Chris Torkewitz

saxophonist | flutist | pianist | composer

Described as "masterful, technical perfection" (Vittorio Lo Conte, Musiczoom), Chris Torkewitz has been recognized as being in the "super-skilled" class of musicians and hailed for his "commanding fluency" (Fritz Balwit, Audiophile Audition).

Torkewitz has performed at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, the Kennedy Center, and for the German embassies in Toronto, DC, and New York. He has had the extraordinary honor of performing for Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela, as well as of sharing stages with jazz legends like Bob Mintzer, Michael Brecker, Joe Lovano, and Dave Liebman.

Chris' influences range from Bird to Berg, to Afro-Cuban percussion and dance masters, and the painters Manet and Dix. All of which help Torkewitz create musical energy waves of tension and release that draw audiences into contrasting worlds.

His European performance credits include the Jazz Festival Salzburg (Austria), the Sunset-Sunside Jazzclub (Paris), the Jazz Institute Darmstadt, and the Stadtgarten Cologne (Germany). Outside the EU, Chris has toured Syria, Cuba, Canada, and Central America, thanks to sponsorships from the Embassy of Germany in Damascus, the Society for the Administration of Neighboring Rights, the German Consulate General Toronto, and the Goethe Institute.

As a collaborative artist, Chris has recorded eight albums for labels ranging from Sony Music and BMG to Mons Records and Unique Records, as well as Neuklang and Membran Music.

A skilled music educator, Chris was awarded in 2014 a professorship of popular music at the Macromedia University of Arts and Applied Sciences Freiburg, Germany. Previously, he taught on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music for both the Precollege and College Divisions.