Martin Giebel performs in various formations ranging from duos to big bands, his focus being classical mainstream. Highlights were numerous concerts and recordings with renowned soloists as well as the participation in international festivals. Furthermore, he continues to cooperate with artists and bands from the fields of chanson, latin, soul and gospel. He played keyboard on the European tour of the musical 'Hair', as well as other theater and vaudeville productions. 1999, he premièred a gospel program as a duo together with Melva Houston, which has since then been, with band and partly with a choir, an essential part of Melva Houston's tours.

Rainer Frank, double bass

The bass player Rainer Frank can look back upon a wide variety of completetely different and even border crossing band and music projects. His styles range from double-bass solo performances and classical orchestra music, musical contributions to poet's readings and theater plays to performances and CD recordings of different jazz ensembles in the fields of rock-jazz, salsa and modern jazz.
Rainer Frank is in charge of the department rock and jazz in the music school in Plochingen.

Günter Schulz-Reinfurt plays since many years in different formations. His playing in the styles of Jazz, Gospel, Soul, Funk, Pop and Latin shows him as a versatile accompanist, his variety reaches till music from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Different productions with dancers, vocal and instrumental solists, concerts and festivals in Germany, Austria, Belgium and Slovenia.
CD, broadcasting and tv recordings for different radio stations (for example such as Deutsche Welle).

Musical Guest: Hajo Hoffmann, 5 - String Violin

As one of the few German jazz violin players, Hajo Hoffmann began developing his "swing- and groove-oriented" style on the 5-string-violin in the 70s, since this time improvising with amazing artistic perfection, emotional depth and jazz phrasing. Hajo personifies the tradition of the jazz violin players like Joe Venuti, Stuff Smith, Stefane Grappelli, Jean-Luc Ponty, Sbigniew Seiffert and others. His inspiration and examples are, among others, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Hermeto Pascoal, George Benson, Charlie Parker and Tom Jobim.
In Hajo Hoffmanns style-spanning repertoire you can sense a great passion for jazz, international music and especially heart-felt music and the desire to touch and inspire the audience.

Since 1999, Melva Houston has been giving gospel performances in Germany. 2006 (which is her 10th year of concerts in Germany), she will continue to perform gospel concerts in various churches in southern Germany.

This year's repertoire will be augmented through the alliance of the regular ensemble with the vocal trio "Come Sunday" and their pianist. In addition, Larry Price ( American saxophonist currently residing in Finland) will be joining the band on the 5th of August as their special guest.

In the past years, the repertoire of Melva Houston has constantly developed and changed.

The influences of jazz and elements of soul are audible in the vocalist's concert program. Her interpretations of Mahalia Jackson's and Duke Ellington's traditional Gospels have the same intensive expression as her renditions from the range of contemporary gospels.

Already in her very young years, Melva Houston acquired an affinity to singing gospel (her father conducted the "100 voices male choir"). Being strongly influenced by the tradition of the black population in her home state Tennessee, and attending the church service on sunday, as well as her commitment to the methodist community of her church, Mt. Airy, North Carolina, where she lives today, Melva Houston is the authentic representative of black gospel music.

Therefore on each of her tours in Germany, she has been repeatedly invited by Gospel choirs to teach at workshops. The result of these continually renewing and mutually inspiring collaborations could be heard and experienced by audiences of these jointly shared concerts: e.g. with the choir "InJoy" - Herford, "Spirit of Hope" - Lengnau/Schweiz, "Grenzenlos" - Bad Kreuznach

Particularly worth mentioning would be the numerous workshops and acclaimed concert appearances with Melva and the Landesjugendgospelchor.
Melva Houston was "Special Guest" at the Landes Jugend Gospel Festival of Baden-Württemberg (16. - 18. Mai 2003) in Balingen.

Rainer Frank - double bass

A further musical project with which the American jazz and blues singer Melva Houston and the double bass player Rainer Frank carry concerts together. With the musical duet "The Beauty and the Bass", vocals - double bass (the double bass is Melvas favorite musical instrument), this team has been performing since April 1999 in art galleries, theaters and also open air.

The program of "The Beauty and the Bass" represents a blend of a variety of standard jazz created especially for this score, but also classics from the areas of blues, soul and gospel.
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„Beauty and the Bass“

„Like the Jazz musician I seek to say something personal and spontanous. The energy, that`s in the music, I expose it on canvas. It`s important, that you not only see my work but feel it too. And like the music, when it hits you more and more..................”

Verna Hart
Painter, artist