About Taranczewski
Pianist Olaf Taranczewski has known bassist Jean-Philippe Wadle and drummer Benedikt Stehle for decades, and yet they have never played together in this constellation.
The pianist is the composer and namesake of the band, but as one can easily hear on the debut album “When I Was”, Taranczewski is a stable triangle whose impulses and play times are evenly and – more importantly – equitably distributed.
The three musicians are not only united by making music together in different projects, but also by listening to music together.
These are formative experiences that leave their mark on “When I Was”. Strictly speaking, they tell each other stories of this musical listening on the album, and their listeners in turn enjoy the privilege of listening to these gentle narratives.
Pianist Olaf Taranczewski has known bassist Jean-Philippe Wadle and drummer Benedikt Stehle for decades, and yet they have never played together in this constellation.
The pianist is the composer and namesake of the band, but as one can easily hear on the debut album “When I Was”, Taranczewski is a stable triangle whose impulses and play times are evenly and – more importantly – equitably distributed.
The three musicians are not only united by making music together in different projects, but also by listening to music together.
These are formative experiences that leave their mark on “When I Was”. Strictly speaking, they tell each other stories of this musical listening on the album, and their listeners in turn enjoy the privilege of listening to these gentle narratives.
Composer and pianist Olaf Taranczewski (born 1977 in Hofheim am Taunus) comes from a German-Jewish-Polish family. He studied jazz piano at the Musikhochschule Mainz and jazz arrangement at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln. He has been living in Berlin since 2006.
He composed music for the cinema and TV feature films “Mi America” (HBO), “Schweigeminute” (Moovie/ZDF), “Hier und Dort” (MDR), and since 2011 regularly for TV shows and documentaries.
In 2015, he received the German Film Music Award in the main category “Best Music in Film” for the score of “Dissonance” (directed by Till Nowak), as well as the award for Best Film Score in Annecy, France. In 2009 he won the award for best film music at Kinofest Lünen.
With visual artist Phil Max Schöll (Weltraumgrafik/Pfadfinderei) Olaf Taranczewski realized the facade projection “Hommage Collage” in Weimar. He also appeared as a composer at the Theater Magdeburg and for the operetta “Turnadot” with the music-comedy duo Carrington & Brown. He arranged orchestral and string quartet versions for Oscar-nominated composer Volker Bertelmann (Hauschka) for performances at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and the Berlin Konzerthaus.
Since 2017 Olaf Taranczewski is professor for producing jazz & pop at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Trossingen.
He composed music for the cinema and TV feature films „Mi America“ (HBO) , “Schweigeminute” (Moovie/ZDF), “Hier und Dort” (MDR), and since 2011 regularly for TV shows and documentaries.
In 2015, he received the German Film Music Award in the main category “Best Music in Film” for the score of “Dissonance” (directed by Till Nowak), as well as the award for Best Film Score in Annecy, France. In 2009 he won the award for best film music at Kinofest Lünen.
With visual artist Phil Max Schöll (Weltraumgrafik/Pfadfinderei) Olaf Taranczewski realized the facade projection “Hommage Collage” in Weimar. He also appeared as a composer at the Theater Magdeburg and for the operetta “Turnadot” with the music-comedy duo Carrington & Brown. He arranged orchestral and string quartet versions for Oscar-nominated composer Volker Bertelmann (Hauschka) for performances at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and the Berlin Konzerthaus.
Since 2017 Olaf Taranczewski is professor for producing jazz & pop at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Trossingen.
Bassist Jean-Philippe Wadle (born 1980 in Pirmasens) won 1st prize at Jugend jazzt in 1998 and 2001 and studied double bass at the conservatories of Mainz and Cologne between 2002 and 2006.
In 2003 he founded the Bassface Swing Trio, which still exists today. Wadle has worked with musicians such as Tom Gaebel, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Lalo Schifrin, HR BigBand, Tony Lakatos, Axel Schlosser, Ralf Hesse, Scott Hamilton, Manfred Schoof, Ack van Rooyen, Hans Dekker, Bruno Müller, Wolfgang Haffner, as well as with Katja Ebstein, Marshall-Alexander and Tony Marshall, and has been part of Emil Mangelsdorff quartet since 2015.
Wadle can be heard on albums by Gee Hye Lee, Daniel Stelter, Andreas Gabalier and Eugene Ruffulo. In addition to numerous concerts in Europe, tours have taken him to the USA and South Korea. Jean-Philippe Wadle lives in Ingelheim am Rhein.
Bassist Jean-Philippe Wadle (born 1980 in Pirmasens) won 1st prize at Jugend jazzt in 1998 and 2001 and studied double bass at the conservatories of Mainz and Cologne between 2002 and 2006.
In 2003 he founded the Bassface Swing Trio, which still exists today. Wadle has worked with musicians such as Tom Gaebel, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Lalo Schifrin, HR BigBand, Tony Lakatos, Axel Schlosser, Ralf Hesse, Scott Hamilton, Manfred Schoof, Ack van Rooyen, Hans Dekker, Bruno Müller, Wolfgang Haffner, as well as with Katja Ebstein, Marshall-Alexander and Tony Marshall, and has been part of Emil Mangelsdorff quartet since 2015.
Wadle can be heard on albums by Gee Hye Lee, Daniel Stelter, Andreas Gabalier and Eugene Ruffulo. In addition to numerous concerts in Europe, tours have taken him to the USA and South Korea. Jean-Philippe Wadle lives in Ingelheim am Rhein.
Drummer Paul Benedikt Stehle (born 1984 in Sigmaringen) moved to Berlin at the age of 17 to become a professional musician. After auditions for Berklee College of Music and Los Angeles College of Music, Benedikt Stehle received two scholarships and studied in the USA.
After graduation, he toured the U.S. and Indonesia for two years. He lived and worked in the New York music scene during this time. Among other activities, he toured as a steady drummer with Sammy Adams, a rapper from Boston.
In 2008, Stehle returned to Berlin and worked live, in the studio, and on television with Beth Hart, Mousse T., Barbara Tucker, Dendemann, Emma Lanford, Eugene Hütz (Gogol Bordello), Della Miles, Steve Lillywhite, Mo’ Blow, The Weather Girls, Aly Keïta, Joachim Deutschland, and Balbina, among others.
In addition to being a freelance session musician, he is a permanent band member with pop singer Alexander Knappe and Romanian Balkan band Fanfare Ciocărlia. With this group he contributed several tracks to the internationally successful feature film “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Borat 2) by Sacha Baron Cohen in 2020. Here he can be heard not only as a drummer, but also as a singer of the Balkan version of the Bill Withers classic “Just the two of us” in the credits of the film.
After graduation, he toured the U.S. and Indonesia for two years. He lived and worked in the New York music scene during this time. Among other activities, he toured as a steady drummer with Sammy Adams, a rapper from Boston.
In 2008, Stehle returned to Berlin and worked live, in the studio, and on television with Beth Hart, Mousse T., Barbara Tucker, Dendemann, Emma Lanford, Eugene Hütz (Gogol Bordello), Della Miles, Steve Lillywhite, Mo’ Blow, The Weather Girls, Aly Keïta, Joachim Deutschland, and Balbina, among others.
In addition to being a freelance session musician, he is a permanent band member with pop singer Alexander Knappe and Romanian Balkan band Fanfare Ciocărlia. With this group he contributed several tracks to the internationally successful feature film “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” (Borat 2) by Sacha Baron Cohen in 2020. Here he can be heard not only as a drummer, but also as a singer of the Balkan version of the Bill Withers classic “Just the two of us” in the credits of the film.