BIOGRAPHY
Johannes Fend is a Bass player that speaks with a unique voice on the instrument. Having studied Jazz and classical music he is a versatile musician and currently very active in the European music scene.
Johannes moved to the Netherlands from Austria to study Jazz and classical Double Bass at the Prins Claus conservatory and later do his masters degree at the Rotterdam Conservatory.
During this time he was fortunate to get to study and play with musicians out of the New York Jazz scene such as David Berkman, Paul Berner, Matt Wilson, Todd Coolman, Alex Sipiagin and many more. And he took classical Bass lessons and participated in master classes with Sorin Orcinschi, Francisco Obieta, Catalin Rotaru, Dorin Marc, Matthew Midgley and Wolfgang Güttler.
For his solo Project, he won the 2nd prize at the “Il Sole In Cantina Award”. At the “Leiden Jazz Award” he won the first prize with “Marco Apicella Trio” and at “Erasmus Jazz Price” he was awarded the prize for the best soloist. He was invited to play at the international Choro Festival in New York City and performed with the Bossa Legend Wanda Sa. With "Half Easy Trio" he won the "Keep an eye on Jazz - The Records" competition held at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam.
In November 2021 he released his debut solo-album 'Journey'. He was later invited to the ACF in New York City to present it there.
‘After hearing the last notes of the album fade away, we could only stammer three letters: Wow!’
- Hans Vermeulen (Luminous Dash), about Journey
'Innovative, virtuoso, sensitive'
- Süddeutsche Zeitung
"Johannes Fend has a presence and technique that make you become quiet. His carefully constructed solo’s sound like compositions. The tradition wherein he improvises is at times older than the jazz tradition, but the Austrian bassist really plays in the moment. He is above all exceptionally musical: everything he plays sounds as if all other options and possibilities were irrelevant. The mandatory piece ‘lonely woman’ (Ornette Coleman) sounds as if it was written for bowed bass."
- Eddy Determeyer, about "Johannes Fend - Solo" @ Il Sole In Cantina Music Award
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