The name is an inside joke. Musicians use the term "jazz police" to describe those strict colleagues who notate every wrong chord, demand absolute stylistic adherence, and make sure no one gets too close to the audience. The Berlin trio of the same name has been doing the exact opposite since 2000. Dressed in police uniforms with oversized caps, they roam pedestrian zones, festival tents, and rows of chairs, seeking out the proximity of the people.
The lineup is small and effective. Jürgen Hahn plays trumpet and, when necessary, blows his solos through a megaphone, giving the sound a raspy, almost historical quality. Peter Dams sings and plays the banjo, while Mathias Grabisch holds the bass on the sousaphone, a German flag fluttering from its bell. The three refuse to use electric amplification. Their motto is essentially: no weapons and no amplifiers.
Musically, this works because the sousaphone and banjo interlock as closely as in early marching bands. The sousaphone plays the two-beat rhythm, the banjo fills in the intervals, and the trumpet has free rein for melody and improvisation. On this foundation, the Jazzpolizei blends swing, New Orleans jazz, and old hits with comedy and improvisational theater.
Familiar songs are rewritten; "What a Wonderful World" has become "What a Wonderful Hünfeld." They sing through megaphones and wireless microphones, accompanied by slow-motion dances, a confetti cannon, and tickets for swinging too fast. The musicians claim that some pieces they're only allowed to play in town with flashing blue lights. One of their favorite sayings is that they're one of the few German Dixieland bands without a lawyer or dentist.
At the Koblenz street performers' festival, the trio received the special prize for best walk-around act. Performances have taken them to the steps of the Berlin Volksbühne, the cabaret festival in Kleinheubach, and countless town festivals, wine festivals, and markets between the Baltic Sea and the Alps. The Jazz Police played at the Dixieland Festival in Dresden back in 2008, both in civilian clothes and in uniform, and have been invited back several times since. Anyone who encounters them shouldn't worry about getting a ticket, but rather about having their tune stuck in their head.
