New Album out in November 2026

With more than 30 albums as a leader or co-leader, Johannes Enders has established himself as one of the most distinctive and important voices on the European jazz scene.

Born in Weilheim, near Munich, in 1967, Enders began playing saxophone at the age of fourteen. After classical studies at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich and private jazz studies with Jürgen Seefelder, he moved to Graz in 1987 to study jazz saxophone and improvisation with Charlie Miklin, Adelhard Roidinger and Carl Drewo. He later continued his studies with Dave Liebman and Jerry Bergonzi and won First Prize at the International Jazz Competition in 1989 and 1991.

In 1992, Enders received a scholarship to

 attend The New School in New York, where he studied with Vincent Herring, Kenny Werner, Jaki Byard, Reggie Workman and Jimmy Cobb. His fellow students included Brad Mehldau, Chris Potter and Roy Hargrove.

Throughout his career, Enders has explored an exceptionally broad musical spectrum, ranging from bebop and contemporary acoustic jazz to free improvisation, avant-garde music and electronic experimentation. His openness has also led to collaborations beyond jazz, including work with the influential German post-rock group The Notwist.

He has performed and recorded with numerous internationally renowned musicians, including Billy Hart, Jorge Rossy, Donald Byrd, Lester Bowie, Ingrid Jensen, Joe Locke, Wolfgang Muthspiel and Karl Ratzer. His work has been recognized with several major awards, including the Cultural Promotion Award of the City of Munich, the New German Jazz Prize, the ECHO Jazz Award as Best National Saxophonist and the German Music Authors’ Prize.

Since 2009, Johannes Enders has been Professor of Jazz Saxophone at the University of Music and Theatre “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” Leipzig. As a performer, composer, recording artist and educator, he continues to be one of the defining and most versatile voices of European jazz.

Back in Germany, Johannes Enders quickly established himself as one of the most important voices on tenor saxophone and was signed by the renowned jazz label ENJA Records. Here he founded his own projects such as his acoustic quartet, his saxophone quartet ZeitGeistMaschine and the duos with jazz legend Günter Baby Sommer or with Rainer Böhm as well as his electro-jazz projects Enders Room and Enders Dome. For his immense creative output, he has received awards over the years, e.g. with the Austrian Jazz Prize, the Cultural Promotion Prize for Music from the City of Munich, the SWR Jazz Prize,

the Weilheim Culture Prize, the New German Jazz Prize, the Jazz Echo 2012, the German Music Author Prize and the Bavarian State Promotion Prize. As a sought-after sideman in bands such as The Notwist, Tied & Tickled Trio, Billy Hart European Quintet, Günther Baby Sommers Quartet Süd, Rainer Böhm/Johannes Enders Duo, Franco Ambrosetti Quartet, Karl Ratzer Quintet and many more. a. he has meanwhile played in all important clubs and festivals and immortalized himself on over 100 studio recordings to date.

Prizes and awards:

// 1989 1st prize at the 1st international jazz competition in Austria, best band, best soloist
// 1990 1st prize at the 2nd international jazz competition Austria Best Band
// 1991 Silver Award at USA Music Festival Oakland
// 1998 Culture Advancement Award from the City of Munich
// 2003 SWR Jazz Prize //2005 Weilheim Culture Prize
// 2007 New German Jazz Prize Best Band Best Soloist
// 2009 Weilheim Culture Prize
// 2012 German Music Author Prize Tied & Tickled Trio
// 2012 Echo Jazz Saxophist national
// 2015 Bavarian State Prize Tied & Tickled Trio