Tobias Sudhoff (piano) started his career as bar piano player during his studies of medicine in Münster/Germany. He always kept in touch with the stage before (e.g. as dancer and also as pianoplayer in his first Jazzband “Brainstorming Jazzquartett at school-age). Next to his appearances as writer and as comedian he is well known for his modern approaches to Jazz and jazzrelated music. At the age of 23 he publihed his first album with the piano-trio “Dr. Piba” called “Jazz them up”. In the same year he founded his Hiphop-Jazzformation “Spank”. In the next years he worked a lot as comedian all over Germany, had his own Radioprogramme on a local station and founded the quartet “Stams”, with whom he started a weekly serial of Jazz-concerts featuring a lot of famous Jazz musicians, among them Lee Konitz, Charlie Mariano, Saskia Laroo, Silvia Droste, Knut Kiesewetter, Benjamin Herman u.m.o. Stams played for more than 5 years these concerts at the “Schlossgarten”. Next to this, Sudhoff started to live parts of the year in Amsterdam where he got close contacts to the dutch Jazz Scene. In June 98 he started his own quintett with a Amsterdam rhythm-section, and in 2000 Gerd Dudek (sax and flute) and his former Stams-collegue A.M. Sicking (vibes) joined this band. They recorded on “no time”-label the CD “Herbstgelb” and go on tour with special guest Charlie Mariano. In these years Sudhoff is also touring a.o. with Big Jay McNeely, Danah Gillespie, Artro Wade Nicola, Ryan Oliver a.o. all over Europe. In this time, his career as musician and as comedian collide: He is nominated and wins several prices as comedian and starts to work in varietés as writer and conferencier (GOP, Luna). But in 2002 he starts to work together with Knut Kiesewetter, one of the best known german vocalists. They built up a quintett together with legend Herb Geller on saxophone and are on and off the road since then. In 2003 Sudhoff decides to built ap a new trio. He starts to work with Erik Poorterman (dr) and Uli Wetzlaff Eggebert (ba). They record the CD “Polarlichter” with Charlie Mariano, Gerd Dudek, Ben Herman and others (Laika records). This band (sometimes grown to an octett) tours several times in germany and benelux. In 2004 Sudhoff meets poetrist H.D. Rieder and the worldwide well known photographer Adolph Clemens. They start a project with photos of Clemens, poems of Rieder and special compositions of Sudhoff. Also Sudhoff meets the great singer Ken Norris. They start to play now and then, and after a while, they decide to form a band together that will be called “Kento su Nova” with Uli Wentzlaff (ba), Gerard Kleijn (trp) and Joost Kesselaar (dr). In 2005, Sudhoff records his first classical album with compositions of A. Clemens (published 2007, “das Schatzkästchen” at the “Stieglitz-Klassik”-Label). Also in winter 2005, he becomes pianist at the finest varieté GOP in Münster. Till now he stays in this honourable position of house-musician where he can combine his talents as comedian and barjazzplayer. From 2006 on, Sudhoff focusses more on his finest projects, so he is several times on tour with Mariano and Dudek, several times with Kiesewetter and Geller and in April 2006 he is on tour in italy with a new italian trio “Sicilian kitchen” that he founded with shooting star Davide lo Cascio (dr) and Fulvio Buccafusco (ba). In May 2006 he becomes artistical director of the Jazzfestival “Jazz am Schloss” in Rheine. Also in summer 2006 the Kiesewetter-Band does a live-recording in Hamburg at the Amphy-theatre of NLH in Hamburg (Published 2007 “50 years on stage – Knut Kiesewetter” at the “membran music” label). Also as Barjazzpianist he is now more and more booked – in fine hotels all over germany, austria, switzerland and others (a.o. Kempinsky St. Moritz). His steady mixture of cultural works keeps him busy, he appears uncountable times on TV and Radio, in Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria. He´s on the road with his comedy-Jazz-Band “Swinger Club” and his Solo-programme all over germany and for two times he tours in Austria. In 2007 he´s on tour with his sicilian kitchen Trio two times (together with C. Mariano) and he´s recording a live concert in Cologne (live at the “Loft”). Several tours with Kento su Nova are followed in autumn 2007 by the publishing of their debut “Nu life” (label mundArt). This band also makes a live DVD with Charlie Mariano as special guest.
Tobias Sudhoff is a fine young player in Europe influences by many musicians (s.a. Brad Mehldau, Kenny Kirkland, Randy Newman) and who seems to have more and more influence on the young generation. Herb Geller writes about Sudhoff: “…he is heart and soul… he is highlighted with thoughtful, reflected solos…” and Mariano wishes for this young player to “…go on with the good music, the good food and to have a good life!”