Boogie-woogie is very similar to its siblings, jazz and blues.
It’s played on the piano with a fast, strong and steady beat. You’ll recognize boogie-woogie by its base eight notes and plenty of improvised melodic variations. The style first appeared during the 1930s, but today it functions as a social dance or an established competition dance.
We stumbled upon a German pianist whose playing will have you tapping your feet in no time—because his style displays the essence of boogie.
For those who don’t know, the man we’re talking about is Jörg Hegemann.
The famous German boogie-woogie pianist put on a tremendous show during the night of classical music at the 15th Essen Congress in Essen, Germany.
The man have very quick fingers, and we love the way his whole body moves to the boogie-woogie.
With a full orchestra behind him, Hegemann makes it sound contemporary, energetic and catchy.
The man is simply rocking it out and having a great time! It’s visible how the audience was taken aback at first—nobody expected boogie-woogie in the middle of a classical medley, but everyone claps their hand and has a good time by the end of the video. There is clearly some magic in his hands, and luckily, he’s not afraid to use it.
As it turns out, Hegemann has already accompanied greats like Bill Ramsey, Chris Howland and Hape Kerkeling on the piano.
Born in 1966, Jörg takes us on a journey through time to 1930s Chicago.
The amazing pianist has toured Europe, the United States and Russia for three decades, and has had an impressive career that was awarded the “German Boogie-Woogie Award Pinetop” in 2009. Hegemann directs the “BoogieWoogie Congress” Festival in Essen, and his latest work is the 2016 “The Art of Albert Ammons” project.
That was his way of paying homage to boogie-woogie king Albert Ammons, whose work has inspired Hegemann for years.
We loved the way this musician fully radiates love for boogie-woogie! The orchestra could only watch in disbelief as their colleague immerses the whole room in the boogie-woogie style and culture.
It’s all about putting on a show, and the crowd certainly got one here.
The man didn’t show off; he just showed off his passion for music. He dances as he plays, and all his skill, attitude and charisma is on full display! Hegemann is the embodiment of an artist whose performance will grab you and have your complete and undivided attention. Watching the video, it’s clear every member of the orchestra has their own way of enjoying the show. They play on a formal event, it is expected from them to have a professional attitude and to sit still. As the camera shows most of them, you can see them tapping their feet and moving a bit. Of course, we understand it—the rhythm is contagious!
There is a German word for such an act: “Wunderbar!”
For those wondering, “Wunderbar” translates to wonderful, stunning or brilliant—and that’s exactly what we wanted to say.
The video was uploaded in 2015, and it got four million YouTube views. We only wish to see more fabulous performances like this one, as they make us fall in love with the jazz era all over again.
Check out the full performance in the video below:
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