Eugen Hahn, who has died aged 79, ran one of Europe's most significant jazz clubs, the Jazzkeller in Frankfurt for more than three decades. At the club he organised more than 200 concerts per year.

Hahn, a former bassist, grew up in Eberswalde in what was then East Germany. He emigrated to West Germany in the early-1980s and in 1986 he and his wife took over the Jazzkeller, a club that had been founded by Carlo Bohländer in 1952.

Paying tribute on social media the HR big band/Frankfurt radio big band official account noted his passing and expressed condolences: "'Eugen…oh no…that's too sad'. The first thought that came to our manager, Olaf Stötzler, at the news of Eugen Hahn's death. That deeply expresses the feelings for many of us in this moment. The Jazzkeller is a Frankfurt institution and Eugen kept it alive, was a friend and supporter of so many, including our musicians. We mourn the loss of a tireless engine of the jazz scene and a close friend.''

Further reading: a tribute by former Jazzkeller house bassist Jonas Lohse. Photo: Jazzkeller