members
Oliver Strauch


Oliver Strauch
Instruments: drums

Biography: Born in 1966. Drummer, composer and producer. Studied drums at the Musikinstitut Königstein and Freie Kunstschule Stuttgart. Since 1988 Oliver has won several awards: Newcomerpreis/Jazz des saarländischen Kultusministers, Förderpreis Stadt Saarbrücken, Solistenpreis internationaler Jazzworkshop Trier, Förderstipendium des Deutsch-Französischen Kulturrats, Paris and the Ehrendiplom-Teatro Fortaleza-Brasil. In 2005 he has been voted into The Drummer's Directory - The World greatest Drummer's. Most recently he was awarded a Professorship for jazz percussion at the Saarland University of Music

Oliver has not only made a name for himself in Germany, France and the Benelux countries but has also played and recorded with many of the European and American jazz greats. His concert appearances have included Phil Abraham, Benny Bailey, Randy Brecker, Philip Catherine, Jesse Davis, Bob Degen, Barbara Dennerlein, Marc Fosset, Dusko Goijkovitch, Scott Hamilton, Roy Hargrove, Siegfried Kessler, Lee Konitz, Paul Kuhn, Reggie Johnson, Bireli Lagrene, Tony Lakatos, Nils Landgren, Eric Lignini, Sylvain Luc, Russel Malone, Dada Moroni, Adrian Myers, Claudio Roditi, Bobby Shew, Martial Solal, Louis Stewart, Lew Tabackin, Rene Urtreger, Kenny Wheeler and Jimmy Woode.

He has toured and recorded in the U.S. in Russia, Vietnam and Brazil, the former CSSR, Poland, Hungary and Canada. He played the Slani Jazz festival (1987), the Leverkusen Jazz Days (1999), the Nancy Jazz Pulsation (2000), Django d’Or (2000), Jazz Festival Dean Benedetti in Torre di Lago (2005), Jazz Bruges (2006) and the Jazz Festival of Bansko (2007).

As composer and producer Oliver has done TV and radio work including at Redwood studios in Redwood City/San Francisco. He contributed compositions to the Theatre Trier (Oedipus, 1995), the World Heritage Site Voelklinger Huette (2002 and 2006) and a couple of (silent) movies. His latest project is the JFK-show, a multi media installation which has triggered enthusiastic reaction from its audiences as well as critics.

Albums: City Lights (Oliver Strauch Group feat. Lee Konitz; 1994), Friend-lee (with Lee Konitz; 1997), Short Stories (Oliver Strauch Trio with Philip Catherine, 2000), Organic (Oliver Strauch Group & Tony Lakatos, 2002), Joana's Waltz (Wunsch/Strauch Sextett with Kenny Wheeler; 2005), and Anatomy of a Trio (Oliver Strauch Trio and Jimmy Woode; 2005), Eine Musik namens Rilke ( Hans Mittermüller & Oliver Strauch, 2006) and Groovin high with Randy Brecker (Oliver Strauch´s Groovin' High", 2007).

Favourite CDs: Sketches of Spain and Carnegie Hall Concert (Miles Davis), A Love Supreme (J. Coltrane), Bill Evans Trio-live at the Village Vanguard, (Bill Evans), Only the Lonely (Frank Sinatra), and Edu&Tom (Edu Lobo and A.C. Jobim)

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