"Achim Kaufmann was born into a musical family in Aachen, Germany, in 1962, and became fascinated by jazz and the possibilities of improvisation as a teenager. He started writing tunes around that time. Later he studied music at the Conservatory in Cologne and also took classes with creative masters such as Dave Holland, Steve Coleman, Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis, and Steve Lacy.

From 1996 to 2009, he lived in Amsterdam where he became part of that city's internationally renowned improvised music scene.Since 2002, he has been touring internationally with the trio Kaufmann/Gratkowski/de Joode, an improvising unit which has released four CDs so far, to much critical acclaim.

In the late '90s and '00s, Achim led two groups with reed player Michael Moore: trio kamosc and gueuledeloup quartet.In 2007, he recorded kyrill, a set of compositions for piano trio featuring Valdi Kolli and Jim Black. Their follow-up cd, entitled verivyr, was released in 2011.

He has also collaborated with his wife, poet/painter Gabriele Guenther, on the audiodrama Borderline - From the Shadows of a Journey, and has written music for various chamber ensembles.In his solo work, mixed techniques are used to create a fluctuating world of sounds and gestures. Resonance and reverberation, space and density play an important role in both his solo and ensemble work.

Since his move to Berlin, he got involved in various new projects, such as the trio grünen with Robert Landfermann and Christian Lillinger, Oni Kramler (with Matthias Schubert, Antonio Borghini, and various guests), and a trio with cellist Okkyung Lee and trumpeter Axel Dörner.

In 2013, the sextet SKEIN (Kaufmann/Gratkowski/de Joode plus Richard Barrett, Okkyung Lee, and Tony Buck) had its premiere at the dOeK festival in Amsterdam and subsequently recorded for SWR radio.

He recently released duo albums with long-standing collaborators Michael Moore and Thomas Heberer.

In addition, Achim has played and/or recorded with Han Bennink, Mark Dresser, George Lewis, Steve Swallow, Tobias Delius, Wolter Wierbos, Mark Helias, Paul Rutherford, Thomas Lehn, Ab Baars, Paul Lovens, Dylan van der Schyff, Peggy Lee, Chris Speed, Tomász Stanko, Gerd Dudek, Bill Elgart, Paul Lytton, Harri Sjöström, Andrea Parkins, Harris Eisenstadt, Ingrid Laubrock, Tristan Honsinger, Shelley Hirsch, Steve Swell, Thomas Heberer, Urs Leimgruber, Roger Turner, Fay Victor, Fred Lonberg-Holm, John Hollenbeck, Bob Brookmeyer, Simon Nabatov, Lê Quan Ninh, Gerry Hemingway, John Hébert, Al Foster, Adam Nussbaum, and many more.

He was awarded the German SWR Jazz Award in 2001, and the prestigious Albert Mangelsdorff award in 2015.

"For many years, Achim Kaufmann has been one of the most inspiring and exciting personalities of the European jazz and improvisation scene. His music bears witness to great harmonic subtlety and structural depth. A brilliant pianist and composer, his reflected exploration of tradition has led him to a nuanced, contemporary sound language that encompasses poetry, energy and abstraction in equal measure." "-Julia Neupert, SWR radio

"Robert Landfermann Doublebass born 1982 in Bonn.

Studies:

1998 - 2002 Doublebass lessons in Bonn with Gunnar Plümer

2002 - 2007 Jazz-Doublebass in Cologne "Musikhochschule für Musik und Tanz"

2007 - 2009 special degree "Konzertexamen" with Prof Dieter Manderscheid

since 2011 teaching Jazz Doublebass at the Folkwang university of arts in Essenworked with:

Joachim Kühn, John Scofield, Lee Konitz, Yo-Yo Ma, Django Bates, Tomasz Stanko, Barre Philips, John Taylor, Lenine, Dave Liebman, Simon Nabatov, Chris Potter, John Hollenbecks 'Claudia Quintet', Hilmar Jensen, Urs Leimgruber, Jim Black, Peter Evans, Manfred Schoof, Tobias Delius, Achim Kaufmann, Julian Argueilles, Frank Gratkowski, Thomas Lehn, Mederic Collignon, Gerd Dudek, Stephane Guillaume, Charlie Mariano, Kinan Azmeh, Markus Stockhausen, Cino Palagliesu, Rudi Mahall, Tetsu Saitoh, Claudio Puntin, Steffen Schorn, Axel Dörner, Wolfgang Haffner, Ian Thomas, Ben Perowski, Danny Gottlieb, NDR BigBand, Rhani Krija...Concerts:

In about 50 Countries on 5 Continents:

China, Indonesia, Russia, USA, Canada, Australia, South Corea, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Dominicanian Republic, Salvador, Brasil, Bolivia, Equador, Columbia, Tunesia, Maroc, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Togo, Cote d'Ivoire, Benin, Cape Verde, Belgium, Holland, Poland, Danmark, Luxemburg, France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Zyprus, Kasachstan, Kirgistan, Bulgaria, Albania, Rumania, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway...

In famous Concerthalls:

Sydney Opera, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Mozartsaal Wien, Cité de la musique Paris, Megaron Musikis Athen, L'auditori Barcelona, Symphony Hall Birmingham, Theatre Marni Brussels, "stone" NYC, Beethovenhaus Bonn, Bozar Brussels, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Brucknerhaus Linz, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Philharmony Essen, Philharmony Cologne, Philharmony Luxemburg, Filharmonia Krakowska, Krzysztof Penderecki Centre for Music, NOSPR Concert Hall Katowice, Konserthuset Stockholm...

On national and international Festivals:

Vancouver Jazzfestival, North-Sea-festival, JazzNow Sydney, Kopenhagen Jazzfestival, Jazzfest Berlin, Casa del Jazz Rom, London Jazzfestival, Glasgow Jazzfestival, JazzNoJazz Zürich, 12points! 2010 Stavanger Norway, 12points! 2008 Dublin, Moers Jazzfestival, Jazz.pt Lissabon, Duketown Festival s'Hertogenbosch, Coimbra Jazzfestival, The Hague Den Haag, Portalegre Jazzfestival, Salzau Jazz-Baltica, Jazzfestival Burghausen, INNtöne, Leverkusener Jazztage, Elbjazz, Hamburger Jazztage, Münster Jazzfestival, Jazzrallye Düsseldorf, Traumzeit Festival, Gnaua festival Essauira...Awards:

SWR-Jazzpreis 2014

NRW-Förderpreis 2013

WDR-Jazzpreis 2009

New German Jazzaward 2009 with Frederik Köster Quartett

Horst und Gretl-Will Stipendium - Culture-Price of the City of Cologne 2009

German Member of the European Jazz Orchestra connected to the EBU in 2008"

"Christian Lillinger (born April 21, 1984 in Lübben ) is a drummer, composer and percussionist of modern creative style and new improvisational music.

Lillinger studied at the University of Music Carl Maria von Weber Dresden at Günter Sommer from 2000 to 2004. Between 2001 and 2003 he was a member of the Bundesjugendjazzorchester.

Lillinger plays in the trio Gropper | Graupe | Lillinger, until 2015 under the name Hyperactive Kid, with the saxophonist Philipp Gropper and the guitarist Ronny Graupe, where he is largely confined to the conventional drum kit. In 2008, he composed his first band Christian Lillingers Grund, whose first two released albums were released at Clean Feed Records at the end of 2009 and 2013. In addition Lillinger works as a sideman with well-known musicians such as Rolf Kühn, Joachim Kühn, Miroslav Vitouš, Beat Furrer, Rudi Mahall, John Schröder, Barre Phillips, Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, Wadada Leo Smith, Frank Gratkowski, Simon Nabatov, Tobias Delius and Axel Dörner, Thomas Lehn, Michael Wollny, Louis Scyvis, Bruno Chevillon, David Liebman, Edmund Lehmugruber, Theo Jörgensmann, John Edwards, Greg Cohen, William Parker, Joe Lovano and Tony Malaby. Since 2004 he has been working continuously in the EUPHORIUM, the international ensemble of contemporary performing arts and music around the Leipzig-based Oliver Schwerdt, especially in the trio with Schwerdt alias Elan Pauer and Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky. Since 2009, Lillinger has also been working in the Klaviertrio Grünen with Achim Kaufmann and Robert Landfermann, who presented a first album on the Portuguese label Clean Feed Records in 2010. Since 2010, Lillinger has also worked in the trio Dell Lillinger Westergaard, which also performed with John Tchicai. In 2011 he founded the Trio Starlight with Petter Eldh and Wanja Slavin, who moved his debut CD 2013 to the Swiss label Unit Records. With Eldh and Slavin he also founded the Quartet Amok Amor with the American trumpeter Peter Evans, who released his first album of the same name in 2015.

Lillinger is also a member of the following groups: Rolf Kühn Unit, Henrik Walsdorff Trio, Pascal Niggenkempervision 7, Ronny Graupes Spoom, Schmittmenge Meier, Marc Schmolling Trio, Wanja Slavin Quintett, Carl Ludwig Hübschs Drift, Hübschacht, Uwe Steinmetz Stream Ensemble, The upper class, Ember, Gerhard Gschlößl's group of four, Gerhard Gschlößls G9, KUU! And also plays with Joachim Kühn in trio.

From 2012 to 2013, Christian Lillinger was a member of the board of the Union of German Jazzmusicians."