Theo Bleckmann
A jazz singer and new music composer of eclectic tastes and prodigious gifts, Theo Bleckmann makes music that is accessibly sophisticated, unsentimentally emotional, and seriously playful. His iconoclastic approach blurs boundaries, surprises expectations, and leaves listeners feeling like the world is a bit bigger, weirder, and more interesting than they thought.
Unconstrained by genre, Bleckmann brings his adventurous sensibility to re-imagining songs from the likes of Henry Purcell, Charles Ives, George Gershwin and Kurt Weil to Kate Bush, Massive Attack and the Bee Gees. He’s discussed his joyful, experimental approach to genre and technique with Terry Gross on NPR’s Fresh Air, has been nominated for Grammy Awards in jazz and classical categories, and is the recipient of the prestigious Jazz Echo award in his native Germany. He’s recently toured in Europe performing with both the Oulu Symphony Orchestra and UMO Jazz Big Band, and will tour in Japan this summer with orchestra, performing music by Joe Hisaishi.
Bleckmann is equally recognized for his distinct and evocative original work across two decades’ worth of influential albums – recent examples include the aching and luminous Elegy, on ECM, and the delightful, propulsive 12 Easy Songs, commissioned by National Sawdust, based on found texts uncovered on walks around
Bleckmann’s longtime home of downtown New York City (album release forthcoming 2026.) His second solo release on ECM is due later this year. Bleckmann is a sought-after collaborator, working with a stellar and wildly diverse roster of talent that includes Ambrose Akinmusire, Laurie Anderson, Philip Glass, John Hollenbeck, Kneebody, Ulysses Owens, The Westerlies, John Zorn, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars. He maintains longstanding creative relationships with jazz luminary Sheila Jordan, guitar phenom Ben Monder, and avant-garde trailblazer Meredith Monk, recently performing in Monk’s 2024 blockbuster at the Park Avenue Armory, Indra’s Net.
His pure and daring voice has inspired compositions by, among others, Phil Kline, Ikue Mori, and Julia Wolfe. Pulitzer-Prize winner David Lang’s chamber opera Note to a Friend, commissioned by the Japan Society and directed by the legendary Yoshi Oida, was composed explicitly for Bleckmann’s unique sound and sensibility.
