Steffen Schorn

Biography

Schorn started learning trumpet in 1973. Two years later, he began to compose and changed his instrument to saxophone as an autodidact. He was a member of Landesjugendjazzorchester Baden-Würtemberg from 1986 to 1990, a member of Bundesjugendorchester in the field of classical music from 1986 to 1988 and a member of Bundesjugendjazzorchester from 1987 to 1991. From 1988 to 1992, he studied at the Hochschule für Musik Köln. At the same time from 1990 nto 1996, he studied bass clarinet in Rotterdam with the focus on contemporary music.

Along with Klaus Graf, Schorn founded Timeless Art Orchester in 1990. Almost at the same time, he began his collaboration in the long lasting duo with Claudio Puntin. In this duo he performed also with Hermeto Pascoal in 1992. Since 1994, he has been a member of Kölner Saxophon Mafia. Since 1996, he has been the leader of Bobby Burgess Big Band Explosion. Since 1997, he has been baariton saxophoniste in NDR Bigband.

Beside his main instrument, baritone saxophone, Schorn plays several pother instruments such as piccolo, bass flute, bass saxophone, contralto clarinet, contrabass clarinet and tubax. Se of his compositions are beyond the jazz genre.

Schorn performed in The George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band with Joachim Kühn, Don Cherry, Sheila Jordan, Michael Brecker, Ray Anderson, Shirley Bassey, Uri Caine, Aki Takase, Gary Burton, Dianne Reeves, Al Jarreau, Natalie Cole, Nils Landgren, Dino Saluzzi, Klaus König, Lars Møller, Lukas Niggli and Nils Wogram. In 2006, he participated in the first performance of Infra für tiefe Töne von Johannes Fritsch.

Since 2001, he is a professor in the jazz department of Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg, where he teaches jazz composition, saxophone and playing in ensemble.

Awards and honours

Partially along with Puntin, he participated in the European Jazz Composition (1991) and won Amadeus Austrian Music Awards and became Southern Comfort's Jazz musician of year. In 1994, he achieved the Prize of the State Nordrhein Westfalen. In 1999, he got the Jazz Prize of Badenwürtemberg as a member of saxophone Mafia. In 2009, he was awarded WDR Jazz prize in the category "composition".