Hopscotch - The White Page (FR/DE)

Exceptional artist Clémence Manachère studied architecture in Toulouse, Mexico City, and Paris before turning to music, studying jazz saxophone and flute first in Berlin and then at the Hamburg University of Music and Theatre. In 2022, she became the first woman ever to win the "Mixed Generations" scholarship from the Feldtmann Cultural Foundation and the Jazz Federation Hamburg. As a mediator between cultures, she played at the German Embassy in Paris in 2023 for the 60th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty. In 2024, she won the Werner Burckhardt Music Prize from the Hamburg Cultural Foundation.

Clémence studied with, among others, Mark Nauseef, who in turn studied with John Bergamo. It's no wonder that Clémence's own compositions sound very zappaesque. In the mid-1970s, John Bergamo was the drummer and percussionist of the Abnuceal Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra, with whom Zappa recorded his Orchestral Favorites.

At the beginning of May, Clémence gave an acclaimed debut concert in Hamburg with a setlist that would make any Zappa fan's heart beat faster:

The Black Page (Frank Zappa)
Qnic (Clémence Manachère)
Sad Jane, First Movement (Frank Zappa)
Times Beach III (Frank Zappa)
What Will Rumi Do? (Frank Zappa)

Hopscotch Suite (Clémence Manachère)
1.5, 2.7, 2.3, 1.6, 2.2

Artistic works from unusual disciplines supported the event: live drawings by Hamburg comic artist Wittek and the art form of filmography developed by Bent Szameitat. Both artists will present their works at this year's exhibition.

Here's the lineup for Zappanale:

Clémence Manachère - flute, soprano saxophone
Björn Lücker - drums
Niklas Werk - guitar
Tristan Xavier Köster - cello
Ludvig Søndergaard - drums

Clémence Manachère (*1988, Pau, France) is a jazz flautist, soprano saxophonist, and composer from southwestern France. Her music draws inspiration from jazz, contemporary, and classical music, with influences ranging from Frank Zappa to Brazilian music. Exploring the boundaries of composition and improvisation is central to Clémence's pursuit, whether through odd meters, microtonality, or both.
At the age of 10, Clémence began classical piano lessons and studied for eight years at the Pau Conservatory. At 14, she participated in the Les Enfants du Jazz festival and heard Elvin Jones perform in Barcelonnette, her grandmother's village in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. This was her baptism into jazz. At 16, she received her first flute and began self-taught. From the ages of 18 to 24, she studied architecture in France and Mexico City. After completing her architecture studies, she traveled to Brazil, where she was deeply inspired by Brazilian music. Back in Europe, she studied jazz flute at the Berlin-Neukölln Music School and, from 2017 to 2023, also studied soprano saxophone at the University of Music and Theater in Hamburg.
Clémence also took rhythm and percussion lessons with Mark Nauseef for two years. Mark's rhythmic visions were an important influence on her composing and improvising. To bring her compositions to life, she founded her project "Clémence Manachère Unterwasser" in 2018. With Unterwasser, she has already recorded three albums, released in 2020, 2022, and 2024.
She received the "Mixed Generations" scholarship from the Feldtmann Foundation and the Hamburg Jazz Association for a tour with Unterwasser and Norwegian trombonist Helge Sunde in April and November 2022. In 2023 and 2024, Clémence was part of the Claussen-Simon Foundation's stART.up program, and in January 2024, she won the Werner Burkhardt Music Prize.
In March 2024, she toured again with Unterwasser and Helge Sunde, and in May of the same year, she toured the UK with the band "Omas Apotheke."
In November and December 2024, she was a guest artist for five weeks as part of the improvisation residency at the Casa della Musica San Michele in Montaldeo, Italy. During her residency at the Casa della Musica San Michele, she recorded an album with the Ranges Collective and an EP with Ukrainian pianist Polina Pohozha, scheduled for release in 2025/2026.
Clémence is currently developing the suite "Hopscotch" in Hamburg, inspired by Daniel Libeskind's "Chamberworks".

Niklas Werk is a guitarist, composer, and improviser from Berlin. After studying at the HfMT Hamburg with Gabriel Coburger, Sven Kerschek, and Vlatko Kucan, he moved to the capital, where he has lived since the beginning of 2025. His music operates at the intersection of jazz, free improvisation, and electronic music. In addition to his own projects (Niklas Werk Quintet, lucid), he plays in various ensembles of the Hamburg jazz scene: howtokope., Clémence Manachère White Page, Tom Wendler Quintet, Werk / Petratos / Wendler.

Tristan Xavier Köster (*1993, Los Angeles) is a Hamburg-based composer, cellist, and university professor whose work spans various areas of the written and improvised music scene. Often involved in interdisciplinary productions, Köster's pluralistic work intersects genres of "serious music" with non-classical, avant-garde, and popular musical forms. He often works as a "composer-performer."
In his most recent projects as a cellist in 2022, Köster has premiered several works and participated in various productions, including "The Invisibles": a dance collage by John Neumeier; "The Ghosts Are Returning": a European-Congolese collaborative project with Podium Festival Esslingen; the Federal Youth Ballet "Im Aufschwung" in the German Federal Council; and several ballet productions. Between 2020 and 2022, Köster gave a series of BKM-funded solo cello recitals for the Hamburg Cultural Summer, combining baroque music with free jazz. In 2018-2019, he toured America, China, and Germany with the HfMT/BKM scholarship group "The Future of Orchestral Music," culminating in performances of Mahler 8 with the Hangzhou Symphony Orchestra Project.
Köster initiates projects and frequently collaborates with artists and writers. He has worked intensively with the Hamburg artist Volker Lang, the Los Angeles-based artist Mark Dutcher, the estate of the German-Brazilian painter Almir Mavignier (with the composer Hector Docx), and the estates of writers Erich Fried and Simone de Beauvoir.

Dirk Achim Dhonau, born in Duisburg in 1960, lives in Hamburg, where he initially studied classical percussion and then jazz percussion. His musical focus is on jazz and improvised music. In Addition to his studies, he participated in various workshops and continuing education programs, including those at the Cologne Jazz Academy and with Swiss percussionist Pierre Favre.
Dhonau has released two CD productions under his own direction: "Conclusion" with Trio Collage and "Dhonau Dabrock Duo live at Kampnagel." He is currently part of the following band projects: "Lisa Stick Quintet/Septett," "Eisenrot," the "Tiny Electric Trio," Cleménce Manachère's "Unterwasser," and the "Dirk Achim Dhonau Quartet." Dhonau received the 2023 Hamburg Jazz Prize.
Dirk Achim Dhonau will be replaced at the Zappanale by Ludvig Søndergaard.

Drummer and composer Björn Lücker, born in 1967, studied jazz at the Hamburg University of Music and Theater, with Alex Riel, John Marshall, Daniel Humair, Wolfgang Haffner, and Billy Hart, among others.
He has toured worldwide, including with the internationally award-winning band "Triocolor," often at the invitation of the Goethe Institute.
Lücker is a highly active musician in the German jazz scene and also pursues extensive teaching activities.
Stylistically, his range extends from traditional jazz forms to the avant-garde.
His work includes work with musicians such as Gary Peacock, Walter Norris, Herb Geller, Jimmy Woode, Dusko Goykovich, Elliott Sharp, Anthony Braxton and Nils Wogram as well as the NDR Big Band and the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra.