Timo Vollbrecht

Timo Vollbrecht is an internationally performing saxophonist, composer, and reeds player. Described as „luminously fine“ by the New York City Jazz Record, Timo creates a magical blend of emotional intensity and vivacious energy, resulting in a genuine sound that often depicts the sensation of flying. Based in between his home in Lower Saxony, New York and Berlin, he is particularly active in the international jazz and contemporary music scenes. As a Fulbright scholar, he holds a master’s degree in jazz saxophone from New York University where he studied with Mark Turner, Stefon Harris, and Joe Lovano.  Currently, he is an Adjunct Professor at NYU Steinhardt’s Jazz Studies Department. He is also completing his PhD with a dissertation on “Manfred Eicher & ECM Records: The Creative Process at the Intersection of Music Production, Composition, and Performance.”

With his quartet Fly Magic he combines elements from jazz, post-rock, minimalism, new music, electronic music and contemporary sound culture. Acclaimed for his rich tone and unique musical writing, Timo has released several albums as a leader and sideman and won numerous awards. Grammy-Award winning saxophonist Branford Marsalis invited him to perform with his quartet at the iconic Village Vanguard, after having collaborated at the Festival International de Port-au-Prince in Haiti. In addition, Timo has worked with legendary artists Kenny Werner, Randy Brecker, Drew Gress, and has appeared on landmark stages such as the Blue Note Jazz Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Alice Tully Hall. New York’s jazz bible Hot House hailed him as a „remarkable talent“.

In his active performing career, Timo has toured over 30 countries on five continents. He has appeared at the Winter Jazz Fest NYC, Jazz Woche Burghausen, Jazz Festival Izmir (Turkey), Danilo Perez’s Panama Jazz Festival, Festival International de Port-au-Prince (Haiti), Perth International Jazz Festival and Jazz By The Bay Festival (Australia), the Thailand International Jazz Conference in Bangkok, the Meta House in Cambodia, the SingJazz Club in Singapore, the A-Trane in Berlin, Jazz Club Unterfahrt in Munich, the Jamboree in Barcelona, the Jazz Lives in Syria Festival in Damascus, and at the Jazz Ahead Convention in Bremen. At the Frontier Center in Beijing China, Timo and his artistic partner-in-crime Keisuke Matsuno made the unique experience to collaborate with a magician. For the Goethe-Institut, Germany’s worldwide operating cultural institute, he toured the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, Asia and Australia.

Furthermore, he played with pop celebrity Robbie Williams at the Echo Awards in Berlin and together with Germany’s National Jazz Orchestra BuJazzO, he performed for legendary dance choreographer Pina Bausch.

Timo Vollbrecht derives much of his inspiration from cultural diversity, urban sounds, his extensive travels and the belief that original music can have a powerful impact on life while promoting empathy among people.

 

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