Biography
German clarinetist and composer Theo Jörgensmann ranks among the most forward-thinking free improvisers of his generation on the instrument. His approach merges introspective chamber jazz with subtle echoes of modal hard bop. Born in 1948, he entered the recording studio for the first time during the final years of the 1970s, releasing the quintet date Go Ahead Clarinet in 1978 and the quartet session Song of Vowage the following year, both on CMP.
Throughout the closing phase of the 1980s and the opening years of the 1990s, Jörgensmann performed with the Dutch experimental big band Contraband while simultaneously directing the Werkschau Ensemble, a unit that included violinist Albrecht Maurer and percussionist Achim Krämer. That ensemble documented its work on the 1993 Konnex album Aesthetic Direction. He subsequently assembled a standing quartet featuring vibist Christopher Dell, bassist Christian Ramond, and drummer Klaus Kugel, a group that proved instrumental in introducing his music to a broader international audience within improvised music circles.
The quartet’s debut recording, Ta Eko Mo, appeared on Z.o.o. in 1997 and drew favorable critical notice; the following year the same lineup collaborated with veteran trumpeter Kenny Wheeler. The year 1999 marked a decisive breakthrough: the ensemble’s inaugural hatOLOGY release, Snijbloemen, brought Jörgensmann his greatest visibility to date and again earned widespread praise. That same year he brought the quartet to North America for appearances at Vancouver’s Du Maurier Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival, and he also cut two albums in tandem with poet Michael Klaus.
His subsequent endeavor paired him with bass clarinetist Eckard Koltermann under the name German Clarinetduo; together they issued Pagine Gialle on hatOLOGY in 2001.
Throughout the closing phase of the 1980s and the opening years of the 1990s, Jörgensmann performed with the Dutch experimental big band Contraband while simultaneously directing the Werkschau Ensemble, a unit that included violinist Albrecht Maurer and percussionist Achim Krämer. That ensemble documented its work on the 1993 Konnex album Aesthetic Direction. He subsequently assembled a standing quartet featuring vibist Christopher Dell, bassist Christian Ramond, and drummer Klaus Kugel, a group that proved instrumental in introducing his music to a broader international audience within improvised music circles.
The quartet’s debut recording, Ta Eko Mo, appeared on Z.o.o. in 1997 and drew favorable critical notice; the following year the same lineup collaborated with veteran trumpeter Kenny Wheeler. The year 1999 marked a decisive breakthrough: the ensemble’s inaugural hatOLOGY release, Snijbloemen, brought Jörgensmann his greatest visibility to date and again earned widespread praise. That same year he brought the quartet to North America for appearances at Vancouver’s Du Maurier Festival and the Montreal Jazz Festival, and he also cut two albums in tandem with poet Michael Klaus.
His subsequent endeavor paired him with bass clarinetist Eckard Koltermann under the name German Clarinetduo; together they issued Pagine Gialle on hatOLOGY in 2001.
Albums
