In October 1976, Berlin-based Free Music Production released my first record, “New Movements” (FMP 0320), a live recording of a concert by my quintet at the time from April of that same year. I had founded the Georg Graewe Quintet two years earlier, shortly before my 18th birthday, in Bochum, and just a few months later, Manfred Schoof and Alexander von Schlippnbach took notice of us and opened a few doors for us. This made me particularly happy, since the legendary Manfred Schoof Quintet (1965–68) had served as a model for my own band, and I regarded the Globe Unity Orchestra and the Schlippenbach Trio (with Evan Parker and Paul Lovens) as benchmarks for the current state of musical progress. Moreover, in the fervor of my youth, I would have turned down an offer from CBS myself for the chance to make my debut on FMP. Of course, that conflict never arose, and looking back, I’m actually quite glad about it in more ways than one.

Over the next 50 years, I released more than 50 recordings under my own name on various labels in Europe, the U.S., and Canada—and many of them on my own label, Random Acoustics, which I founded in 1993 to avoid discussions with certain producers that were at times absurd and mostly far removed from art. My early quintet merged into the GrubenKlangOrchester in 1982, which existed until 1993 with a fluctuating international lineup (including John Lindberg, Phil Minton, and Phil Wachsmann). Other bands emerged, such as the trio with Ernst Reijseger and Gerry Hemingway, the Frisque Concordance quartet, the Georg Graewe Quartet with Frank Gratkowski, Kent Kessler, and Hamid Drake, and, since 2006, once again a large ensemble operating under the name Sonic Fiction Orchestra, which had the opportunity to regroup as a “stage band” at Porgy & Bess during the 2018–19 season.

Against the backdrop of both anniversaries (70/50), I have organized several two-day residencies in Cologne, Vienna, Berlin, and London in cooperation with local organizers—a look back at what has been achieved, but even more so a look ahead to what is still possible. For the two evenings at Porgy & Bess, international guests have been invited to join the musicians of my orchestra, including longtime collaborators and recent additions.

Georg Graewe, October 2026