“Rising Stars” was the name of an exciting series of concerts during the 1990ies that was initiated by agent Burkhard Hopper, who promised European promoters that the then unknown talents presented would soon turn out to be stars– stars that would not be playing club gigs anymore. At that time Porgy &Bess was just starting, and we felt we were not in need of a German agent to recognise new talents. So it turned out that musicians such as Dianne Krall, Mark Turner, Brad Mehldau, Hiromi (just to name a few) were playing at Jazzland and not at P&B. In retrospect, this was obviously a mistake we made, but on the other hand we were involuntarily helping Jazzland with a live-cell therapy that definitely benefitted the venerable institution. These days US-American agent Gunter Schroder of TKA – Ted Kurland probably being the major American agency and a company with which we have been cooperating for many years now – has picked up the subject again, and though I am basically still convinced that agencies do not necessarily make the best programme planners, we as well as other European partners will team up with this idea and lift the curtain for tomorrow’s stars. Welcome! CH