Achim Kaufmann
Achim Kaufmann is a Berlin-based pianist and composer.
Born into a musical family in Aachen, Germany, in 1962, he 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 three 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, will be 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, Almanaach with Almut Kühne, Matthias Schubert, Axel Dörner and Antonio Borghini, and a trio with cellist Okkyung Lee and trumpeter Axel Dörner.
In addition, Achim has played and/or recorded with Han Bennink, Chris Speed, Mark Dresser, George Lewis, Steve Swallow, Tobias Delius, Johannes Bauer, Gerry Hemingway, Wolter Wierbos, Lê Quan Ninh, Lori Freedman, Peggy Lee, Paul Rutherford, Peter Brötzmann, Thomas Lehn, Paul Lovens, Dylan van der Schyff, Tomász Stanko, Tristan Honsinger, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Mark Helias, John Hollenbeck, John Hébert, Gerd Dudek, Simon Nabatov, Misha Mengelberg, David Stackenäs, Steve Argüelles, Nils Wogram, Al Foster, Adam Nussbaum, and many more.
He was awarded the prestigious German SWR Jazz Award in 2001.
