Jörg Brinkmann

Young, classically trained string players with big, wide open ears have greatly enriched Dutch improvised music in the past years. One of them is the German cellist Jörg Brinkmann (1976), who has studied at the Arnhem conservatory. Just like the members of the ZAPP! string quartet, whom he frequently plays with, he get his inspiration from anywhere; for him the ‘jazz’ label is also too limiting. Brinkmann is equally capable of making essential contributions to pop bands, theatre orchestras or chamber music ensembles. Building on the technical innovations of improvising jazz musicians, he can deploy his cello as a (rhythm) guitar, or as a bass that lays down funk accents or swings in four-four time. When he colors the sound of his instrument with electronics, it’s done in a subtle and tasteful way. In his playing and his compositions a perfect fusion takes place of structure and personal variations, of cleanly bowed lyricism and lively rhythms, in which he doesn’t shy away from unusual time signatures either.
His musical character is faithfully expressed in his own trio with pianist Oliver Maas and percussionist Dirk-Peter Kölsch, with whom he recorded the album Ha! for ACT. In addition, he’s worked with Martin Fondse’s Starvinsky Orkestar, Michiel Braam’s Bik Bent Braam and many other adventurous jazz soloists.