Johannes Enders was born on 12 May 1967 in Weilheim, a small city near Munich, and took up the alto saxophone at the age of fourteen. After a few years of classical training with Jürgen Seefelder and André Legros at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich, he travelled in 1987 to the Graz Academy of Music to study jazz saxophone and improvisation with Karlheinz “Charlie” Miklin, Adelhard Roidinger and Carl Drewo. He graduated in 1989 and went on to study with Dave Liebman and Jerry Bergonzi at the Jazz Institute of Graz, where he also won first prize at the International Jazz Competition in 1989 and again in 1991.
In 1992, a scholarship took him to New York’s New School, where he studied with Vincent Herring, Bob Berg, Jaki Byard, Reggie Workman and Jimmy Cobb. His classmates were fellow developing players Brad Mehldau, Chris Potter and Roy Hargrove. Since then he has worked with numerous jazz luminaries, among them drummers Billy Hart and John Hollenbeck, trumpeters Donald Byrd, Lester Bowie and Ingrid Jensen, vibraphonist Joe Locke, and guitarists Harry Pepl, Karl Ratzer and Wolfgang Muthspiel.
Since 2009, Enders has been professor of jazz saxophone at the University of Music and Theatre Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in Leipzig, all while keeping up an active performing schedule and regularly releasing recordings as a leader.
With more than thirty albums to his name as a leader or co-leader, he has established himself as one of Europe’s most important saxophone voices. On Phantom Happiness, his latest release for the Enja label, Enders explores a new set of evocative compositions alongside longtime colleague Rainer Böhm on piano and seasoned veterans Doug Weiss on bass and Jorge Rossy on drums.
The album also includes a tribute to the late saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Wayne Shorter, a founding member of Weather Report, in the thoughtful exploration “Wayne Ahead.” As Enders explains, “I think Wayne took the music to another level in a way that nobody else did. He was kind of an adventurer, a real Phantom Navigator.”
Alongside Shorter, Enders cites tenor titans John Coltrane, Joe Henderson and Michael Brecker as profound influences. He previously paid tribute to another iconic saxophonist, Sonny Rollins, on his acclaimed 2023 album, Sweet Freedom.
For further information on the artist, please visit https://www.johannes-enders.com
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