Olaf Taranczewski is an award-winning composer and pianist known for his minimalist sound and eclectic approach to music. He has been trained in jazz piano at the Musikhochschule Mainz and jazz arrangement at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, and coupled with his years of experience as a musician in Berlin, he has honed his skills as a composer and pianist. He also leads the band Taranczewski - a jazz trio that defies expectations and blurs genre lines. Critics have praised its work, with Ralf Dorschel describing it as "Jazz that is at the same time absolutely timeless and very modern", Daniella Baumeister calling it "Piano trio at its best", and Volly Tanner describing it as "the gentle rebellion of jazz." He has composed music for film and TV and has won several awards, including the prestigious German Film Music Award and the award for Best Film Score in Annecy, France. He has also collaborated with visual artists Till Nowak and Phil Max Schöll, worked as a composer for the Theater Magdeburg, and arranged orchestral and string quartet versions for Oscar-awarded composer Volker Bertelmann / Hauschka. His music reflects his personal journey and the world around him and he hopes to evoke emotion and inspire listeners. He is also a professor for producing jazz & pop at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Trossingen, showing his dedication to music and the passing on of his knowledge to the next generation of musicians. photography by Michael Breyer