Timo Vollbrecht is a saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His music combines jazz with elements of post-rock, electro-acoustic timbre, new music, and instrumental songwriting. Originally from Germany, he has been an active member of the artistic communities in New York, Berlin, and Providence. With his band FLY MAGIC, he has toured over 30 countries, recorded numerous albums, and he has appeared on landmark stages like the Village Vanguard and NYC’s Winter Jazz Fest. He leads the Tether Trio with vocalist Theo Bleckmann and Harmen Fraanje and has played with Branford Marsalis, Ben Monder, Kenny Werner, and Ralph Alessi. In 2026, he performed at Carnegie Hall as the soloist for Duke Ellington's Three Black Kings together with the Brown University Orchestra.
His latest recordings, Givers & Takers (2022), Fly Magic (2016), and Faces in Places (2018), were featured as “Jazz Album of the Week” on NDR Radio, appeared on influential playlists such as Spotify’s State of Jazz, were selected as Jazziz Magazine's Editor's Pick, and have been airplayed across the globe. His newest release, Bremen New York (2025), was nominated for Germany's Album of the Year Award (Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik). The NYC Jazz Record describes Timo as a “luminously-fine” saxophonist whose music is “blessed with rhythmic fluidity and intricate twists.” As a composer, he has worked with dance, film, and podcasts and wrote a string quartet that was performed by the NYC-based JACK Quartet.
Moreover, Vollbrecht utilizes his insight as a practitioner to conduct scholarly research. He holds a Ph.D. from NYU with a dissertation entitled “Manfred Eicher, ECM Records: An Analysis of the Producer as Auteur.” It is an in vivo case study that examines the collaborative work in the recording studio and portrays the producer as an improviser whose ‘instrument’ is the studio. It unearths his ingenious influence on the artistic product through auteurism and profound musical expertise.
At Brown, Timo is the Director of Jazz Studies, leads the Brown Jazz Band, and teaches courses at the Music Department.
