Markus Strothmann

History

Markus Strothmann earned his master's degree by studying the European jazz network, living in London, Dublin, and Brussels. During his research, he interviewed conservatoire jazz department heads from institutions like the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall, along with club managers. Attending concerts and taking lessons helped him grasp how jazz music and performance are structured across the continent. BBC radio’s Linley Hamilton interviewed him about the Transitions Organ Duo and his research. After completing his studies, he began teaching jazz drumset and jazz combo in the Minor Music department at the Artez Conservatory in Enschede, and also instructs at two German music schools. He performs at notable events like WDR Jazznacht in Gutersloh and Wacken. His Transitions Organ Duo, with Dutch organist John Hondorp, blended jazz’s dynamic qualities with rock’s raw edge, a style he called Razz. On the 2013 album No Idea, guitarist Jeanfrançois Prins and trumpeter Frederik Köster (a German Jazz Echo winner) joined the duo on Strothmann’s pieces “Emerald” and “No Idea,” as well as Prins’s composition “Futebol.”