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Nikolaus
Member Since: 2013 | Location: Vienna | Page Views: 461About Me
Drummer abd composer
Drummer and composer Nikolaus Dolp, who has been a defining force behind the grooves of Austrian Jazz-phenomenon Shake Stew for over a decade, releases Dread, Delight and Yowzah — his first album under his own name. The distinctive, high-energy statement gains international impact through the participation of Jazz legend Billy Cobham, producer Pablo Herrasti-Fajardo, and further outstanding guest artists. Together with his quartet (Richard Koch, Stephanie Weninger, Raphael Preuschl) and around 20 musicians in total, Dolp creates a multi-layered work between jazz, funk, 70s fusion, and orchestral soundscapes. At its core lie three emotional poles: Dread, Delight, and Yowzah. Moving between melancholy and electrified alertness, the album feels like a soundtrack for a world in transition. For Dolp, it marks his most ambitious statement to date as drummer, composer, and producer, pushing beyond the boundaries of jazz into his personal cinematic sonic vision. Billy Cobham was equally impressed: “I am fascinated by your ideas and the timing for me to participate in this collaboration couldn’t be better …” Nikolaus “Niki” Dolp (*1985 in Innsbruck, Austria) is an Austrian jazz drummer, composer, producer, and music educator. Dolp studied jazz drums at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz and at the University of Music and Dance in Leipzig, graduating with distinction in 2011. In 2015, he completed a degree in cultural management in Vienna. He further attended masterclasses with Charlie Persip, Gene Jackson, J. T. Lewis, and Jimmy Cobb, and studied privately with Alphonse Mouzon and Billy Cobham, for whom he also worked as stage manager on selected tours. He quickly established himself as an individual voice in the Austrian jazz scene and is active as a drummer and composer in a wide range of projects. He is best known as a member of Shake Stew (Amadeus Austrian Music Award 2023, Deutscher Jazzpreis “Band International” 2021, German Record Critics’ Award 2020, Jazz Album of the Year 2016/Falter), GNIGLER (BAWAG PSK Next Generation Award 2015), Memplex, and as a member of the long-standing Reform Art Unit. Dolp has collaborated with international artists such as Nabyla Maan, Jamie Saft, Shabaka Hutchings, Christian Muthspiel, Naissam Jalal, Tobias Hofmann, Moppa Elliott, Ron Stabinsky, Lukas Ligeti, Andi Haberl, Wolfgang Reisinger, Wolfgang Mitterer, and Les McCann, among others. As a composer and drummer, he has also worked with choreographers including Georg Blaschke, Robert Clark, and Taoufiq Izeddiou, as well as the collective Sons of Sissy. He has contributed to productions at venues such as Landestheater Linz, Landestheater Niederösterreich, Festspielhaus St. Pölten, Musikverein Vienna, and Brucknerhaus Linz. His concert tours have taken him across Europe, Africa, Asia, North and Central America, with performances at international festivals including the Montreal Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Istanbul Jazz Festival, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and the Museum of Modern Art Hiroshima, among many others. Dolp is a co-founder of the label listen closely, as well as the festivals hoerthoert (Vienna/Salzburg) and Open Jazz Vienna. He is also active in music education, leading workshops in Austria, Mexico, Portugal, and Tunisia.
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This page was last updated on 2026-10-04.
