Big Band Leibnitz: "Greetings and Salutations"

Leibnitz has been a significant location for Big Band culture in the southern Styria for many years. However, in recent decades, it has become quiet regarding the great jazz orchestra tradition of the district capital.

With the founding of the Big Band Leibnitz, bandleader Gernot Kratzer is now opening a new chapter. Starting from summer 2026, an ensemble will emerge that revives the great Big Band tradition of the region while also setting new musical accents.

The Big Band Leibnitz unites an extraordinary density of musical experience. Professional musicians, music educators, studio musicians, and outstanding amateur musicians from all over southern Styria contribute their diverse strengths to the new ensemble.
The band sees itself not as a collection of individual names but as a musical unity. For bandleader Gernot Kratzer, cohesion, mutual trust, and shared energy are paramount – qualities that make a Big Band a true Big Band.

A Big Band thrives on its collective energy. Before anything great can be musically achieved, the group must find itself – both humanly and musically. That is precisely what we want to develop together.

Despite all the musical quality, Gernot Kratzer initially focuses on something else: the growth of the band.

The musical direction of the Big Band Leibnitz is clearly defined. At its center are the groove-oriented sounds of the funk, rock, and jazz fusion of the 1970s and 1980s. Artists like Joe Zawinul, Maynard Ferguson, or the great fusion orchestras of that time serve as sources of inspiration. The repertoire is complemented by swing classics from Duke Ellington to Dizzy Gillespie as well as powerful Latin arrangements from Arturo Sandoval to Sammy Nestico.

The premiere program is titled “Greetings and Salutations” – named after the legendary work by Thad Jones. The title is much more than just the name of a piece. It serves as a musical greeting from the newly founded Big Band Leibnitz to its audience and as a kickoff for a new era of Big Band music in southern Styria.

The band's vision is as simple as it is ambitious: to unleash a musical force on stage as a closed unit that immediately connects with the audience. Full of energy, captivating, and at the highest musical level. 

Reeds: Johann Grasch · Paul Gritsch · Lena Gollob · Rosalinde Jöbstl · Domen Marn
Trumpets: Markus Krofitsch · Gerhard Ornig · Stefan Holler · Florian Wiedner
Trombones: Christian Sametz · Didi Bresnig · Tobias Forster · Franz Menhart
Rhythm Section: Markus Hack – Drums · Gunther Schuller – Keyboards · Georg Jantscher – Guitar · Johannes Winkler – E-Bass

www.bigbandleibnitz.at