Born in 1965 in Hornberg/Schwarzwald
Grown up in a family of musicians
Early encounters with Big Band, Gospel, and Blues
Saxophone, piano, percussion and accordion lessons from an early age
Served in the musical corps of the German airforce, Karlsruhe Decided to become a professional musician
1989-1994: studied jazz saxophone with Andy Scherrer at Swiss Jazz School, Berne, Switzerland (graduated with a diploma)
Master classes / private lessons with Joe Lovano and Bob Malach
In the 1990s, Arno Haas embarked on a full-time international career in the studio and on tour. For more than ten years, he was a member of the band of Sidney „Guitar Crusher“ Selby, and he is still playing saxophone with „Jürgen Waidele‘s Conversation“. Projects with international stars such as Wolfgang Haffner, Ricky Lawson, Franco Ambrosetti, Mick Taylor, and Alvin Lee were important milestones in his personal and artistic development.
His stylistic versatility, his intuitive creativity and flair for melodic improvisation, his ability to respond and react spontaneously to all kinds of musical contexts in all kinds of genres, and most of all his warm and full soprano, alto and tenor saxophone sound have enriched the live sets and studio productions of numerous other musicians and bands:
Al Jarreau, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Paul Kuhn, Helen Schneider, Calvin Owens, Brian Bromberg, Randy Waldman, Tom Saviano, Chuck Findley, Wolfgang Dauner, Tony Lakatos, Anke Helfrich, Joo Kraus, Stuttgart Jazz Orchestra, Kosho, Axel Schlosser, Florian Silbereisen, Torsten DeWinkel, Wencke Myhre, Helene Fischer, Rolf Stahlhofen, Karel Gott, Richard Clayderman, Tom Novy, Nubya, Joe Lovano, Göla, Nino DeAngelo, Patrick Lindner, Stefan Mross, Nikolas Simion, Polo Hofer, Lokua Kanza, Mary Roos, Henri Dikongué, James Moody, Jason Wright and many more.
Solo Career and Current Work
For a number of years, Arno Haas has increasingly concentrated his energies on his own projects and the development of his solo career. He tours under his own name (together with the Alvin Mills Project), writes and arranges most of his own repertoire, and has released two solo albums:
Magic Hands (2013; foxtones FM1313), his first album, produced in Los Angeles by Tom Saviano, met with considerable acclaim. The record highlights the stylistic focus of the „new“ Arno Haas: grooving fusion jazz in the best West Coast tradition.
Inspired by the success of Magic Hands, and with a head full of ideas, he continued writing music right away and in October 2015 released his sophomore effort: Back To You, again produced in Los Angeles by Saviano (mochermusic MOM-0004). On Back To You, Arno Haas takes up the funky fusion style of his first album, approaches it with even more sophistication, and provides it with a very personal note. On the album, Arno Haas also saw a long-cherished dream come true: He was joined by jazz legend Al Jarreau – one of Haas‘s boyhood idols. On the track Lucky Chance, written by Haas and Saviano, one can only wonder at seven-time Grammy winner Jarreau‘s undiminished freshness and youthful improvisatory energy.
At the moment, Haas is spending most of his time touring Back To You. Besides working on numerous other projects, he also works as a producer and A&R director with mochermusic, and as a music publisher with MOHATO Publishing.
January 2016
© mochermusic 2016