MUSICIAN

Edith Lettner’s interests lie primarily in jazz, improvised music, African music and music from diverse regions in the Middle East. She plays alto and soprano saxophone and duduk, an Armenian woodwind instrument. She performs and records internationally with numerous unique artists and bands.
Her frequent collaboration with musicians from other cultures and artists from other art genres has made her an incredibly versatile artistic personality.

Some of the international musicians Edith has worked with: Leopoldo F. Fleming (USA), Warren Smith (USA), Donald Smith (USA), Lonnie Plaxico (USA), Alex Blake (USA), Kenny Wessel (USA), Ras Moshe Burnett (USA), Dafna Naphtali (USA), Mara Rosenblum (USA), Matt Lavelle (USA), Jed Distler (USA), Howard Curtis (USA), Steve Dalachinsky (USA), Banning Eyre (USA), Yacouba Sissoko (Mali), Thione Seck (Senegal), Suleymane Faye (Senegal), Cheikh Ndao (Senegal), Vero La Reine (Cameroun), Prince Zeka (Kongo), Celia Mara (Brazil), Nariman Hodjati (Iran), Zoreh Jooya (Iran), Hernán Hecht (Mexico), Alessandro Vicard (Italy), Julia Siedl (Austria), Beate Reiermann (Austria), Uli Scherer (Austria), Gerhard Graml (Austria), Karl Sayer (Austria), Stefan Brodsky (Austria) and many other great and very inspiring musicians.

INSTRUMENTS

  • alto saxophone
  • soprano saxophone
  • duduk (armenian reed- instrument)

TEACHERS

  • Saxophone: Leo Wright, Manfred Balasch, Herwig Gradischnig, Oscar Noriega, Patience Higgins
  • Jazz theory and improvisation: Uli Scherer, Steve Coleman (M-Base Ways), Barry Harris
  • Duduk: Gevorg Dabaghian (Komitas Conservatory Yerewan)

Thanks to all the musicians from all over the world, whom I have played with. Thanks for your inspiration and for all I learned through working with you.

Discography

New Albums out:

Travel Diaries: Beate Reiermann, Edith Lettner & Maria Petrova, released on artdialogue, July 2021 (distributed by Preiser Records)

We Q by Dafna Naphtali & Edith Lettner, released on Sept. 2020 on Clang label (Denmark) click here for Info & Purchase

2017 Taking Off
Edith Lettner’s band Freemotion (original compositions  of contemporary jazz)
2014 Dialogues live @ ShapeShifter Lab Brooklyn
Edith Lettner & Warren Smith (improvised music, live recording)
2012 Trust Your Way
Edith Lettner & African Jazz Spirit, artdialogue (original compositions with African musicians and jazz musicians)
2012 Heart Blues
Stefan Wagner Group, SBF records (modern jazz album, comp. by Stefan Wagner)
2011 Live in Vienna 2011
Aanderud /Hecht/Lettner, artdialogue (live recording of improvised music with two Mexican jazz musicians)
2010 calling4
phone 3 phone, Extraplatte (original compositions, jazz, world music)
2010 Live at Afrika Tage 2010
Jenny Bell & Earthbeat, , Art Attack Records (music from Uganda)
2008 Kaira
Keba Cissokho & Edith Lettner, artdialogue (traditional West African music)
2007 moving offroad
freemotion, Extraplatte (original compositions, jazz & more)
2007 The Long Walk
Stefan Wagner Group, SBF records (modern jazz album, comp. By Stefan Wagner)
2005 Katharsis
Edith Lettner & friends,   artdialogue (soundtrack for a dance performance, original compositions)
2004 Listen Well
Stefan Wagner Group, SBF records (modern jazz album, comp. by Stefan Wagner)
2002 Adouna- One World
Kambis Culture (contemporary West African music, original compositions)
2001 Haft Peykar
Setare, mandana productions (soundtrack for a dance performance to 7 stories by the Persian poet Nezami, original compositions)
2000 We think You Know
phone 3 phone, Extraplatte (original compositions, jazz, world music)
1996 A Peaceful Crowd
phone 3 phone, RST records (original compositions, jazz, world music)
1994 Blue Green Desires
phone 3 phone, Extraplatte (original compositions, jazz, world music)
Contributing as a guest musician
2014 My eigene Wöd
Dorothea Jaburek,  Firma Mendt (Viennese jazz songs by Dorothea Jaburek)
2005 Bastardista
Celia Mara, globalista, distr.: soul seduction (Brazilian world pop music)

 

COMPOSER

Edith Lettner composes music for band projects, film and theater.
In 2005 she founded her own ensemble freemotion (jazz & more) and in 2010 the African Jazz Spirit project in Senegal. To both projects she can contribute her own compositions in very special ways.

Soundtracks (as composer and performer)

2009 “Bock for President”, documentary about Austrian charity worker Ute Bock by Houchang and Tom- Dariusch Allahyari, as composer and performer
1999 “Ene Mene Muh”, movie by Houchang and Tom- Dariusch Allahyari, as composer and performer

Music for theater and dance performances (as composer and performer)

2012 “Honolulu Blues“ by Patrick Huber, directed by Hubsi Kramar
2012 “Flammende Liebe” by Hubsi Kramar, music composed and performed together with Martin Kratochwil
2009/2010 “Beautyfri 1 und 2”, directed by Hubsi Kramar
2005 “Katharsis“, a performance that brings together dance, music and painting
2004 “Wenn das Geheimnis zu eindrucksvoll ist, wagt man nicht zu widerstehen“,
a theater performance with live dance, music and painting based on themes from Antoine De Saint Exupéry’s story “The Little Prince“
2002/2003 “Fremde Monologe”, theater play directed by Hakan Yavas  (Vienna, Kairo/ Egypt)

 

PAINTER

Techniques: water colors, oil paintings, drawings.

To see examples of Edith’s paintings in each of these mediums, click on the following link

GALLERY OF EDITH’S PAINTINGS

Edith showed her work in numerous exhibitions at home and abroad and staged painting performances together with jazz musicians. Her works in music and painting cross-fertilise each other and improvisation form the bridge that interconnects her work as a musician and as a painter

.

@ShapeShifter Lab Brooklyn, Oct. 2015

SSL3SSL4 SSL5

Salt Spring Art Gallery, Salt Spring Island, Canada, Jan. 2018

Exhibitions

2018 Salt Spring Gallery (Salt Spring Island,BC, Canada)
2017   Linz AG Kulturforum
2015 ShapeShifter Lab, Brooklyn, New York
2014 Cornelia Street Café, Greenwich Village (New York)
2012/2013/2014 Kunst zu Recht- Justizzentrum (Vienna, Austria), group exhibition
2010 Grünraum (Vienna, Austria)
2008 

2006

Warum. Kunst.Raum (Wels, Austria)

Galerie CdB, Landeskulturzentrum Ursulinenhof (Linz, Austria)

2005 Siebensterngalerie (Vienna, Austria), with Renée Kellner
2003 Siebensterngalerie (Vienna, Austria), project “X-Change” with Rackie Diankha Musée de L’Ifan (Dakar, Senegal), project “X-Change” with Rackie Diankha
2002 Biennale Dak’ art (Dakar, Senegal), workshop and group exhibition at  “Village des arts”

Siebensterngalerie (Vienna, Austria), exhibitionof the association  “Teich ® seit 2001.Kunst”

2001 Vienna International Center (United Nations in Vienna, Austria)

Siebensterngalerie (Vienna, Austria), with Renée Kellner

Salzburger Jazz-Herbst, group exhibition curated by  Bank Austria-Kunstforum and  ORF/Ö1 (Salzburg, Austria)

Siebensterngalerie (Vienna, Austria), group exhibition

2000 Siebensterngalerie (Vienna, Austria)
1999 Papiermachermuseum Steyrermühl (Upper Austria)

Galerie im Allgemeinen Krankenhaus (Vienna, Austria)

1996 Vienna Hilton (Vienna, Austria)
1995 Galerie Thiele (Linz, Austria)
1993 Städtische Galerie (Traun, Austria)
1992 Tabakmuseum (Vienna, Austria)

Galerie Impressionen (Vienna, Austria)

Galerie am Neuen Palais (Potsdam, Germany), with 2 artists from Berlin

Bank Austria (Linz, Austria)

1990 IKARUS (Vienna, Austria)
1989 Galerie EL PASO art (Zurich, Switzerland)
1988 Galerie CDB Landeskulturzentrum Ursulinenhof (Linz, Austria)

BAWAG (Linz, Austria)

1987 United Art Gallery (Vienna, Austria)

Galerie Carpe Diem (Vienna, Austria)

Theaterbrett (Vienna, Austria)

Casino (Linz, Austria)

1986 Galerie Carpe Diem (Vienna, Austria)
1983 Raiffeisenkasse (Linz, Austria)Hypobank (Linz, Austria)
1980 First exhibition: watercolor paintings, Kapu Linz (Linz, Austria)

ARTWORK

For more information about Edith, click on the links below.

CONTACT

Phone: +43 699 123 60 207
Email: edith.lettner@gmail.com

Close
Go top
X