ELSA
ABOUT
ELSA is a four-piece band led by vocalist Elsa Steixner, driven by an insatiable curiosity. Courage, fear, longing, and chaos- their music flows from raw wildness to boundless tenderness. It’s music you want to immerse yourself in, feeling held, comforted, and embraced—as if underwater, for just a few breaths.
Influenced by the urgency of artists like Nina Simone and Abdullah Ibrahim and the compositional range and sophistication of songwriters like Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell, ELSA’s sound is built on a foundation of jazz, folk, and RnB. With this embrace of tradition combined with a curious and attentive perspective on the present, the band is creating a sense of timelessness while remaining deeply current.
ELSA’s debut album, A Day On Solid Ground, was released in spring 2023 through Hoanzl Austria. Currently, the band is working with producer David Furrer on their second album, JUMP!, set to be released at Porgy & Bess on May 6, 2025.
"ELSA easily takes you by the hand through a multitude of emotions, from sorrow to exuberant joy, spanning a spectrum from introspection to wandering curiosity.”
– Michiel Braam (Pianist & Composer, Head of ArtEZ Conservatory Arnhem,)
GRANTS // AWARDS
2024 // Performance grant from the Werner Richard – Dr. Carl Dörken Foundation (DE)
2024 // Winner of the Sparda Jazz Award (DE)
2024 // Winner of the Summerjazz Pinneberg Award (DE)
2024 // Start Grant for Music and Performing Arts by the BMKOES (AT)
2023 // Nomination for the Dutch Newcomer Heij Konijn Award (NL)
2023 // Popronde 2023 (NL)
2022 // Winner at the Viersen Jazzband Challenge (DE)
Elsa Steixner – vocals
Julian Bazzanella – piano
Jakob Lang – double bass
Daniel Louis – drums
"Listening to ELSA's music, you get the feeling as if you're taken by the hand by a long-lost friend, bringing you back to yourself. Her songs interweave personal stories, feelings and reflections in a way that resemble the work of Joni Mitchell in lyricism and in the spirited performance of Nina Simone. Take a good look around in the audience during an ELSA performance. It's not surprising to catch most people with closed eyes, smiling. It can be regarded as an achievement how Elsa and her tight-knit ensemble of musicians are able to transfer their soulful and authentic performance unto a wide audience, from one to a hundred years old."
Jetse de Jong (Pianist & Composer)
(...) Elsa has no interest in showing off generic skills but instead focuses on her authentic storytelling, engaging her fellow creators and audience in the process. Her language is very mature, and Elsa easily takes you by the hand through a multitude of emotions, from sorrow to exuberant joy, spanning a spectrum from introspection to wandering curiosity.
Michiel Braam (Head of ArtEZ Conservatory Arnhem, Pianist & Composer)
(...) the combination of refined and elegant songwriting, a great band and a mesmerizing and accomplished singer who means every word she sings, touches my heart deeply every time. And looking around me.....I’m not the only one!
Izaline Calister (Singer-Songwriter, Edison winner)
© 2024 ELSA STEIXNER | elsa.steixner@gmx.at