It takes people like Stefan Schultze who think out of the box to keep the big band adventure alive. Big bands are the perhaps most spectacular jazz format. They are institutions of jazz as a whole and teaching institutions for the individual. Big bands have a slight inclination to megalomania and a stronger one to discipline and concept. They are hard to keep together but in the best case they are not at all out-of-date.

Stefan Schultze‘s Large Ensemble is such a best case. A man in his mid-thirties, he has been socialized with various forms of music: jazz, rock, pop, new music, classical music, ethnic sounds, minimal, noise etc. He is part of the “click culture” generation, but it is exactly against this generation that he competes. His elaborate, again and again stunning compositions draw from a great pool, but they require a detailed examination that YouTube cannot offer.

With all its voltes and twists Stefan Schultze‘s music remains extremely alive, agile, full of catchiness and piercing force. And all of this without losing itself in simplicity. The power and contagious vitality of these big screen sounds result from this accurately built agility. This is by all means music from today that has not forgotten about its roots.


Stefan Schultze Large Ensemble »Ted the Bellhop«

Ted the Bellhop
Stefan Schultze Large Ensemble

2017 WhyPlayJazz (RS033)
CD + MP3 Album Download

Track listing

  1. Ted the Bellhop  5:46
  2. The Morning After  8:23
  3. Skala 55  4:28
  4. Arkona  8:26
  5. Fleur Carnivore  8:01
  6. Blues Lee  6:22
Stefan Schultze Large Ensemble »Erratic Wish Machine (feat. Wu Wei)«

Erratic Wish Machine (feat. Wu Wei)
Stefan Schultze Large Ensemble

2015 WhyPlayJazz (RS017)
CD + MP3 Album Download

Track listing

  1. Goodbye Part I  6:43
  2. Goodbye Part II  8:57
  3. Erratic Wish Machine  7:13
  4. Fuxing  6:51
  5. Old Six  5:52
  6. Trigger Happy  8:43
  7. Dorf im Kopf  6:54


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Den Hotelpagen Ted, die verbindende Figur im Film, hat Stefan Schultze nun zum Rollenmodell für sein neues Album gemacht. Denn auch in seiner Musik öffnen sich immer wieder Türen zu neuen Überraschungen zwischen Jazz, Neuer Musik, Blues und Noise. [...] Die enorme Vielschichtigkeit seiner Partituren und die Virtuosität im Umgang mit dem Klangkörper Bigband machen „Ted The Bellhop“ zu einer kleinen Sensation.

Hans-Jürgen Schaal, Jazz thing 9-10/2017 (#120)

Mit seinem 18-köpfigen Large Ensemble hat sich Pianist Stefan Schultze (Jg. 1979) in die Schwergewichtsklasse begeben. Die Wucht des Klangkörpers wird freilich klug dosiert und mit ausführlichen Solo-Statements kontrastiert.

Klaus Nüchtern, Falter 27/17

Er entführt uns in Klangräume voll mit kleinen und großen Überraschungen, abrupten Wendungen und anarchischem Witz. [...] Feiner, zeitgemäßer, aber nicht modischer Big-Band-Jazz aus Norddeutschland.

Martin Schuster, Concerto 04/17


Il nous fait imaginer une rencontre agitée, endiablée, entre Charles Mingus et Carla Bley sur les rives du Rhin. [...] Il y a là-dedans d’impétueux solistes, des coups d’audace et beaucoup de finesse.


Frithjof Strauß, Jazz Podium 7/8 2015





Tom Beetz, ￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼￼JazzFlits #239




A real big deal. Christof Schlingensief and Frank Zappa would have loved it. Stefan Schultze is definitely a mischievous character who loves surprising turns, contrasting opposites and raw edges.

Schultze’s compositions initiate movement and progress, create prickling states of pleasure, electrify with liberty for creative jazz musicians, whose improvisational co-creation is fundamental.

Olaf Weiden, Kölnische Rundschau

Opposites, that polarise yet tag along with each other; various styles that assimilate and yet remain diverse. Sounds, which sometimes ask too much of their listeners, but are never abstruse […] That way big band sound is fun.

Sven Ferchow, Neue Musikzeitung