Indra Rios-Moore winner of the BMW Welt Jazz Award 2016. The series of concerts will be continued in 2017 following the motto “Amazing bass!”.

Munich. The American-Danish ensemble of singer Indra Rios-Moore has won the 2016 BMW Welt Jazz Award, following a thrilling final between them and the American-Swiss group Stucky-Doran-Studer-Tacuma on Saturday, 7 May. The award was presented by Dr Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG.

With sets influenced by this year’s motto “Inspired by Legends”, both ensembles captivated the audience in the sold-out auditorium of the BMW Welt. In the end, it was the selection of famous folk pieces combined with Indra Rios-Moore’s distinctive bluesy jazz voice that convinced the panel of expert jurors.

The expert jury explained their final decision like this: “With both performances being outstanding – one more extrovert, one more introvert – the jury made a very subjective choice to pick the more mellow, introspective candidate. The judges were moved by Indra Rios-Moore’s extraordinary voice and convinced by the concept to counterbalance American music tradition with an extremely reduced Scandinavian sound. Indra Rios-Moore belongs to a group of new astonishing singers who completely trust in their individual expression. The jury strongly believes that we will hear a lot more of her in the future.”

The winning ensemble of Indra Rios-Moore received 10,000 EUR prize money and a trophy designed by BMW Design, while the runners-up, Stucky-Doran-Studer-Tacuma, were awarded 5,000 EUR.

Stucky-Doran-Studer-Tacuma won this year’s audience award and can look forward to an exclusive stay at resort Schloss Elmau and an appearance at the resort’s annual Jazz Classica Festival in July 2016.

During the final concert, Dr Ian Robertson also announced the theme for the 2017 season. Next year, the hugely popular series of concerts will follow the theme “Amazing bass!”, with the focus firmly on what is arguably the most iconic instrument of the jazz genre.

Speaking at the final in Munich, Dr Ian Robertson said, “This year, the BMW Group celebrates its centenary, keeping our focus on ‘The Next 100 Years’ and looking ahead to the future. That’s why we’ve also decided to take the BMW Welt Jazz Award one step further, introducing the BMW Welt Young Artist Jazz Award. One emerging young ensemble based in the city of Munich will be given the opportunity to perform amongst others at the Leipziger Jazztage, a festival which the BMW Group has supported for many years. Once again, this shows our commitment to the jazz scene and I’d like to thank all those fans of the BMW Welt Jazz Award, who have helped make our free Sunday matinee concerts such a success since the award began back in 2009. I’d also like to thank the many amazing ensembles who travel to Munich from all over the world in order to participate. Of course this evening, I have particular pleasure in congratulating Indra Rios-Moore on their terrific performance and well deserved success.”

Dieter Reiter, mayor of the city of Munich, said, “I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank BMW for its outstanding commitment to the cultural endeavours of our city. With its consistently high international level and its exceptional popularity among audience and experts alike, the BMW Welt Jazz Award has become an integral part of Munich’s cultural scene. In addition, the newly-established BMW Welt Young Artist Jazz Award is a wonderful opportunity for our local young talent, one that makes me very happy indeed.”

The BMW Welt Jazz Award celebrated its eighth edition in 2016. From January to March, six renowned international ensembles excited and delighted the packed audiences during the Sunday matinees at the Double Cone of the BMW Welt. In addition to the two finalists, the other participating ensembles were: Dieter Ilg: My Beethoven (Germany), Oded Tzur Quartet (Israel/USA), Stefano Battaglia Trio (Italy), Latham-Carniaux-Egan: Constellations (USA).

The distinguished panel of jurors included renowned jazz experts and specialists of the jazz scene, who chose the winner of BMW Welt Jazz Award 2016. Chaired by Oliver Hochkeppel (journalist for music and cultural affairs at the German daily “Süddeutsche Zeitung”), the jury included the following members: Andreas Kolb (editor-in-chief of the magazines “JazzZeitung.de” and “neue musikzeitung” and co-publisher of the new music magazine “SILBERHORN“), Roland Spiegel (editor at the music desk and jazz expert at German broadcasting station Bayerischer Rundfunk “BR‑KLASSIK“), Heike Lies (musicologist, Music and Music Theatre Division of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the state capital Munich) and Christiane Böhnke-Geisse (Artistic Director of the international jazz festival “Bingen swingt”).

The 2016 edition of the BMW Welt Jazz Award once again enjoyed the generous support of its partners BR-KLASSIK, jazz magazine SILBERHORN, resort Schloss Elmau and the Department of Cultural Affairs of the city of Munich.

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For further questions please contact:

Dr Thomas Girst

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Head of Cultural Engagement

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Leonie Laskowski

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Cultural Engagement

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Bernhard Ederer

BMW Group Corporate and Intergovernmental Affairs

Spokesperson BMW Welt

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