Isabelle Bodenseh

From an early age, the half-French musician realized that a classical music degree with the goal of becoming an orchestral musician was not enough for her. The freedom she sought was neither found in classical music nor in the role of an orchestra player. She found it in jazz and improvised music. After setting aside her orchestral studies and pursuing a degree in music education in Frankfurt in the early 1990s, Isabelle Bodenseh continued the path of free music, studying with jazz flutist and composer James Newton in Los Angeles.

After half a year of studies in the homeland of jazz, she moved on to Cuba. In Havana, with the help of a one-year DAAD scholarship, she not only learned Latin flute from the most renowned Cuban musicians but also studied composition with Andrés Alén and toured with Cuban bands. Since then, Isabelle Bodenseh has incorporated her global musical expertise into numerous projects. She has performed in ensembles such as Chantal, Verquer, Son Aché, La Serena, and Sisters in Jazz International, as well as working as a theater and studio musician on over 30 CD productions, including playalongs for the renowned Schott music publishing house.

In 2016, alongside her role as an improvisation lecturer at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts—where she has been teaching since 2000—she founded the Jazz à la Flute platform to bring the flute further into the jazz spotlight. This initiative not only led to the creation of an improvisation academy but also to her heartfelt project: a duo with guitarist Lorenzo Petrocca. She expanded the flute family beyond the standard concert flute to include the alto and the particularly intriguing bass flute.

The Isabelle Bodenseh Quartet, founded in 2018, featuring flute, guitar, Hammond organ, and drums, evokes the sound of 1960s recordings with guitarist George Benson and flutist Joe Farrell.

Bodenseh’s band—featuring Lorenzo Petrocca on guitar, Thomas Bauser on Hammond organ, and Lars Binder on drums—forms a swinging rhythm section over which the flute can fully unfold and take soaring solo flights. Alongside radiant melodic passages, the funky and percussive aspects are not neglected. Tours have already taken the lively flutist and her band across Europe. The new, now fifth album, with her lyrical flute voice, will also be presented live.