WANJA SLAVIN 

Wanja Slavin is a German jazz musician, composer, and producer, best known for his work on the saxophone and for leading a wide range of contemporary jazz projects. He was born in 1982 in Freiburg im Breisgau and has become one of the more distinctive voices in modern European jazz. He works primarily as a saxophonist but also plays clarinet, flute, piano, and synthesizer, and he is active as an arranger and producer as well. 

Musically, he is associated with the experimental and modern jazz scenes, especially in Berlin. Over his career he has led groups like Lotus Eaters and LIUN & The Science Fiction Band, been part of the high-energy quartet Amok Amor (with musicians like Peter Evans, Petter Eldh, and Christian Lillinger), collaborated with a wide range of international jazz artists, including Kenny Wheeler and Joachim Kühn. 

His style is often described as mixing structured composition with free improvisation, and he tends to avoid conventional “smooth jazz” approaches in favor of more experimental, rhythmically intense music. 

In addition to performing, he produces records for other artists and has received several awards in the German jazz scene, including the ECHO Jazz and the BMW Welt Jazz Award.

Libelle is a live improvisation-focused jazz ensemble led by Wanja Slavin. The name Libelle (German for “dragonfly”) refers to lightness and movement—matching the band’s style of fluid, improvised music. The music combines modern jazz, rhythmic energy, and atmospheric, sometimes melancholic textures. Libelle is Wanja Slavin’s improvisation-focused jazz ensemble, built around spontaneity and collective playing rather than fixed compositions.

 

LINE-UP​

Wanja Slavin - Saxophone, Synth

Zuza Jasinska - Voice 

Johannes Lauer- Piano, Trombone 

Bertram Burkert - Guitar

Lucy Liebe - Bass, Guitar, Synth

Maximilian Stadtfeld - Drums ​

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BASED IN: Germany

TERRITORIES: Europe