Litty vs. Stephan is an improvising music duo based in Berlin featuring Joachim Litty on altosaxophone/bassclarinet and Peter Stephan on piano/electronics. Their repertoire includes original music as well as compositions by Karl Berger, Ornette Coleman, Carla Bley, Keith Jarrett, Sun Ra and Paul Hindemith. In addition to their acoustic setup, they incorporate electronics such as loopers, drum boxes, electric keyboards and Ableton Live.
Peter and Joachim first met in 1983 at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York, where they were nspired by the visiting musicians and the artistic freedom they encountered there. Decades later, they founded the MusicMindLab, offering workshops that explore and share these ideas. Karl Berger‘s concept of “Music Mind“ remains a constant inspiration, encouraging to develop their individual voice and follow the motto: “The more personal you are, the more universal you are.“
Litty and Stephan translated Karl‘s book “The Music Mind experience – Playing, Listening, Singing, Moving“ into German, together with Charles Petersohn. Peter and Joachim also performed on Charles‘ recent album »Children Of Zu Zu« (Compost Records).

 

Listen to some of our music on Soundcloud…

Peter Stephan
Peter plays piano and electronics. From 1980 to 1983, he studied at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock/NY, USA. During the 1980s and 1990s, he co-founded the Berlin punk-jazz group ZATOPEK and the noise band MINT, with releases on Polydor, Constrictor, Überschall, and Vielklang.
As a keyboard player, Peter developed an early interest in synthesizers and electronic music. Alongside his musical work, he combined sound and design in multimedia productions. He studied design at the Berlin University of the Arts and was a professor at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne from 1997–2026. His piano heroes are Thelonious Monk and Sun Ra.
Peter also produced two radio features about the Creative Music Studio for the German radio station NDR Info. They can be heard on Soundcloud: CMS in the 1980s, and CMS workshop in 2013. His back catalogue can be found on Discogs, with selected tracks available on Soundcloud.

Joachim Litty
Joachim plays alto saxophone and bass clarinet. From 1975 to 1979, he studied music education at the Berlin University of the Arts, followed by studies in German Literature at the Free University in Berlin. In 1982/83 he spent a year at the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock/New York, working with musicians including Karl Berger, Ingrid Sertso, Ken McIntyre, Walter Thompson, Nick Didkovsky, Paolo Moura and Naná Vasconcelos.
After returning to Berlin Joachim recorded with Die Elefanten, uTeKa Band, Tibetian Dixie and Ta Lam 11. He also taught clarinet and saxophon and led jazz ensembles for children and adults.
From 1995 to 2021, he was director of the Landesmusikakademie Berlin (Academy of Music Berlin). Today, he serves on the advisory board of the Landesmusikrat Berlin and continues to work as a band coach and jazz musician.

upcoming

04.06. 8 pm, Exploratorium Berlin

07.06,  5pm, Strandkultur Munich

 

past dates

2026
26.01.             Salon Rote Insel, Berlin

2025
24.05.2025     private even open air, Bälow

2024
20.-22.06.      Workshop Kukuna, Wuppertal
20.06.            »Ort«, Peter Kowald‘s performance space in Wuppertal