Timo Vollbrecht Trio

Saxophone/ voice & electronics/ guitar

Timo Vollbrecht is a musician who combines jazz with elements of new music, post-rock, electronics, and instrumental songwriting. He has appeared on 22 albums and on landmark stages such as the Village Vanguard, Winter Jazz Fest NYC, and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Aside from performing with Branford Marsalis, Kenny Werner, and Drew Gress, he is also a prolific bandleader who has toured over 30 countries.  His latest recordings, Fly Magic (2016) and Faces in Places (2018), have gained international acclaim, were the featured “Jazz Album of the Week” on German public radio. Vollbrecht also uses his insight as a practitioner to conduct scholarly research. He holds a Ph.D. from NYU Steinhardt where he currently teaches as part of the music faculty.

Theo Bleckmann is a GRAMMY nominated jazz vocalist and new music composer. He is a highly skilled improviser who uses his voice as an instrument. Originally from Germany, his diverse recorded work spans from albums of Weimar art songs to newly arranged songs by Charles Ives and his recent ECM-release Elegy. He has consistently appeared in the top-five spots in the DownBeat Critics’ Polls and collaborated with musicians, artists, actors and composers, including Ambrose Akinmusire, Laurie Anderson, Uri Caine, Philip Glass, John Hollenbeck, John Zorn, and, most prominently, Meredith Monk, with whom Bleckmann worked as a core ensemble member for over fifteen years.

Ben Monder is one of the world’s leading improvising guitarists. A musician in the New York City area for 30 years, he has performed with a wide variety of artists, including Lee Konitz, Andrew Cyrille, George Garzone, Paul Motian, and Maria Schneider. He also contributed guitar parts to the last David Bowie album, “Blackstar”. He was the recipient of a Doris Duke Impact Award in 2014, and a Shifting Foundation grant in 2013. He has appeared on over 200 CDs as a sideman, and has released 7 as a leader.

As a trio, Timo, Theo, and Ben will perform a set of originally composed music that interweaves acoustic sounds with electronics timbres and celebrates the art of improvisation.

Members:

Timo Vollbrecht : saxophone/ Theo Bleckmann : voice & electronics/ Ben Monder: guitar

 

Repertoire:

“Loop of Water”: Vollbrecht/“Friends”: Vollbrecht/ “Espacio”: Vollbrecht/ “Fajr”: Bleckmann, Vollbrecht, Monder/”Globos”, Bleckmann/ “Southwood Drive:  Bleckmann/ “Com Tempo”: Vollbrecht, Gurgel/ “Elegy”: Bleckmann