Joja Wendt (born 31 July 1964 as Johan Wendt) is a German jazz pianist and composer.

Education and early career

Wendt was born in Hamburg. The son of a female singer and a doctor, he began playing the piano at the age of four. He decided soon after leaving school at the

Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium The Lise-Meitner-Gymnasium (LMG) is a high school in Osdorf, Hamburg. It bore the name Gymnasium Osdorf until 1 January 2007, when it officially adopted the name of the Austrians, Austrian-Swedes, Swedish nuclear physicist Lise Meitner. History The ...

Osdorf, Hamburg Osdorf (German language: pronounced ) is a quarter in the city of Hamburg, Germany. It belongs to the Altona borough. In 2020 the population was 26,420. History In 1927 the former independent settlement Osdorf was made a part of the town Altona ...

to turn to jazz. He then played regularly in the Hamburg music pub ''Sperl'', where he was discovered by

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

. Cocker took Wendt as the opening act of his tour of Germany, so he became known quickly throughout the country. Important stations were concerts with

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

, whose Germany tour he accompanied on the piano, or with the band

Pur Pur or PUR may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pur (band), a German band * Pur, a song by the Cocteau Twins People * Necla Pur (born 1943), Turkish economist and professor * Quraish Pur (1932–2013), Pakistani scholar, writer, and ...

in the sold-out Arena Auf Schalke, and the soundtrack to ''

7 Zwerge – Männer allein im Wald 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

''. After working in the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

town of

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

and studying in New York City, he returned to Hamburg, where he now lives with his wife and two children in

Groß Flottbek Groß Flottbek (), (''Great Flottbek'') is a quarter of Hamburg, Germany, in the borough of Altona. It is located in the center of the borough north of the Othmarschen quarter. Near Groß Flottbek, the neighbourhood of Klein Flottbek, which is ...

. In addition to his passion for jazz, blues and boogie-woogie, he also cares about early musical education of children.

Awards

Wendt was awarded a

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

student award and has been included in the circle of Steinway artists by

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to ...

Discography

* The Art Of Boogie-Woogie (1991) * Cookin' (1992) * Live (1993) * Fifty-Fifty (1994) (feat.

Inga Rumpf Frumpy was a German progressive rock/krautrock band based in Hamburg, which was active between 1970–1972 and 1990–1995. Formed after the break-up of folk rockers , Frumpy released four albums in 1970–1973 and achieved considerab ...

) * Good Morning Blues (1995) (feat.

Abi Wallenstein Abi or ABI may refer to: Organizations United States * American Bankruptcy Institute * American Beverage Institute * American Biographical Institute * Applied Biosystems Inc. Elsewhere * Agencia Boliviana de Información, a Bolivian press ag ...

) * The Art Of Early Jazz Piano (1996) * In The 25th Hour (1996) (feat. Inga Rumpf) * Blues On Air (1997) (feat. Abi Wallenstein) * Live At Lloyds (1997) (feat. Inga Rumpf) * Pacifique (1997) (feat.

Les McCann Leslie Coleman McCann (born September 23, 1935) is an American jazz pianist and vocalist.Feather, Leonard, and Ira Gitler (2007), ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'', p. 448. Oxford University Press. Early life Les McCann was born in ...

) * hummelflug.de (1998) * L'Eglise (1999) * Der Pianist (2000) * Showtime (2002) * Live! ... sehr schwer zu spielen (2003) * The Grand Piano (2005) * Mit 88 Tasten um die Welt (2007) * Im Zeichen der Lyra (2011) * Joja´s Klaviermusik (2016)

Filmography

* 2004:

7 Zwerge - Männer allein im Wald 7 (seven) is the natural number following 6 and preceding 8. It is the only prime number preceding a cube. As an early prime number in the series of positive integers, the number seven has greatly symbolic associations in religion, mythology, s ...

* 2005: Zibb * 2006: Hermann & Tietjen * 2006:

7 Zwerge - Der Wald ist nicht genug ''7 Dwarves: The Forest Is Not Enough'' (original German title ''7 Zwerge – Der Wald ist nicht genug'') is a 2006 German comedy film directed by Sven Unterwaldt. It is a sequel to the film ''7 Zwerge – Männer allein im Wald''. The film is ba ...

* 2007: Volle Kanne * 2007 - 2008: DAS! * 2008: Happy Otto - Wir haben Grund zum Feiern ... * 2008: Dein Song * 2008: Wetten, dass..? * 2008: Joja Wendt - Mit 88 Tasten um die Welt: Live * 2008: Ein Abend für ... * 2009: NDR Talk Show * 2013: Heinz Erhardt ist Kult! Der große Humorist und sein Erbe * 2013: Krömer - Late Night Show * 2013: Deutschlands Superhirn

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wendt, Joja Living people 1964 births German jazz musicians German composers