Theo Jörgensmann facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Theo Jörgensmann
Jörgensmann at "Kulturhalle Jülchendorf", Germany 2009
Background information
Birth name	Theodor Franz Jörgensmann
Born	(1948-09-29) 29 September 1948 (age 76) Bottrop, Germany
Genres	Modal jazz, free improvisation, avant-garde jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instruments	Clarinet
Years active	1975–present
Labels	Hathut, Konnex
Associated acts	Theo Jörgensmann Quartet, Contraband, German Clarinet Duo, Clarinet Contrast, Klarinettenquartett Cl-4, Clarinet Summit, Contact Trio

Theodor Franz Jörgensmann, born on September 29, 1948, is a famous German jazz clarinet player. He is known for his unique style of playing the clarinet in jazz and improvised music. He is considered one of the most important clarinetists in European jazz.

Theo Jörgensmann's Musical Journey

Theo Jörgensmann is part of the second group of musicians who helped create European free jazz. He played a big role in bringing the clarinet back into the spotlight in jazz and improvised music. He is one of the few clarinet players who often records solo albums, showing off his amazing skills.

Early Life and Career

Theo started playing the clarinet when he was 18 years old. From 1969 to 1972, he took private music lessons. At the same time, he began working with other musicians in the Ruhr area of Germany. Before becoming a full-time musician in 1975, he also worked as a chemical laboratory assistant.

Working with Other Musicians

Over more than thirty years, Theo Jörgensmann has played with many famous musicians. Some of these include Mike Richmond, Barre Phillips, Charlie Mariano, and Lee Konitz. He has been involved in many international music projects.

Clarinet Groups and Bands

From 1975 to 1977, Theo led a group called Clarinet Contrast. This group was special because it only had clarinets! Other members included Perry Robinson and Michel Pilz. In the early 1980s, he helped create the Clarinet Summit group with Joachim E. Berendt. This group featured other great clarinetists like John Carter and Gianluigi Trovesi.

Theo was also a member of several other bands. These included Willem van Manen's Contraband and John Fischer's Interface. He also led his own group, Klarinettenquartett Cl-4, and helped start the large Grubenklangorchester.

Theo Jörgensmann Quartet

In 1997, Theo started the Theo Jörgensmann Quartet. This group toured North America several times, including playing at the famous Montreal International Jazz Festival in 1999 and 2003. Since 2003, he has also played with the talented Polish twin brothers, Marcin and Bartlomiej Oles. Their album, Directions, was even named "Record of the Year" in 2005 by a Polish jazz magazine.

Recent Projects

Since 2008, Theo has been a member of Trio Hot. He also started the Deep Down Clarinet Duo in 2009 with contrabass clarinet player Ernst Ulrich Deuker. They also play together in the Tribal Trio. In 2011, he formed the Freedom Trio. Theo Jörgensmann has also recently started working with the Clarinet Summit group again. In 2018, he was a special guest artist at the Singers Festival Warsaw, a big festival of Jewish culture in Poland.

Theo Jörgensmann's Music and Ideas

Theo Jörgensmann has released many albums as a leader. He has also written several musical pieces and even a book about music.

Discography (Albums)

Here are some of the albums Theo Jörgensmann has released as a leader:

• In Time (1977)
• Straightout! (1978)
• Go Ahead Clarinet (1978)
• Song of BoWaGe (1979)
• You Better Fly Away with Clarinet Summit (1980)
• Next Adventure (1981)
• Deep Blue Lake with John Fischer (1984)
• Zeitverdichtung (1986)
• Tauwetter (1989)
• Introitus with Hans-Gunther Wauer (1990)
• Aesthetic Direction (1994)
• Ta Eko Mo (1997)
• So I Play (1997)
• Snijbloemen (2000)
• Pagine Gialle with Eckard Koltermann (2001)
• To Ornette - Hybrid Identity (2002)
• Fellowship (2005)
• Alchemia with Oles Brothers (2007)
• New Conception of Duo with Hagen Studemann (2010)
• Melencolia with Albrecht Maurer (2011)
• Blue in Blue with Karoly Binder (2011)
• Bucksch (2014)
• Elements in Candor with Krzysztof Dys, Michael Marcus (2016)
• Axiomatic 473’ Exploration, with Alessandro Ciccarelli and Lorenzo Santoro (2024)

Selected Compositions

Theo Jörgensmann has also composed music for different projects:

• Snijbloemen: A piece for clarinet, vibes, bass, and percussion (2000).
• Die Eroberung des Schönen (The Conquest of Beauty): An experimental opera for writers, an actor, a painter, and a musician (1995).
• Der Garten (The Garden): A dance-theater piece for dancers, clarinets, and percussion (1994).
• Hommage á Béla Bartók: Chamber music for violin, clarinet, bass clarinet, and contrabass (1994).

Ideas on Improvisation

Theo Jörgensmann also wrote a philosophical book called Kleine Ethik der Improvisation (A Small Ethic of Improvisation). In this book, he talks about how important it is for musicians to find a balance between communicating with each other and playing freely. He believes that jazz musicians discovered a "fourth dimension of time" in music, which they call "swing."

Awards and Recognition

Theo Jörgensmann has received several awards for his contributions to music:

• Art Promotion Prize of the City of Aachen (1980)
• Culture Prize of the City of Bottrop (1991)
• Jazz Prize of the Ruhrgebiet - Jazz Pott (2018)

Images for kids

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  The Tribal Trio, October 2009

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  Theo Jörgensmann Freedom Trio and Christopher Dell in 2011

See also

In Spanish: Theo Jörgensmann para niños