Julie Sassoon
British pianist/composer Julie Sassoon is classically trained on piano and violin. She graduated in music and visual arts from Lancaster University in 1988, winning the university prize for piano performance, and later completed postgraduate studies in jazz piano and Indian violin at Leeds College of Music.
She came to the attention of critics and audiences in 2000, when she formed the remarkable Azilut! trio with drummer Bart van Helsdingen, and Lothar Ohlmeier (tenor and soprano saxophone, bass clarinet).
Concerts as soloists or with ensembles like Ensemble Piano Circus, solo performances at the London Jazz Festival at the Royal Festival Hall with the legendary band Oregon or with Enrico Pieranunci, programs with the Israeli singer Efrat Alony, the trumpeter Tom Arthurs or the drummer Willi Kellers – all this demonstrates the wide range of her musical activities.
In 2013 Julie Sassoon released a live solo CD – entitled “Land of Shadows” on the Berlin jazzwerkstatt Label. This music explores her German-Jewish identity – a theme that has become a prominent part of her artistic work since her move from London to Berlin in 2009. rbb kulturradio recorded and broadcasted her concert at the Neue Synagoge, Berlin – (part of her Spring 2012 German Tour). Performances at the Bauhaus Dessau and the Loft in Cologne are also included on the CD. The result is a highly emotive and unique album.
Julie has recorded her next CD with her new band – Julie Sassoon Quartet – at the RBB Radio Studios, Berlin in July 2016. This band includes Rudi Fischerlehner (drums), Meinrad Kneer (bass) and Lothar Ohlmeier (soprano sax/bass clarinet). This CD was released in November 2017 on jazzwerkstatt.
As of January 2017