First Name

Andy

College/University:

ACM | Zurich | Switzerland & Musikhochschule | Leipzig | Germany

I am here for:

Gigs, Job Inquiries, Meet Players, Networking

Whom I want to meet:

fellow musicians

Employment Status

Self-Employed

Occupation:

saxophonist, composer, arranger, label-owner, teacher

About Me:

((grosskopf)) … who’s that? you might say that ((grosskopf)) – meaning “big head” - is a kind of funnel where you put in all kinds of influences and musical styles and out of his saxophone’s bell comes his music … jazz-funk spiced with drum’nbass and ambient sounds! in fact this stylistic description of ((grosskopf))’s work is too narrow if you look at his diverse projects and the compositions of the last years. the juries, awarding him the “leipzig jazz-award 1999”, the “art-award of the city of friedrichshafen 2002” and the scholarship for the “skidmore jazz institute new york”, did so because of the huge stylistic diversity in playing and composing.
his projects include musicians by the likes of percussionist hakim ludin, new york-based singer miles griffith, singer lois from vienna – austria, dj raphneck from leipzig and hungarian drummer kaszas peter from budapest among others.

((grosskopf)) is a player by instinct. nevertheless he’s too curious not wanting to know what that music’s about. after attending the “academy of contemporary music“ in zurich / switzerland, where he learned the basics in jazz-improvisation, he went to the college of music in leipzig / germany with a short stop at the “skidmore jazz institute” in 1995.

up to now he travelled through europe, north america and asia to play his music. these tours where promoted and organised by his booking agency (type:g)guerrilla, which he found in 2002. during these tours he didn’t only play his music but also met local musicians playing their traditional music … “music is a raw material you can work with just as you like.” that’s the answer you’ll get if you ask him, on how it’s possible to go to, let’s say kathmandu and create a mixture of traditional nepalese music and ((grosskopf))’s own roots with nepalese musicians.

asked what music means to him, he says: “freedom, energy and the joy of life!” these are the principles being important for ((grosskopf)) … nothing else counts! … also the press realised this “energetic and powerful” … “sheer soundpower” … “he’s going his own way”

in 2002 ((grosskopf)) found his own label (type:g)records to produce his music and to have the freedom to do whatever he wants to do! in the meantime about 40 songs were released by (type:g)records … and there are lots more in the ((grosskopf)) !!!


“music is the kerosene for my engine!” … so ((grosskopf)) says

Musical Background & Experience:

playing with my own groups "scrooge", "nyle" and ((grosskopf)) in germany, usa, france, kathmandu/nepal, india and coming up in april 2009 japan

cds released:
((grosskopf)) "type:g" & "file under: g"
scrooge "scrooge"
nyle "heat" & "dancing spirits"

Website:

http://www.psychoustic.de

Website:

http://www.type-g-records.de

Website:

http://www.myspace.com/psychoustic

Why I love jazz:

because it's about freedom, energy and inspiration.

Music:

...is the most inspiring experience and connects people anytime, everywhere in the world.

Top 5 Desert Island Discs:

John Coltrane "A Love Supreme"
Prince "The Gold Experience"
Miles Davis "Live Around The World"
Joe Zawinul "Faces & Places"
Maceo Parker "Live On Planet Groove"

Books:

everything by Salman Rushdie, Paul Auster and TC Boyle

Television:

commercial breaks :-)

Movies:

everything by Louis de Funes
"Burn after reading"
"Kundun"