About
SAMEKA is a Jazz-Rock Band from Germany, founded in 2019 by Bass Player Simon Zauels. The music which is stylistically composed between jazz-rock, fusion with oriental interjections sets a focus on complex rhythms as well as pulsating riffs and unison lines, but also leaves a lot of room for improvisation. The music is characterized by an interesting combination of electric and acoustic instruments including the variety of Daniel Buch who is playing Bariton-, Sopransaxophon as well as the electric Aerophon. The rhythm section is formed by Antoine Spranger, who is playing the grand piano, Tobias Frohnhöfer on drums, Patrick Baumann on electric guitar and Simon Zauels on electric Bass.
In November 2021 the band received the "Musikfonds Neustart Kultur" scholarship, thanks to which it was possible to record a complete album consisting of original compositions. The debut album "Introducing SAMEKA" was released on Mons Records and features the Syrian oud player Hesham Hamra.
SAMEKA was chosen as one of the finalists of the FUTURE SOUNDS Contest 2022 hosted by Leverkusener Jazztage.
Meet The band
Simon Zauels
began playing the cello at the age of six. After 10 years of cello lessons and two more years at the Landesmusikgymnasium Montabaur, he switched from cello to electric bass due to new musical interests. This was followed by jazz studies at both the Hochschule für Musik Saar and the Musikhochschule in Mannheim and the Popakademie there. His bass teachers include: Marius Goldhammer, Stefan Scheib, Dave King, Philipp Rehm, Bernhard Meyer and Kai Eckhardt. With the latter, he was allowed to study at the "Jazz Conservatory" in Berkeley California. Today S. Zauels plays in bands of various styles. His spectrum ranges from performances with traditional world music bands, which gave him the opportunity to play international concerts even in Uzbekistan, to the world music - fusion band Pulse Project, a formation that has already won several prizes and scholarships and therefore received performances with the choir of the Elbphilharmonie, as well as an invitation from the UNESCO Commission, to his own founded jazz-rock band Sameka or Venerem, an ensemble that "reinvents" early music. In addition, he has performed several times with the Orchestra of the Saarland State Theater, at the Jazz Rally Düsseldorf, at the "Jazzopen" Stuttgart and at the North Sea Jazz Festival. His works on cruise ships have taken him all over Asia, as well as around the British Isles. He completed his jazz master's degree at the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts in 2021.
Bass
Antoine
spranger
started playing the Piano at the Age of 4 with Leonid Schick.
Three years later he won his first competition at Jugend Musiziert. After receiving various awards in the classical scene he discovered his love for jazz and startet studying at the „Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst Mannheim“ in 2014, first with Jörg Reiter, then with Rainer Böhm, until 2019.
The most important projects at the moment are Bilderband, with which he won the first Prize of the Future Sounds contest, and was finalist of the international Burghausen Jazz Contest 2017 as well as the Getxo Jazz Contest in Spain in 2018, and the newly founded Trio with Matis Regnault and Tobias Frohnhöfer.
He had the opportunity to perform with multiple bands on various countries and
continents like Taiwan, Guadeloupe, Italy, Spain, Croatia…
Piano
Daniel
buch
began playing saxophone learning from his grandfather.
After a couple of months he knew that music was all that he wanted to do,and a deep passion for jazz was born.
He obtained his bachelor degree at the Musikhochschule Mannheim with Jürgen Seefelder and and his Nordic Master at the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki. During his time in Finland, Sweden & Denmark he studied with various musicians like Jussi Kannaste, Mikko Innanen, Verneri Pohjola, Frederik Ljungquist, Alberto Pinton , Peter Danemo and Christian Vuust.
With influences including John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, Ronnie Cuber, Keith Jarret, Frank Sinatra, Jim Hall, Jaco, Paul Bley and many more, Daniel has refined his playing in various outfits.
He played in many Bigbands including state&national youth big band(s) in Germany (BuJazzO),Kicks&Sticks Mannheim,JM World Jazz Orchestra and many more.
In 2017/18 he played various projects with the NDR-Bigband in Hamburg.
Sax
Tobias
Frohnhöfer
drummer and vibraphonist, studied vibraphone at Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts. In 2014 he spend a year in the U.S.A. on an exchange program with Wesleyan University. He studied drums, vibraphone and South Indian percussion with Jay Hoggard, Pheeroan akLaff, David P. Nelson, and Noah Baerman, while also taking private lessons in New York with Victor Lewis, Ralph Peterson and John Riley. After returning to Germany, Tobias began studying and playing with Richie Beirach and The New Richie Beirach Quartet, and formed a new jazz quintet “Bilderband” with Antoine Spranger, Johannes Mann, Daniel Buch, and Lukas Hatzis (winners of the prestigious “Future Sounds Jazz Price“ prize in Leverkusen in 2016).
In October 2020 Tobias started the Dr. Langner Jazz Master at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. He studies drums with Holger Nell and Billy Hart as well as composition with Richie Beirach and Wolf Kerschek. Since December 2020 he is a scholarship holder of the Oscar and Vera Ritter-Foundation. In 2021 he received the “Wormser Jazz price”.
Drums
Patrick Baumann
first started studying Jazz-Guitar at the Jazz & Rockschulen located in Freiburg after graduating from High School in Germany. One Year later, he moved to Mannheim to begin his bachelor’s and later his master’s degree at the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts. His teacher during that time was Prof. Frank Kuruc. He graduated with his master’s degree in 2020. During his time studying, he played in a variety of bands and among other things toured in Taiwan, the United States and Europe.
Guitar