Joachim Ullrich (musician)

Joachim Ullrich (born May 21, 1955 in Koethen (Anhalt) ) is a German jazz saxophonist and university professor.

Live and act

Ullrich started playing the clarinet at the age of 16, but despite his interest in jazz, on the advice of his teacher, he chose a classical approach. In 1976 he began studying clarinet at the Cologne University of Music (which he was not supposed to complete). After meeting Manfred Schoof , he switched to the saxophone. In 1978 he was one of the founders of the Kölner Jazz Haus initiative. He played in the group Mandala , in Kurt Edelhagen's new orchestra and founded the Cologne Jazz House Big Band in 1979 , for which he wrote almost all the arrangements. In 1981 he was a founding member of the Cologne Saxophone Mafia , in which he still works today, and co-founded the Open Jazz House School in Cologne. Between 1982 and 1989 he directed the Rhineland-Palatinate State Youth Jazz Orchestra; he also played in Manfred Schoof's orchestra (1983 to 1988). Since 1986 his own larger projects, such as the Cologne Connection , a medium-sized ensemble, later the project Faces of the Duke (1990 to 1993, CD of the same name from 1991) and the large ensemble project It just smells funny for the Cologne Music Triennial in 1994. Furthermore, commissioned work has been created such as the music for the WDR Big Band Cologne for the opening of the new broadcasting hall, some commissioned directors, the music for the silent film Metropolis in a WDR production, but also compositions for the festival “Post this ... neo that” for a big one Ensemble and speaker based on texts by Dieter Wellershoff , as well as theater and film music.

For several years, Ullrich was a lecturer at the Cologne University of Music and the founder and head of the jazz department at the Mainz University of Music . Since 2003 he has been head of the jazz department at the Cologne University of Music.

Lexigraphic entry

• Wolf Kampmann (Ed.), With the assistance of Ekkehard Jost : Reclams Jazzlexikon . Reclam, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-15-010528-5 .

Web links

• Profile of Joachim Ullrich on the homepage of the Cologne University of Music.
• Joachim Ullrich at Discogs (English)