Tobias Klein (*Saarbrücken, Germany, 1967) moved to Amsterdam in 1990 and studied saxophone and bass clarinet at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. As a performing musician, he specializes in the alto saxophone and the low clarinets (bass- and contra bass-). His focus lies mainly on improvised music and contemporary jazz. He incorporates elements of contemporary composed music, live-electronics and techniques derived from African, Eastern European and Asian music. Tobias currently (co-)leads the groups Spinifex and Lackritz. He regularly composes for both contemporary jazz groups and chamber music ensembles. In 2010, he was awarded the North Sea Jazz Composition Commission. Tobias has toured and recorded with many outstanding musicians such as Benoît Delbecq, Marc Ducret, Jozef Dumoulin, Dr. Mysore Manjunath, B.C. Manjunath, Claudio Puntin, Timuçin Sahin, Emmanuel Scarpa, Chris Speed, Jasper Stadhouders, Raphael Vanoli, Oguz Buyukberber and Teun Verbruggen.
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"Catching that elusive energy, spontaneity and directness lies at the root of Klein's work ... He likes to keep his listeners spellbound by playing with their perception of time." Armand Serpenti, Trouw
"With soloing of utter abandon, Spinifex was still driven by idiosyncratic and complex compositional constructs, where challenging unison lines and stop/start rhythms were juxtaposed with passages of more complete freedom. Adventurous yet still with potent (albeit knotty) grooves to latch onto..."
(John Kelman, allaboutjazz.com, about Spinifex)
"The irregular rhythms in this patchwork of styles continue with relentless energy… the math metal synergy shines through the tight changes which are fascinatingly intertwined with wild solos". (Tim Sprangers, Volkskrant, about Spinifex)
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"Catching that elusive energy, spontaneity and directness lies at the root of Klein's work ... He likes to keep his listeners spellbound by playing with their perception of time." Armand Serpenti, Trouw
"With soloing of utter abandon, Spinifex was still driven by idiosyncratic and complex compositional constructs, where challenging unison lines and stop/start rhythms were juxtaposed with passages of more complete freedom. Adventurous yet still with potent (albeit knotty) grooves to latch onto..."
(John Kelman, allaboutjazz.com, about Spinifex)
"The irregular rhythms in this patchwork of styles continue with relentless energy… the math metal synergy shines through the tight changes which are fascinatingly intertwined with wild solos". (Tim Sprangers, Volkskrant, about Spinifex)
"The contradiction between languidness and a fiery energy create a constant charge. Klein’s beautiful, repetitive bass clarinet motives are razor-sharp and heart-warming. Just as in his group Knalpot, guitarist Raphael Vanoli is surrounded by electronics, and plays like a frolicking child with Klein's tender patterns. Each member of the band is constantly engaged in a quest for new dimensions of combined sonorities." (Tim Sprangers, Volkskrant, about Lackritz)
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