The Evgeny Ring Quartet is a new band formed in Leipzig in the fall of 2007. Playing mostly the band members original compositions, the quartet merges aspects of jazz tradition with a contemporary harmonic and improvisational concept. The musicians` approach focuses mainly on group dynamics and musical interaction while trying to find a unique band sound and expression within the context of the traditional jazz quartet. Influences are numerous and wide-ranging and can be felt and heard in the playing of all four musicians. The members of the quartet are:
Evgeny Ring (alto saxophone):
Evgeny Ring was born in Rostov on Don in Russia in 1987. After starting to study the saxophone in the Kim Nazaretov Jazz school at age 7, he joined the Children’s Big band (led by A. Machnev), for which he later also was the featured soloist. He studied briefly at the Rostov College of Arts and moved to Leipzig/Germany in October 2007, where he is now a student at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater. His teachers include among others Andrey Machnev, Uwe Plath, Richie Beirach. He toured extensively in Russia, and Ukraine with the Kim Nazaretov Big band and in Germany, and Czech Republic with Dortmund/Germany-based International Bigband. Featured soloists he has worked with include, Dennis Rowland (Count Basie Big Band singer) and Melba Joyce (Count Basie Big Band), Peter Beets (NL/piano), Milan Svoboda (Prague). Evgeny has won various first prizes both as a soloist („2001 Jazz Parnas“, St.Petersburg/Rus.; „2002 Jazz Festival “Rostov/Rus.; 2007: „Grand Prix Russian Jazz Award“- over all instruments) and with small bands and saxophone quartets and has been featured on recordings both of the Kim Nazaretow Bigband and the International Big band Dortmund.
Sascha Stiehler (piano)
20-year old Sascha Stiehler hails from beautiful Zwickau/Germany, where he also received his first classical piano training at age six. About eight years later he started his journey into jazz music and went on to win the first prize of the Saxon regional jazz competition „Jugend jazzt“ in 2005. After having been a memeber of the pre-college jazz program for two years, he enrolled at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig in 2006 and is now studying piano and ensemble playing with Richie Beirach as well as composition and instrumentation. He was a member of the „Landesjugendbigband Saxonia“ and has toured in Germany, Belgium, France, Sweden and Czech Republik. Sascha teaches piano at a local music school and is an active member of various musical ventures („change request“, „Vinzenz Wieg Electric Band“).
Philipp Rohmer (acoustic bass)
Born in Leipzig in 1981, Philipp Rohmer grew up in Berlin. Inspired by rock music, he picked up the electric bass when he was sixteen. Having lived in Nashville, Tennessee for a year he began playing the acoustic bass at age 20. After retuning to his place of birth in 2003, he has now almost finished his course of study, majoring in Jazz double bass (teacher: Pepe Berns) at the Musikhochschule Leipzig, all the time collecting experience playing in various musical settings ranging from Bigband-Jazz to theater productions and free improvisation accompaigning silent movies. Philipp has won prizes (the „Leipziger Jazznachwuchsstipendium 2007“ with the band LU:V) and toured in Germany, Poland and Mexico. Apart from being involved in other bands (Spielvereinigung Süd Bigband, Rupiee), he currently struggles to get his own band going.
Dominique „Gaga“ Ehlert (drums):
22-year old Dominique was born in Werl/Germany and promptly nicknamed „Gaga“ by his brother. Gaga began playing the drums when he was five and soaked up a number of influences as diverse as hard rock and jazz. From 1990 until 2006 he studied with Martin Siehoff in his local music school in Werl. After moving to Leipzig and becoming a student at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater (teachers include Heiko Jung and Werner Neumann) he quickly turned into an intergral part of the Leipzig music scene. He performs frequently with local jazz and funk bands like the „Vinzenz Wieg Electric Band“ and the „Arne Donadell Septett“ as well as Werl-based rockband „The Unfading Beauty“ and „Hot`n`Nasty“, his blues band. He played with the Unibigband Dortmund and has been on tour all over Germany
