True Next-Level Jazz & Music Innovation

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In his concert program Abstract Views on Life, David Kayy performs at the pinnacle of international artistry and guitar history. With a uniquely expressive voice, he pushes the boundaries of virtuosity, musicality, and articulation — delivering music that is rich in orchestral color, deeply emotional, and rhythmically electrifying.

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The Concept – Music as Storytelling

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The program (approx. 90+ minutes, featuring 10+ compositions) presents musical jazz narratives about compelling themes in life, humanity, and art.
It is dedicated to all listeners — from 8 to 80 — who appreciate high-quality music and innovative jazz infused with the spirit of modern classical composition.
A truly inspiring, genre-defying cocktail — vibrant, thoughtful, and deeply enjoyable.

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Experience the Music – Watch & Feel

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You are warmly invited to explore the accompanying concert videos and develop your own impressions of this artistic journey.

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Breaking New Ground – Virtuosity with Purpose

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Many of the virtuosic elements featured in the performance are entirely new in the history of the guitar — not as mere technical display, but as tools of expression, musical language, and artistic innovation.
These groundbreaking techniques are part of a documented creative catalog, available under Development & Biography, and can be seen in pieces such as Junctions, Oilmill, and Atelier.

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Next Release – Abstract Views on Life, Vol. 2

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The upcoming album Abstract Views on Life – Vol. 2 will be released in January 2025 as a full video & audio digital edition.
It is team-produced in collaboration with renowned Cologne-based experts Michael Dorniak and Marcus Greiner.

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International Recognition – Featured by Carlos Juan

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David Kayy has also been personally featured in the curated selection of top guitarists by Carlos Juan – a highly respected international authority in the guitar world and an award-winning figure in the global guitar industry

 

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A New Solo Language – Jazz as Timeless Artistic Expression

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In David Kayy – Abstract Views on Life, many music professionals recognize a groundbreaking JazzSoloCulture, reminiscent in significance of what Keith Jarrett brought to the music world — yet emerging in a different, futuristic and timeless form of expression.

For David Kayy, the art of solo performance is not simply "playing alone."
It is about delivering music in a way that transcends ensemble formats, unlocking a unique intimacy and narrative arc that cannot be achieved with band or orchestra — and vice versa.

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Broadcast & Cultural Platform – wieichfm Berlin

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All David Kayy concerts are professionally recorded, broadcast, and promoted via wieichfm Berlin across both radio and video-based TV programming.
This media platform is operated by Advertise Agents – International Broadcasting & Press Services, based in Berlin.

In addition to live recordings from venues and festivals, a year-round concert series will be hosted in 2025 from the wieichfm Berlin Broadcasting Hall.
These events will include high-profile commercial sponsors and cultural funding partners, building a lasting presence in the European jazz and art music scene.

 

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Cultural Innovation – Berlin Sketches (Edition 2026 onwards)

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Under the title “Berliner Skizzen / Berlin Sketches – The Quality of Time and Events of a City Create a Work”, a major cultural initiative will take place in Berlin.

David Kayy, as guitarist, composer, and author, is the artistic originator and one of the central creative forces behind this interdisciplinary project.
His musical and conceptual work shapes the artistic direction of the series, exploring deep intersections between jazz, modern classical composition, and contemporary urban narratives.

A deep and sustainable artistic partnership has been established with the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg under the artistic direction of Klaus-Peter Beyer, in distinguished artistic association with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the German Symphony Orchestra Berlin (DSO) – three of Berlin’s leading orchestral institutions within a cultural-historical framework.

This cooperation underscores the sustainable and evolving nature of the Berlin Sketches concept, ensuring its artistic continuity beyond a single funding cycle.

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What is particularly unique about Abstract Views on Life?

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The musical, artistic, and art-historical foundation of this concert is of outstanding cultural interest and value. It reflects a deeply rooted process of study and research — in which David Kayy has developed an innovative and original approach to improvisation, composition, and musical creation: musical abstraction.

The scientific and creative core of this work lies in the discovery and formulation of a transfer of artistic principles — bridging the fundamental logic of abstract painting and the structures of music.
Yes — there was a hidden secret waiting to be found.

 

This led David Kayy into a highly personal artistic journey and credo, contributing to the ongoing evolution of jazz and contemporary music as a whole.

The outcome of this exploration is extraordinary, applicable, and artistically open: a new musical language that can be used by creators and performers of all levels — in composition, improvisation, performance, and arrangement.
It offers tools both to shape and create, and to develop and grow beyond the known.

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Musical abstraction – made tangible

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David Kayy has developed a new musical foundation that connects instrumental practice with visual thinking. At its core is the idea of the instrument’s “tone-generating surface” as a creative field — comparable to the pictorial art space in abstract painting. Within this space, diverse sonic, textural, and formal elements emerge as active forces in the process of musical creation.

This concept is inspired and fueled by visual art — most notably the work of Sonia Delaunay, co-founder of the Orphism movement and pioneer of abstract geometry. David Kayy calls her “the Queen of modern art … one of my historic soulmates.” Other key influences include Gerhard Richter, with his idea of perceiving reality through a “visual window,” alongside further positions in contemporary abstraction.

The David Kayy fundamentals are multi-instrumental in scope. They work directly for guitar, bass, string instruments, orchestral settings, and drums — in short, for any instrument that interacts with a tactile sound surface. Indirectly, the system can be applied to voice and all other instruments as well.

 

A detailed biography and article about David Kayy — including his work, artistic development, and relevance in performance and music research — is published by EverybodyWiki.

EverybodyWiki.en is an editorially guided cultural platform based in Paris. It highlights innovative artists and cultural thinkers and publishes their biographies, supported by targeted content and cultural advertising.

 

  

When the Fingers Speak Beyond Genre

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David Kayy reflects:
“In some parts of my work, when I truly listen to what my fingers are doing, I’m not sure — is it improvised jazz or improvised classical music? Or both? It moves me into a mental state that’s difficult to describe. Abstract jazz will shape and influence classical music, pop, rock, and film music — creatively and at a fundamental level.”

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The Foundational Research Phase (2016–2022)

Between 2016 and 2022, David Kayy developed and refined an innovative, and in parts revolutionary, school of guitar technique — along with a strategic practice system that became essential for enabling the musical content of Abstract Views on Life.

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Highlights include:

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– A technique to individualize the guitar using non-luthier, ergonomic adjustments, enabling performance in natural DNA angles — enhancing expressiveness, efficiency, and long-term health.

– New technical and structural systems for navigating musical elements on the guitar, including a melodic-speed technique and scheduling school capable of producing 65,000 notes in 100 minutes at speeds of up to 322 bpm (1/16 resolution) — each note fully articulated.

– Visual and auditory performance guidance techniques that allow the performer to “paint music” live through movement and gesture.

– A set of musical mindset tools and further fundamental innovations designed to empower musicians of all levels — across composition, improvisation, performance, and arrangement.

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Coming Soon – A Deeper Look

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For deeper insight into this unique process, tune into the upcoming TV interview and documentary podcast:
David Kayy in conversation with Anke Kahle (former BBC, now WDR) – covering music, performance, and artistic culture.

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A David Kayy Performance – A Festival Highlight

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Whether at a jazz festival, music theater, club, or symphonic venue, a David Kayy performance is designed to be a highlight of any season. Each concert is partly tailored to reflect the individual character and atmosphere of the venue or event, making every performance a unique artistic experience.

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Concert format:

“Abstract Views on Life” – 90 minutes+, 10+ original pieces.

​junctions
Junctions define so much — in life, in relationships, in destiny, and even in the flow of urban traffic.

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electric prisms (inspired by Sonia Delaunay)
The abstract painter Sonia Delaunay was born in Odessa (Ukraine) and is co-founder of the Orphism movement. The piece Electric Prism was inspired by Sonia Delaunay’s first encounter with electric light during an evening walk through Paris with her husband Robert — a moment that revealed the poetic dialogue between color, light, and movement.
In this composition, David Kayy transforms that luminous experience into sound, exploring the fascinating interplay between light, music, and art as a living, radiant language. 

View painting → Electric Prisms (Sonia Delaunay)

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waterfalls

Composed during a stay in Iceland — inspired by its majestic waterfalls and the mythical presence of the country’s elves. These natural forces became art spaces shaped by nature itself.

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tiny pictures – the blue ones

A cycle of short musical works, performed between the larger compositional pieces in concert. Like small paintings hung between the major canvases of an exhibition, they offer moments of contrast and intimacy.

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painting blues

A creation cycle exploring new forms of blues expression — NuBlues, reframed through the lens of abstraction.

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oilmill

Evokes the warm, timeless atmosphere of the Mediterranean world. A sonic space full of organic rhythm and golden light.

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right or wrong

A musical story inspired by the legendary artistic relationship between Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock — dialogue, tension, respect, and the creative unknown.

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atelier (inspired by Gerhard Richter)

A composition sparked by the magic and mystery of artist studios. The Gerhard Richter painting Atelier captures the profound, quiet energy of these creative sanctuaries — the very same spirit that animates this piece of music.

View painting → Atelier (Gerhard Richter)

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tiny pictures – the red ones

A second cycle of miniature pieces, interspersed throughout the program — now with a warmer, more vibrant energy, like red accents within an exhibition.

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no theme – it's up to you

A piece without any predefined story. One of the core ideas of abstract art: the interpretation belongs entirely to the audience.

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* General style orientation
David Kayy's musical language belongs to the lineage of traditional jazz. His work is not assigned to the avant-garde or experimental fields, but explores new ideas within the foundational aesthetics of jazz.

Educational and cultural outreach
In addition to concerts, masterclasses or community workshops can be added to support cultural or educational goals — for festivals, institutions or local audiences.
David Kayy is based in Cologne, Germany.

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The guitar
David Kayy plays an instrument built by Lester DeVoe, one of the world’s most renowned luthiers.
It features a spruce top, pau ferro body, and silver basses / nylon trebles — offering a dynamic tonal palette for expression and control.

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Musical abstraction – in practice
Throughout history, the concept of musical abstraction was often misunderstood. Many academic or historical attempts (such as Schönberg’s 12-tone system or “absolute music” in the 18th century) were later debated or proved limited in practical musical life.

David Kayy offers a fundamentally working method that brings the idea of abstraction into real, living music. Developed between 2016 and 2022, his method transfers principles of visual abstraction (e.g., from painting or sculpture) into musical creation.

The approach can be seen as a new musical creation principle and style, standing alongside other established methods such as:
– harmony ↔ melody/scales
– lyrics ↔ melody/harmony
– phonetic structures ↔ sound composition
– reinterpretation of existing music in rhythm, sound, or style

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Independent Artistic Research in Sound: David KAYY’s Creative Practice

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As an artist engaged in musical research, David KAYY exemplifies how artistic innovation emerges—not from institutional research centers as found in industry or technology, but from individual creative practice.

Unlike in the natural sciences or engineering, the world of culture and music lacks comparable research institutions with stable funding. Universities and academies typically teach the current state of knowledge—they reproduce cultural understanding rather than systematically advancing it.

True artistic research takes place through the artists themselves.

David KAYY’s work in the field of musical abstraction stands as a powerful example of innovative, independent artistic inquiry—opening new aesthetic dimensions and enriching cultural identity on a national and international level.

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A fresh counter-design

David Kayy comments:

“What I do is drastic. A freshening counter-draft to the increasingly dominant way of composing music today — by computer, by track, by grid, by screen.
Music that moves from left to right on a monitor bores me. It has nothing to do with the body, with the soul, or with the true moment of creation.”

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For musicians and music creators
A deeper insight into the research and method will be made available for composers, players, and all who are interested in music as a craft and art.

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Acknowledgment

David Kayy thanks Isabel Lange for her outstanding work.
She is a trained art historian and literature scholar, and — first and foremost — a dedicated lover of music

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