Clemens Trautmann, President of Deutsche Grammophon, and Cherno Jobatey have known each other for quite a long time in the Berlin media scene. At the time, Clemens was working closely with the Axel-Springer-CEO Mathias Döpfner.
At some point, they noticed a similarity in their CVs: They both had studied music in America. Clemens Trautmann cut his teeth at the Juilliard School in New York City. Cherno Jobatey perfected his craft on the West Coast, at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood.
It took them a while to find a suitable date to celebrate Jimi Hendrix on stage at the Hard Rock Cafe with Cherno Jobatey’s band Groove Gangster GmbH. And the scales the Juilliard alumnus Clemens Trautmann used for his improvisations were simply incredible.