Till Brönner

Updating jazz by fusing it with modern forms of R&B, pop and hip-hop is what established trumpeter Till Brönner as the most famous German jazz musician of his generation.

Born in Viersen in what was then West Germany in 1971, he first fell in love with jazz after discovering the music of Charlie Parker in his early teens. He went on to study jazz trumpet in Cologne and first started playing professionally with pianist Horst Jankowski in his RIAS orchestra and went on to release his debut solo album 'Generations of Jazz' in 1994, updating bebop music with guest appearances by bass player Ray Brown and drummer Jeff Hamilton. It cemented his reputation not only as a trumpeter of outstanding technique but an imaginary, forward thinker who went on to arrange German film themes on his 1996 album 'German Songs', working both with a jazz quartet and a classical orchestra.

He made another big step in 2000 paying homage to one of his greatest trumpet heroes Chet Baker on the album 'Chattin' With Chet'. He developed another field, working in movies, initially scoring the music for the film 'Jazz Seen', a documentary about photographer William Claxton, going on to score music for other movies, most notably 'Höllentour'. He spread his wings even further collaborating with Japanese DJ Samon Kawamura and soul singers Mark Murphy and Joy Denalane, updating his style further by experimenting with electronic arrangements. It resulted in his biggest hit 'That Summer' in 2004 and he went on to collaborate with Latin musicians, fusing jazz with Brazilian bossa nova. He enjoyed further success in a light, soothing style on the 2010 album 'At the End of the Day', covering classic tracks by The Beatles, David Bowie and The Killers, featuring heavy metal band Type O Negative on a cover of the old Seals & Croft hit 'Summer Breeze'. He explored his interest in movie themes further, playing classic themes on 'The Movie Album', recorded in LA in 2014 and was back again in 2016 with The Good Life.