Torsten Maass
Torsten Maaß, a conductor, composer, arranger and freelance trumpet player from Northern Germany, is recognized today as an outstanding artist whose music is played by ensembles all over the world. He has been playing trumpet in many different genres including symphony orchestras, musicals, jazz and brass ensembles and has specialized in composing and arranging for big band and brass ensembles.
Beside his freelance activities as a trumpet player in various ensembles, he is a founding member of the Grammy-nominated Bob Brookmeyer`s New Art Orchestra in which he played from 1995 to 2011. Currently, Torsten is a member of Wolfgang Haffner's German All-Star Big Band.
Torsten has worked with many big bands including the BBC Big Band, the Bohuslän Big Band (Sweden), the Concert Jazz Orchestra-Vienna, the HR Big Band-Frankfurt, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Oslo Workshop Big Band, the Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination & Brass, the RIAS Big Band-Berlin, the Swiss Army Big Band, the Swiss Jazz Orchestra, and the SWR Big Band-Stuttgart.
In addition, Torsten composed and arranged for many international artists such as Ack van Rooyen, Al Jarreau, Brian Lynch, Butterscotch, Chuck Leavell, Clark Terry, Eddie Daniels, Fay Claassen, Jacob Collier, Jesper Thilo, Jocelyn B. Smith, Joe Gallardo, Kevin Mahogany, Marjorie Barnes, Mark Murphy, Michael Pipoquinha, Mitch Dalton, Monty Alexander, Nils Landgren, Paul Carrack, Pee Wee Ellis, Percy Sledge, Regina Carter, Sylvia Vrethammar, Tania Maria, Thomas Quasthoff, Till Brönner, Thomas Gansch, Viktoria Tolstoy, and many others.
Beside teaching and coaching youth and amateur big bands, Torsten Maaß is a guest conductor for the WDR Big Band-Cologne on a regular basis.