Vera Brandes

Vera Brandes (born 1956 in Cologne) is a German music producer and researcher in music and media effects. The feature film Köln 75 tells the story of how as a teenager she produced the famous concert by pianist Keith Jarrett at the Köln Opera House, which became the best-selling recording of a piano performance.[1]

Life and impact

Brandes began to organize jazz concerts and tours at the age of fifteen, one of the first being a tour with Ronnie Scott's trio. In 1974 she organized the New Jazz in Cologne concert series in Cologne.[2]: 175  The fifth concert in the series was the legendary "Köln Concert" by Keith Jarrett on 24 January 1975, which the pianist wanted to cancel because of an inadequate grand piano, back problems and fatigue. The concert took place only at the persistent urging of Brandes.[2]: 177 

Brandes' first record label CMP - founded in 1977 with the concert promoter Kurt Renker - released albums by Nucleus, Charlie Mariano, Jeremy Steig and Theo Jörgensmann. In 1980 she founded the VeraBra label, where she worked as the sole producer and publisher.[2]: 178  In 1984 she founded the label Intuition Records.

Brandes produced and published more than 350 albums, including works by Reinhard Flatischler, The Lounge Lizards, Mikis Theodorakis, Barbara Thompson, Hermeto Pascoal and Andreas Vollenweider.[3]

Following a car accident, she began studying the medical effects of music in 1995.[4] From 2004 to 2017, she led a third-party funded research program for music medicine at the Paracelsus Medical Private University in Salzburg and conducted, among other things, a study on the effect of music on depression.[5]

References

  1. ^ Romney, Jonathan. "'Köln 75' review: Lively re-staging of a 1975 jazz show is a showcase for actor Mala Emde". Screen. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Zahn, Robert von (1997). Jazz in Köln seit 1945. Konzertkultur und Kellerkunst (in German). Cologne: Emons-Verlag. p. 175, 177, 178. ISBN 3-924491-81-X.
  3. ^ "Intuition Records Discography". Discogs. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  4. ^ Mathis, Daniela (26 April 2008). "Die heilenden Klänge". diepresse.com (in German). Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  5. ^ Richter, Claudia (17 January 2019). "Musik gegen Depression und Schlafstörungen". diepresse.com (in German). Retrieved 12 December 2025.
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