Johannes Leis

His artistic work is unusually diverse: it ranges from performances with dance companies and projects for opera productions to sound installations in museums and companies, as well as improvisations and compositions for silent films. Formative milestones of his career include his collaboration with the American composer “Moondog” (1991), dance and theatre productions in Düsseldorf and Wilhelmshaven until 1995, the musical direction of the “Heine Spektakel” in Düsseldorf (1997), as well as the Berlin band 17 Hippies since 2002 and various lounge music productions with Stargazer Lounge and Sol Electrico since 2001. Encounters with musicians such as Marion Brown (New York), Gunter Hampel (Göttingen), Nana Danso Abiam (Ghana), Christine Wodrascka (Toulouse), Jaki Liebezeit (Cologne, Can), Jean Bolcato (Lyon, Arfi) and Vieux Farka Touré (Mali) round off the broad spectrum of his work.

With his own jazz trio and quartet, he toured Germany, France and Luxembourg from 1997 to 2004. Between 1999 and 2007, he was also involved in various orchestral jazz projects, including “Le Grotorkèstre” and “Kousmine Pichon”, which took him to festivals in Germany and France. In 2006, together with the actress Nicole Heesters, he created concerts on the theme of Robert and Clara Schumann. Since 2001, he has also been involved in concert and studio projects in Berlin, collaborated with the Museum of Valence in 2008 and 2009, and founded several live ensembles in the fields of classical and electro-acoustic music in 2010. In 2011, he received a composition commission from the Conservatory of Valence, and in 2013 he worked as Director of Audio Design for a documentary film at Blue Eye FX Productions.

The current focus of his concert work lies in his collaboration with guitarist Georg Grisloff, double bassist Pierre Badaroux, and the French jazz orchestra JAV Contreband. For several years now, he has had a special passion for large low flutes: since 2026, he has owned a double contrabass flute from the workshop of Eva Kingma.

Alongside his artistic work, Johannes Leis looks back on many years of teaching. Already during his studies, he taught improvisation at the Kulturwerkstatt Düsseldorf (1984–1992), and from 2010 to 2025 he taught at music schools and conservatories in the south of France. He participates in flute conventions in Germany, Switzerland, France and the Netherlands, and to this day leads workshops on improvisation and composition entitled “Parameters and Techniques of Improvisation” – for professionals and amateurs from both classical music and jazz.

Johannes Leis – Musician and Composer