Bosch Big Band
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The Bosch Big Band Jazz Orchestra from Stuttgart in Germany, is all set to wow city audiences with their concert this weekend. The band which was established in 2003, will be performing with Arts in Motion, in keeping with the theme of this year’s festival — Indo-German Jazz.
According to the organisers of the event, the last four decades have been testament to long-running partnerships “between jazz musicians from Germany and India, especially Carnatic musicians from Bengaluru”.
The Bosch Big Band Jazz Orchestra comprises solely of Bosch employees who are musicians in their spare time, with the exception of Mathias Anton, a well-known saxophonist who is their musical director. Established in 2003, this is the first time the band is in India, having performed in the United States and Hungarybefore.
Sebastian Stocklerwho plays the baritone saxophone for the Bosch Big Band says they are classic big band orchestra, partial to swing with an entire brass section comprising trumpets, trombones, tubas and the like. “Though we began with playing pieces from the swing era by Sammy Nestico and Count Basie, over time, we forayed into other genres such as funk and modern jazz, too,” says Sebastian, who has been with the band since 2004.
Mathias Anton
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The band plays their own arrangements of popular pieces and have six studio recordings to their credit. And while they might be making their debut in India this year, the band is quite well known elsewhere. Sebastian recalls how the 125th anniversary of the company saw over 2000 distinguished world leaders and statesmen being feted by Bosch’s cultural ambassadors of which the Big Band is one, apart from their theatre troupe and symphony orchestra.
The band’s line-up for Bengaluru audiences is in keeping with the theme of the festival. “We are presenting ‘Nanati Bathuku’, a classic Carnatic song that we organised a special big band arrangement for. In Bengaluru, we are collaborating with a music and theater troupe called Arts in Motion,” says Sebastian, adding that after connecting virtually, it was great to meet in person to prepare for their upcoming show.
“I believe it is because we opened ourselves to the idea of this musical collaboration, we were able to put together something that is quite unique. This is the first time the Bosch Big Band has teamed up with musicians from another country for an event.”
According to Peter Munk, who plays the trombone in the Bosch Band, the collaboration was such an enriching experience that the troupe invited musician-colleagues in the city to join them for their upcoming performance. “We are looking forward to an Indo-German collaboration on stage.”
Mathias Anton says the band saw their invite to the Bengaluru Jazz Fest as a chance to curate a special program from their vast repertoire. “As a big band, we have many different styles and famous tunes as well as some that were written especially for our last CD production, and we are keen to present a sampling of them here.”
Music by the Bosch Big Band is available on all streaming platforms
Published – November 20, 2025 09:48 pm IST
