Torsten de Winkel
Encyclopedia
Torsten de Winkel is a German musician and composer primarily active in the jazz
and world music
genres. He is widely known as an electric and acoustic guitarist
, but also records and performs on electric sitar
, keyboards
and various percussion instruments.
in La Paz
, Bolivia
where his father worked for the UN. He proceeded to teach himself guitar and jazz improvisation and attended the Hoch Conservatory
in Frankfurt, Germany for a brief period.
At the age of 19, he became the youngest artist ever to be given complete creative control by a major label with the release of "Mastertouch", his debut recording, on which he collaborated with Michael Brecker
, Billy Cobham
, Kai Eckhardt
, Ernie Watts
, Alphonse Mouzon
, Hellmut Hattler, Joachim Kühn
and various other internationally renowned instrumentalists, setting a new standard for young musicians in his home country later to be followed by artists such as the successful trumpeter Till Brönner
.
Upon an invitation by Steve Smith
and Tom Coster
, musicians from multi-platinum bands Santana
and Journey
, to become successor to Mike Stern
and Frank Gambale
in their co-led group Vital Information
, de Winkel moved to the U.S.. He accepted a full scholarship from the Berklee College of Music
in Boston where he also began psychological as well as philosophical studies and graduated summa cum laude. Since, he has toured and/or recorded with an unusually broad spectrum of artists including the Pat Metheny Group
(Secret Story), Whitney Houston
, Grandmaster Flash
, Joe Zawinul
, Ravi Coltrane
, Al Foster
, Larry Grenadier
, Gwilym Simcock
and many others. He can also be heard on all ten CDs of the German vanguard electronic jazz duo Tab Two and continues to tour and record with Hattler, the group of former Kraan
head Hellmut Hattler. This group won the Echo Award, the German equivalent of the Grammy Award, for best jazz album in 2001.
Disenchanted with the common chord scale theory didactics, de Winkel has developed an alternative approach to teaching improvisation. Under the title Training Intuition this approach considers recent developments in learning psychology and in the neurosciences. De Winkel has conducted courses, master classes and clinics at various international institutions, among them the Musikhochschule Hamburg, the University of Northern Iowa, the Musicians Institute Los Angeles and the Berufsfachschule für Musik in Krumbach/Schwaben. De Winkel is also active in the field of neurophilosophy
. His interdisciplinary work on human sustainability and globalization
has been presented at various conferences and events around the world.
Since 2005, Torsten de Winkel is the musical director of the UNESCO
-endorsed Bimbache openART Festival and Global Initiative, an ambitious effort at creating a platform which seeks to bridge traditional divides, both on a musical and human level, in a globalizing world.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
genres. He is widely known as an electric and acoustic guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, but also records and performs on electric sitar
Electric sitar
An electric sitar is a kind of electric guitar designed to mimic the sound of the traditional Indian instrument, the sitar. Depending on the manufacturer and model, these instruments bear varying degrees of resemblance to the traditional sitar...
, keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
and various percussion instruments.
Biography
At the age of 10, de Winkel picked up the CharangoCharango
The charango is a small Andean stringed instrument of the lute family, 66 cm long, traditionally made with the shell of the back of an armadillo. Primarily played in traditional Andean music, and is sometimes used by other Latin American musicians. Many contemporary charangos are now made with...
in La Paz
La Paz
Nuestra Señora de La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, as well as the departmental capital of the La Paz Department, and the second largest city in the country after Santa Cruz de la Sierra...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
where his father worked for the UN. He proceeded to teach himself guitar and jazz improvisation and attended the Hoch Conservatory
Hoch Conservatory
Dr. Hoch’s Konservatorium - Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on September 22, 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for music and the arts was established for all age groups. ...
in Frankfurt, Germany for a brief period.
At the age of 19, he became the youngest artist ever to be given complete creative control by a major label with the release of "Mastertouch", his debut recording, on which he collaborated with Michael Brecker
Michael Brecker
Michael Leonard Brecker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Acknowledged as "a quiet, gentle musician widely regarded as the most influential tenor saxophonist since John Coltrane," he has been awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer and was inducted into Down Beat Jazz...
, Billy Cobham
Billy Cobham
William C. Cobham is a Panamanian American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader, who has called Switzerland home since the late 1970s....
, Kai Eckhardt
Kai Eckhardt
Kai Eckhardt is a German musician and composer who plays bass, best known for his work with John McLaughlin, Vital Information, the band he co-founded Garaj Mahal and Billy Cobham...
, Ernie Watts
Ernie Watts
Ernest James "Ernie" Watts is an American jazz and rhythm and blues musician. He plays saxophone and flute. He might be best known for his work with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and his Grammy Awards as an instrumentalist...
, Alphonse Mouzon
Alphonse Mouzon
Alphonse Mouzon is a well-known jazz-fusion drummer and percussionist, and the Chairman/CEO of Tenacious Records. He also composes, arranges and produces, as well as acts...
, Hellmut Hattler, Joachim Kühn
Joachim Kühn
-Biography:Kühn was a musical prodigy and made his debut as a concert pianist, having studied classical piano and composition with Arthur Schmidt-Elsey. Influenced by his elder brother, clarinetist Rolf Kühn, he simultaneously got interested in jazz. In 1961 he became a professional jazz musician....
and various other internationally renowned instrumentalists, setting a new standard for young musicians in his home country later to be followed by artists such as the successful trumpeter Till Brönner
Till Brönner
Till Brönner is a German jazz musician, trumpet player, singer, composer, arranger and producer. He has a unique jazz approach influenced by bebop and fusion jazz, but also modern pop music, movie soundtracks , country music and even German pop songs...
.
Upon an invitation by Steve Smith
Steve Smith (musician)
Steve Elliott Smith is an American drummer who has worked with hundreds of artists in his career, but is mostly known for being the drummer of the rock band Journey during their peak years of success. Modern Drummer magazine readers voted him the #1 All-Around Drummer five years in a row...
and Tom Coster
Tom Coster
Tom Coster is an American keyboardist and composer. Detroit-born and San Francisco-raised, Coster played piano and accordion as a youth, continuing his studies through college and a productive five-year stint as a musician in the U.S...
, musicians from multi-platinum bands Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
and Journey
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
, to become successor to Mike Stern
Mike Stern
Mike Stern is an American jazz guitarist. After playing for a few years with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he landed a gig with Billy Cobham and then broke through with Miles Davis' comeback band from 1981 to 1983, and again in 1985. Since then, he launched a solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums...
and Frank Gambale
Frank Gambale
Frank Gambale is an Australian jazz fusion guitarist. He has released eleven studio albums over a period of more than two decades, and is renowned for his use of the sweep picking and economy picking techniques.-Recording career:...
in their co-led group Vital Information
Vital Information
Steve Smith and Vital Information is an American jazz fusion group led by drummer Steve Smith.Vital Information was formed from the two groups, Frank Keyboard and The Keyboards and Pennywhistle Pokkett, both massively influential on the jazz and blues scene, by Steve Smith in 1983 with friends Tim...
, de Winkel moved to the U.S.. He accepted a full scholarship from the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston where he also began psychological as well as philosophical studies and graduated summa cum laude. Since, he has toured and/or recorded with an unusually broad spectrum of artists including the Pat Metheny Group
Pat Metheny Group
The Pat Metheny Group is a jazz group founded in 1977. The core members of the group are guitarist and bandleader Pat Metheny, composer, keyboardist and pianist Lyle Mays , and bassist and producer Steve Rodby...
(Secret Story), Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...
, Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....
, Joe Zawinul
Joe Zawinul
Josef Erich Zawinul was an Austrian-American jazz keyboardist and composer.First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with trumpeter Miles Davis, and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion, an innovative musical genre that combined jazz with...
, Ravi Coltrane
Ravi Coltrane
Ravi Coltrane is an American post-bop jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced artists such as pianist Luis Perdomo , guitarist David Gilmore and trumpeter Ralph Alessi....
, Al Foster
Al Foster
Al Foster is an American jazz drummer. Foster played with Miles Davis's large funk fusion group in the 70s, was one of the few people to have contact with Miles during his retirement, and was also part of his comeback album The Man With the Horn of 1981...
, Larry Grenadier
Larry Grenadier
Larry Grenadier is an American jazz double bassist.His father, Albert, was a trumpet player, and his two brothers, Phil and Steve, would eventually play trumpet and guitar respectively. Grenadier too began on trumpet when he was 10 years old. His father taught him to read music and gave him his...
, Gwilym Simcock
Gwilym Simcock
Gwilym Simcock is a British pianist and composer working in both jazz and classical music, and often blurring the boundaries of the two....
and many others. He can also be heard on all ten CDs of the German vanguard electronic jazz duo Tab Two and continues to tour and record with Hattler, the group of former Kraan
Kraan
Kraan is a German band based in Ulm and formed in 1970. It had several minor hits through the 1970s and 1980s. After a break of ten years, the group reunited in 2000...
head Hellmut Hattler. This group won the Echo Award, the German equivalent of the Grammy Award, for best jazz album in 2001.
Disenchanted with the common chord scale theory didactics, de Winkel has developed an alternative approach to teaching improvisation. Under the title Training Intuition this approach considers recent developments in learning psychology and in the neurosciences. De Winkel has conducted courses, master classes and clinics at various international institutions, among them the Musikhochschule Hamburg, the University of Northern Iowa, the Musicians Institute Los Angeles and the Berufsfachschule für Musik in Krumbach/Schwaben. De Winkel is also active in the field of neurophilosophy
Neurophilosophy
Neurophilosophy or philosophy of neuroscience is the interdisciplinary study of neuroscience and philosophy. Work in this field is often separated into two distinct methods. The first method attempts to solve problems in philosophy of mind with empirical information from the neurosciences...
. His interdisciplinary work on human sustainability and globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
has been presented at various conferences and events around the world.
Since 2005, Torsten de Winkel is the musical director of the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
-endorsed Bimbache openART Festival and Global Initiative, an ambitious effort at creating a platform which seeks to bridge traditional divides, both on a musical and human level, in a globalizing world.
As Leader
- 1985; Mastertouch (with Michael BreckerMichael BreckerMichael Leonard Brecker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Acknowledged as "a quiet, gentle musician widely regarded as the most influential tenor saxophonist since John Coltrane," he has been awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer and was inducted into Down Beat Jazz...
, Kai EckhardtKai EckhardtKai Eckhardt is a German musician and composer who plays bass, best known for his work with John McLaughlin, Vital Information, the band he co-founded Garaj Mahal and Billy Cobham...
, Billy CobhamBilly CobhamWilliam C. Cobham is a Panamanian American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader, who has called Switzerland home since the late 1970s....
, Joachim KühnJoachim Kühn-Biography:Kühn was a musical prodigy and made his debut as a concert pianist, having studied classical piano and composition with Arthur Schmidt-Elsey. Influenced by his elder brother, clarinetist Rolf Kühn, he simultaneously got interested in jazz. In 1961 he became a professional jazz musician....
, Ernie WattsErnie WattsErnest James "Ernie" Watts is an American jazz and rhythm and blues musician. He plays saxophone and flute. He might be best known for his work with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and his Grammy Awards as an instrumentalist...
, Hellmut HattlerHellmut HattlerHellmut Hattler is a German jazz and bass player. Hattler took much of his influence from Jimi Hendrix. As a child he learned to play the violin, and in the 1960s played the guitar. Joining Peter Wolbrandt's band marked the debut of his changeover to the bass...
, Alphonse MouzonAlphonse MouzonAlphonse Mouzon is a well-known jazz-fusion drummer and percussionist, and the Chairman/CEO of Tenacious Records. He also composes, arranges and produces, as well as acts...
, Nippy NoyaNippy NoyaNippy Noya is a Europe-based Indonesian percussionist and songwriter, specialising in congas, Kalimba, bongos, Campana, Güiro, Cabasa, shek, Caxixi, triangle and the Berimbau....
) - 1989: Humanimal Talk (with Naná VasconcelosNaná VasconcelosNaná Vasconcelos is a Brazilian Latin jazz percussionist, vocalist and berimbau player, most notable for his works with Pat Metheny, Don Cherry, Egberto Gismonti, and Gato Barbieri....
, Hellmut HattlerHellmut HattlerHellmut Hattler is a German jazz and bass player. Hattler took much of his influence from Jimi Hendrix. As a child he learned to play the violin, and in the 1960s played the guitar. Joining Peter Wolbrandt's band marked the debut of his changeover to the bass...
, Kai EckhardtKai EckhardtKai Eckhardt is a German musician and composer who plays bass, best known for his work with John McLaughlin, Vital Information, the band he co-founded Garaj Mahal and Billy Cobham...
, Joel Rosenblatt) - 1991: Acoustic Quartet Live (with Bob Moses, Larry GrenadierLarry GrenadierLarry Grenadier is an American jazz double bassist.His father, Albert, was a trumpet player, and his two brothers, Phil and Steve, would eventually play trumpet and guitar respectively. Grenadier too began on trumpet when he was 10 years old. His father taught him to read music and gave him his...
, Ole Mathisen) - 1993: Tribute: Talking To The Spirits (with Bob Moses, Larry GrenadierLarry GrenadierLarry Grenadier is an American jazz double bassist.His father, Albert, was a trumpet player, and his two brothers, Phil and Steve, would eventually play trumpet and guitar respectively. Grenadier too began on trumpet when he was 10 years old. His father taught him to read music and gave him his...
, Ole Mathisen) - 1997: Long Time Coming (with Al FosterAl FosterAl Foster is an American jazz drummer. Foster played with Miles Davis's large funk fusion group in the 70s, was one of the few people to have contact with Miles during his retirement, and was also part of his comeback album The Man With the Horn of 1981...
, Buster WilliamsBuster WilliamsCharles Anthony Williams is an American jazz bassist.-Biography:Williams has gained prestige among jazz musicians as a solid supportive player. Since the early 1960s, he has made subtle swing, a precise rhythm and superb technique the landmark of his playing...
, Sasi Shalom, Ravi ColtraneRavi ColtraneRavi Coltrane is an American post-bop jazz saxophonist. Co-owner of the record label RKM Music, he has produced artists such as pianist Luis Perdomo , guitarist David Gilmore and trumpeter Ralph Alessi....
, Jill Seifers) - 1998: New York Jazz Guerrilla - Method To The Madness *part 1 (with Michael BreckerMichael BreckerMichael Leonard Brecker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Acknowledged as "a quiet, gentle musician widely regarded as the most influential tenor saxophonist since John Coltrane," he has been awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer and was inducted into Down Beat Jazz...
, Lyle MaysLyle MaysLyle Mays is an American jazz pianist and composer from Wausaukee, Wisconsin. He is best known for his work with guitarist Pat Metheny as a member of the Pat Metheny Group...
, Matt Garrison, Gary PeacockGary PeacockGary Peacock is an American jazz double-bassist.-Biography:After military service in Germany, in the early sixties he worked on the west coast with Barney Kessel, Bud Shank, Paul Bley and Art Pepper, then moved to New York. He worked there with Bley, the Bill Evans trio , and Albert Ayler's trio...
and many others) - 2006: Live at the Blue Note and Other Rough Cuts (with Gwilym SimcockGwilym SimcockGwilym Simcock is a British pianist and composer working in both jazz and classical music, and often blurring the boundaries of the two....
, Audun Waage, Tobias Backhaus, Hanns Höhn) - 2008: Bimbache Jazz y Raíces - La Condición Humana (with Gregoire MaretGregoire MaretGrégoire Maret was born in 1975 in Geneva, Switzerland. He began playing the harmonica at the age of 17. He graduated from high school in 1994....
, Boris Kozlov, María Mérida, Nantha Kumar, Audun Waage, Gwilym SimcockGwilym SimcockGwilym Simcock is a British pianist and composer working in both jazz and classical music, and often blurring the boundaries of the two....
, Tobias Backhaus and others)
With other artists
- Pat Metheny: Secret Story Live (DVD / LD) / Tonight Show with Jay Leno
- Steve Smith’s Vital Information: Fia Fiaga (Sony Columbia) / VitaLive (as composer)
- Aziza Mustafa Zadeh & Bill Evans, Omar Hakim a.o.: Inspiration (Sony)
- Alphonse Mouzon: The Sky Is The Limit / Love Songs And Ballads
- The Tab Two: Flagman Ahead / Belle Affaire / Sonic Tools / Tab Two (all Virgin) / Mind Movie / Space Case / Hip Jazz / Between Us / Live (all Polydor)
- Hellmut Hattler: Heartware (Vielklang) / No Eats Yes (Polydor) / Bass Cuts / The Big Flow / Live Cuts / Gotham City Beach Club Suite (all Bassball)
- XXL: El Jazz Latino (Sony) / The Funky Stuff (Sony)
- Core 22: Nuance (BMG)
- Deep Dive Corp.: Beware Of Fake Gurus
- Kike Perdomo: AC&Funk
- Carola Grey: Drum Attack!
- Various Artists: Basstorius (with Matt Garrison) / Mysterious Voyages - A Tribute To Weather Report (with Scott Kinsey)
External links
- http://www.torstendewinkel.de
- http://www.myspace.com/torstendewinkel
- http://www.bimbache.info
- http://www.nyjg.org