Andreas Willers

Andreas Willers
- started out as a blues- and avantgarde guitarist, first outing in 81 on the FMP label (Hier & Als Auch, solo guitar),
- studied el.guitar and composition in Los Angeles (MI), Hamburg (HfM) and Banff (Canada),
- has played and/or recorded with Paul Bley, Louis Sclavis, Enrico Rava, Bob Stewart, Marvin Smitty Smith, Dave Liebman, Trilok Gurtu, David Murray, Mark Dresser, Bobby Previte, Mark Feldman, Jim Black, Glen Moore, Steve Argüelles, Dominique Pifarély, Marc Ducret, Anders Jormin, Tom Rainey, Herb Robertson, Phil Haynes, Phillip Greenlief, Lauren Newton, Rita Marcotulli, Elvira Plenar, Paul Imm, Kent Carter, Lou Grassi, Petras Vysniauskas, Yves Robert, Gabriele Hasler, Frank Köllges, Matthias Schubert, Conny Bauer, Johannes Bauer, Matthias Bauer, E.L. Petrowski, Theo Jörgensmann, Achim Kaufmann, Axel Dörner, Frank Gratkowski, Uwe Kropinski, Willi Kellers, Jörg Huke, Volker Schlott, Dieter Manderscheid, Tim Wells, Fritz Witteck, Lu Hübsch, Thomas Heberer, Claudio Puntin, Tobias Delius, Dieter Ilg, Jan Roder, Olaf Rupp, Hans Lüdemann, Roger Hanschel, Dirk Raulf, Dirk Engelhardt, Frank Schulte, Horst Nonnenmacher, Michael Griener, Franz Bauer, Christof Griese, Andreas Schmidt, Michael Rodach, Thomas Heidepriem, Hugo Read, Gebhard Ullmann, Martin Lillich, Niko Schäuble, Samuel Blaser, Henrik Walsdorff, Christian Lillinger a.o.,
- toured Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia/New Zealand and Southeast Asia for the Goethe Institut; festival appearences include Vancouver, Vienna, Salzburg, Melbourne, Madrid, Vigo, Cheltenham, Bern, Jakarta, Istanbul, Wroclaw, Monterrey, Sibiu, Amsterdam, Münster, Moers, Köln, Leverkusen, Vilshoven, Kiel, Viersen, Berlin, tours throughout the USA and Europe in places like The Stone, The Knitting Factory, Onkel Pö‘s amm
- has composed for the Jazz Baltica Ensemble, the NDR Bigband, different New Music ensembles, several scholarships and awards, founding member of the musicians cooperative Jazzfront Berlin-Brandenburg, was member of the Initiative Kölner Jazzhaus,
- taught electric guitar at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, Berlin, from 1991-96, writes workshop articles for the German Gitarre&Bass magazine on improvisation and performance. If you are interested in private lessons on guitar and improvisation (even via Skype) or individual equipment tuition you are welcome to get in touch (see impressum).

- ,Andreas Willers is one of the most imaginative electric guitarists on the planet.‘  Jazzthetik
-'The German guitar player A.W. is certainly one of the most interesting voices in Europe.'    allaboutjazz.com
- ,Willers is a real Stupor Mundi guitarist.‘  Rigobert Dittmann / Bad Alchemy
- ´Andreas Willers....combines different contrasting techniques, worlds of sounds and traditions to an own sound that‘s easy to identify despite it‘s broad range. On the basis of tastefulnes, compositional spirit and a feeling for dramatic range his music is bouncing between dense chordal structures and single note passages, the screaming of his thorough blues roots and the intimate poetry of Jim Hall, ...electronic sound wizardry through devices....and the discrete charm of acoustic string artistry.‘  RoRoRo Jazz Lexikon 2002
- 'Willers style is well-rounded; especially attractive is his classical guitar work where we can hear his fine touch most clearly. He also posesses an unusually wide intervallic sense, rarely does one hear a guitarist who sounds so much as if hes listened to Eric Dolphy.'  Chris Kelsey / Cadence Mag., USA
- 'Bizarre. Baffling. Enticing. Exiting. Ultimately Unique. .. All we can say is this is one of the most ambitious Hendrix projects we have ever come across.'   Voodoo Child Mag., USA
- In the article Enja - 30 years on duty for jazz for Jazzthetik magazine Rolf Thomas includes The Ground Music by the Andreas Willers Octet in the ten quintessential Enja albums
- 'EXPLOSIVE MIXTURE. When guitarist Andreas Willers gets going, some musical TNT is blowing up - hes that precise in developing and focussing his ideas. And he is able to move completely througt the enormeous stylistic bandwidth at his disposal without stirring up any doubt in his individuality.'   Jazzthing Mag., D
- '...Obviously having fun using (studio & electronics) he does so in a remarkably tasteful fashion often close to modern classical music and then turns around to deliver guitaristics. Homogenous, discerning taste is at hand, winning musicality and a knack for the well-dosed shock.' A.Schmitz (in the book Jazz Guitarists, Oreos)
- 'Willers could easily be the most influential european guitarist would he not always put the strictest intellectual judgement on his own work at all times.'   Reclam Jazz Lexicon
- 'A.W. seems always able to astound himself and others musically.'Frankfurter Rundschau