films such as Inception, Sherlock Holmes, The Dark Knight and the 2012 Academy Awards.

Ed Neumeister is Professor of Jazz Trombone at the University of the Performing Arts, Graz Austria.