Projects
Mad Hatter
The Mad Hatter is a project that presents music that Dennis Sekretarev has composed over the period of the past twenty years during his stays in Amsterdam, Philadelphia, New York and Frankfurt. The band features top musicians from the Rhein/Main area. This is a very personal project as it highlights Sekretarev’s love for modern straight ahead Jazz and every composition reflects Sekretarev’s different life stages and challenges.
The album “Mad Hatter Live Magic” was recorded live at the Jazzkeller in Frankfurt on March 26, 2025. The music is a mix of modern straight ahead Jazz and features young musicians from Frankfurt and Mannheim who recently made an impact on the Frankfurt Jazz scene.
Dennis Sekretarev – trumpet/flugelhorn/composition
Darius Blair – tenor and soprano saxophone
Paul Janoschka – piano
Nikolai Olshansky – bass
Johannes Hamm – drums
Photos by Green Horn Media https://www.green-horn.net/
Mobius
Mobius is a project that presents music by Dennis Sekretarev and Andrius Dereviancenko that combines modern Jazz composition techniques with free improvisation. The combination of improvisers leads the music with every performance into new territory.
Dennis Sekretarev – trumpet/composition
Andrius Dereviancenko – saxophone/composition
Eran Har Even – guitar
Ulis Vitols – bass
Onno Govaert – drums
A mobius strip is a figurative representation of an infinite loop. Just like infinity represents both the feeling of being stuck in repetition, as well as the potential for growth and change, this deeply personal album brings together compositions about life’s challenges and a glimmer of hope in overcoming them. The darkness of tracks like Todesangst and Insomnia gradually morphs into the hopeful spirit of tracks like Inner Strength or Sun Beam. And just like the titular strip in Dennis Sekretarev’s Mobius quintet’s self-titled debut album, the darkness of this infinite loop is enriched and lit up with all the musical colors.
DNS JAZZ
DNS JAZZ is a Frankfurt-based jazz fusion quintet. Bandleader and composer Dennis Sekretarev grew up as the child of a Jewish-Ukrainian family in the Soviet Union, Israel, Germany and the USA and studied in Amsterdam, New York and Philadelphia. These diverse cultural backgrounds can be heard in his compositions as well as his deep knowledge of jazz traditions. The quintet mixes influences ranging from house to hip hop. Virtuoso improvisation meets spherical effects, pounding beats and funky basslines. The result is a fresh jazz sound that is as profound as it is danceable.
Dennis Sekretarev – trumpet/flugelhorn
Jaycob Sekretarev – saxophone
Jörg Buttler – guitar
Matthias Hoch – electric bass
Philipp Wildenhues – drums
The quintet’s debut album “Dream” presents the musical range that DNS JAZZ has to offer. The music is spherical with plenty of room for improvisation. Influences from hip hop, RnB, house and even Ukrainian folklore come together to create an original mix of styles.
Photos by Green Horn Media https://www.green-horn.net/