Bernie Marsden, Don Airey, Jennifer Batten: Top Stars to Appear During ‘Ultimate Jam’ at Musikmesse

Ultimate Jam is part of the ‘Musikmesse Festival 2020’, the five-day music gala that, for the fifth time running, will offer a wide variety of great evening events at Frankfurt Fair and Exhibition Centre and in many of Frankfurt’s clubs. Musikmesse visitors can also enjoy numerous programme highlights during the day when musicians of the Ultimate Jam pass on their instrumental skills at workshops and clinics. Thus, on the occasion of the 40^th birthday of Musikmesse, Frankfurt will once again be a magnet for all music lovers wanting to expand their musical knowledge and see and hear stars at first hand.

“Musikmesse is more than just a product show. More than ever before, it revolves around experiencing and creating music in all its facets, around unforgettable musical moments, around networking in the scene and around direct contacts between musicians of all ages and legendary artists”, says Wolfgang Weyand, Musikmesse and Musikmesse Festival Director. “We are proud to present spectacular events such as the Ultimate Jam and are delighted that so many big names will be taking part.”

Ultimate Jam: Legends & Icons

The Ultimate Jam is set to raise the roof of the ‘Festival Arena’ on the first day of Musikmesse 2020 (1 April). The main stage of the fair is big and equipped with ultra-modern event technology. Altogether, there is room for around 2,000 music fans. Under the motto ‘Legends & Icons’, the focus of the songs selected will be on milestones of pop and rock history in which, thanks to their outstanding musicality, the event’s star guests will have also played a role. A glance at the line-up gives more than a hint of the programme diversity to be expected.

British-born Bernie Marsden is a doyen of rock history. A founding member of the ‘Whitesnake’ hard-rock band, he was involved in many of their successful titles as songwriter. Prior to this, Marsden had already made a name for himself as a guitarist with UFO and Babe Ruth.

Don Airey can also look back over an impressive career as a keyboard player, having contributed to more than 200 records and worked together with acts such as Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore and Jeff Beck. Since 2002, he has been playing the Hammond organ as a permanent member of Deep Purple.

A dream came true for Jennifer Batten in 1987. At a casting with 100 guitarists, she emerged as lead guitarist for the ‘King of Pop’ Michael Jackson, with whom she performed at the world’s foremost venues for 10 years. She is a co-founder of the popular tapping technique and is currently also in great demand as a solo artist.

Although drummer Pete York comes from the northeast of England, he is particularly popular in the German percussion scene having presented the cult television series ‘Super Drumming’ on the ARD television station for three years. On the international scene, he has also been highly successful as a member of the ‘Spencer Davis Group’, as half of the ‘Hardin & York’ duo and through collaborations with stars such as Eric Clapton, Jon Lord and Klaus Doldinger.

On the microphone, Andreas Kümmert presents his powerful voice. He is considered to be one of Germany’s best blues and soul singers having won the final round of ‘The Voice of Germany’ casting show in 2013. This was followed by the gold-winning album ‘Here I Go’, innumerable live performances and many chart placings.

From multi-million sales to multi-million clicks: although only in his early twenties, Alexandr Misko is already one of the leading stars of the fingerstyle scene and his videos on YouTube regularly register seven-digit viewing figures. His extravagant cover versions of hits such as ‘Careless Whisper’, ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Take on Me’ are a source of amazement even for music-history icons.  

The musical foundation of the ‘Ultimate Jam’ is the band led by guitarist, producer and concert promoter Siggi Schwarz – one of the scene’s leading figures after five decades in the music business. A multi-talented musician, Schwarz has collaborated with artists as different as Steve Lukather, Billy Gibbons, Chris Norman and Chris Thompson. Moreover, he also works as a film-score composer.

Other musicians of the Ultimate Jam backing band:

Musikmesse visitors and Festival ticket holders can attend the Ultimate Jam, as well as the various workshops and clinics, free of charge as long as places are available. Additionally, there will be a limited number of special tickets giving guaranteed admission. Musikmesse 2020 will be held from 1 to 4 April 2020. The Musikmesse Festival begins a day before, on 31 March.

Further information at www.musikmesse.com and www.musikmesse-festival.com.