Willi Kellers, born Wilhelm Heinrich Kellers on December 21, 1950, in Münster, Germany, is a German drummer known for his contributions to modern creative jazz and free improvisation. He studied music at the academies of Münster and Detmold before working as a theater composer in Bochum, Cologne, Hamburg, Basel, and Vienna. His breakthrough came in 1980 when he began performing in a duo with Peter Brötzmann, which led to projects with Achim Knispel, Frank Wright, Harry Miller, and Willem Breuker. From the mid-1980s onward, he collaborated with Fred Frith, Tony Oxley, and Phil Minton, and later performed in a trio with Keith and Julie Tippetts, as well as with Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky and Barre Phillips. His recordings with various ensembles include the albums Ruf der Heimat (1995), Machine Kaput (1996), boom box - jazz (2011), One for Cisco (2016), and Secrets (2020). He also toured across Europe, the United States, China, and Siberia, and his active projects include the trio Keys & Screws and the collective Kollektiv "N".
