Updated: May 25, 2023
Born: May 13, 1975
Jochen Rueckert is a Jazz drummer, composer, band leader, and Oxford Comma-enthusiast born in Germany in 1975, currently residing in New York City.
Besides a decade of touring with his own quartet with Mark Turner, Lage Lund, and Matt Penman, Jochen is known for his work in 12 years of the Marc Copland trio, the mid-2000 Kurt Rosenwinkel New Quartet, all of Nils Wogram's Root 70, recent work with the Melissa Aldana trio and Fred Hersch, his electronic music programmed under the alias "Wolff Parkinson White", as well as his series of ebooks aptly titled "Read the Rueckert- travel observations and pictures of hotel rooms".
Jochen's deliberate avoidance of formal music education, albeit initially for budgetary reasons, provides a great lack of erudite nonsense in his playing and writing.
He's celebrating his 5th album as a leader, titled Stars and Garters.
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All About Jazz Articles
Henry Hey: Trio: Ri-Metos
by Dan McClenaghan
Henry Hey's name may be unfamiliar to some--he is more of a collaborator than a headline hog--but a good percentage of us have heard his music. He played piano for Rod Stewart during the singer's Great American Songbook phase, and he contributed to David Bowie's 2013 comeback album, The Next Day (Columbia Records), served as musical director for George Michael and has co-written songs for Australian electronics music duo Empire of the Sun. And throw in some soundtracks for popular ...
read moreJochen Rueckert: With Best Intentions
by Dan Bilawsky
This stellar sixth album from Jochen Rueckert extends on some musical friendships while offering a fresh format and new palette. Having previously delivered his notable Introduction (Lipstick-Jazzline, 1998) some 25 years ago, greased the grooves on an appealing organ trio session with guests, and drawn notice with guitar-driven gusto on several quartet dates, this German-born, New York-based drummer-of-note now shifts focus and finds success with a chordless quintet. After developing a renewed interest in more open-ended ...
read moreFred Hersch: Breath By Breath
by John Chacona
Why is Fred Hersch not sufficiently mentioned among the great jazz pianists? It could be a generational thing. At 66, Hersch is an eminent tweener, too old to qualify as the Hot New Thing and too young to be an Elder Statesman. He's in good company there with fellow sexagenarians Myra Melford, Satoko Fujii, Uri Caine, Jean-Michel Pilc and Matthew Shipp. It's true that Hersch's contemporaries Geri Allen, Mulgrew Miller and Kenny Kirkland have entered the pantheon (and Frank Kimbrough ...
read moreFred Hersch: Breath By Breath
by Pierre Giroux
The intellectual and musical curiosity that inspires the work of pianist Fred Hersch is broad and deep. Validation of this is in his current release Breath By Breath which is informed by his early piano education and listening to string quartets, supported more recently by his advocacy of meditation as a way manage external factors beyond one's control. In the liner notes, Hersch encourages listeners to take the time to attend the eight-movement “Sati Suite" in ...
read moreMiki Yamanaka: Human Dust Suite
by Mike Jurkovic
Becoming increasingly known for her light, expressive touch, her solidly crafted, mainstream approach, and residencies at New York clubs like Smalls and Mezzrow, Kobe-born, New York-based pianist Miki Yamanaka brings a decisively more leavened gravity and a growing harmonic interest and prowess on vibes to Human Dust Suite, a seasoned follow-up to her widely recognized debut Miki (Cellar Live, 2018). Perhaps toughened up by her work with the ever-evolving Roxy Coss on the saxophonist's exemplary outing Quintet (Posi-Tone ...
read moreJochen Rueckert: Fringe Guy
by Leo Sidran
In this wide ranging podcast interview, drummer Jochen Rueckert meditates on his early years in Germany, his time playing with Marc Copeland and later with Will Vinson, why playing with great bass players is like eating great pasta (especially true with Matt Penman), refusing to share hotel rooms, why he is a reluctant teacher, what Lage Lund's daughter thinks of his electronic music project, the rare innate heart condition he suffers from, how to groove with organ players, booking tours, ...
read moreJochen Rückert Quartet at Hong Kong Arts Centre
by Rob Garratt
Jochen Rückert Quartet with Lage Lund, Mark Turner and Matt Penman Hong Kong Arts Centre Jazz World Live Series Hong Kong June 17, 2019 Jochen Rückert's career has clearly shifted up a gear. “I recently joined the class of professional artists that always travels with a permanent marker," the drummer tells the audience at Hong Kong Arts Centre. “It now lives right there in my stick bag," he guffaws jovially, with a warm ...
read moreArticles Across the Web
...or were mentioned in an All About Jazz article.
" highly personalized breezy slice of hard-swinging fun" - Modern Drummer Magazine
"Jochen Rückert's career has clearly shifted up a gear" - All About Jazz
"The group played masterfully, performing Rueckert's compositions with authority and refinement." - Do the Gig
"there's often a kindred and appealing combination of quirkiness and catchiness.... Excellent" - Ottawa Citizen
"Melodies that have a habit of insinuating themselves deep in your head" - Downbeat
Miles Davis
trumpet
Art Farmer
flugelhorn
Lee Konitz
saxophone, alto
Charlie Haden
bass, acoustic
John Abercrombie
guitar
Paul Desmond
saxophone, alto
Donny McCaslin
saxophone, tenor
Jonathan Kreisberg
guitar
Phil Woods
saxophone, alto
Milt Jackson
vibraphone
Mike Moreno
guitar
Ari Hoenig
drums
Mick Goodrick
guitar, electric
Stefon Harris
vibraphone
Jimmy Garrison
bass, acoustic
Ron Affif
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