Austrian band Shake Stew has become something of a phenomenon. With their premiere at Jazzfestival Saalfelden 2016 and their following debut “The Golden Fang” they seemingly exploded into the scene out of nowhere. Since then, their high energy mixture of hypnotic soundscapes and kraut-jazz grooves has made them enormously successful not only on home turf but across Europe. Led by rising star bassist Lukas Kranzelbinder they quickly became one of the hottest live acts on the circuit, while the impact of their second album “Rise and Rise Again” (featuring Shabaka Hutchings) enabled them to spread their unique sound further afield, including an extensive tour of Canada, Mexico, Morocco and stand out shows at prestigious festivals like Montreal, Rochester and North Sea Jazz Festival. During the following years they released three more albums (Gris Gris, (A)live! and Heat) and picked up several awards, including the German Jazz Award (“Band of the year – International” in 2021) and Austria’s prestigious Amadeus Music Award in 2023 – which made them the first instrumental band to win this prize since Joe Zawinul twenty years earlier.

Shake Stew’s unusual configuration of 2 drummers, 2 bass players and 3 horns is one of the key things that has made this 7-piece stand out. This instrumentation, which at first seems a little strange, seamlessly blends together, creating the trademark Shake Stew high-energy sound that their reputation has been built on. The addition of the Guembri (Moroccan bass lute) – something Kranzelbinder has been playing with for many years now – Log Drums and flute, add yet more texture to what is already a complex balance of sounds.

In a seemingly constant flow of musical output, they released their sixth album “LILA” in autumn 2023 and continue to bring their fiery live shows to fans around the world.