Double & electric bassist and composer

Manfred Bründl studied jazz and classical music from 1980 to 1985 at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria. From 1983 to 1985 he was a member of the Heinz Sauer Quartett and worked subsequently with Albert Mangelsdorff, Norma Winstone, Terumasa Hino, Martial Solal, Herb Ellis, Charlie Mariano, Christof Lauer, Dave Liebman, Walter Norris, Craig Harris, Phil Wilson, Aldo Romano, Bill Elgart and Wayne Krantz amongst others, as well as with numerous other musicians in the Austrian Jazz Scene such as Fritz Pauer, Harry Pepl, Leo Wright and Erich Kleinschuster.

In 1987 he formed his own group “Brüma, Brüma” with Matthias Schubert, Bob Degen and Janusz Stefanski. In his later quartet “Basslab” he recorded the Album “Live” (1992) together with Schubert, Simon Nabatov and Barry Altschul. In 1989 he toured Africa on behalf of the German “Goethe Institute”, thereafter in 1990 Asia, 1994 Canada and 1995 Latin America. During the same period he played in a trio with Tomasz Stańko and Michael Riessler. In 1995 he founded the Hessische Art Ensemble Wiesbaden that explored the intersection of jazz and contemporary music, culminating in Bründl’s composition “Farblichtklänge”. In the same year he received the City of Frankfurt am Main Jazz Award. In 1999 he founded the crossover ensemble Composers Orchestra and in 2000 he recorded the music for the film Mein Bruder der Idiot (ZDF/Arte) with trumpeter Till Brönner.

The CD “Respect” by his current group Silent Bass was nominated for the German Record Critic’s Award in 2006. From 2007 Silent Bass performed in a new formation with Hugo Read, Achim Kaufmann and Jonas Burgwinkel with guest appearances by Liisi Koikson and Wolfgang Schlüter on their CD “Crosshatched”, released in 2008. Tours followed on the invitation of the Goethe Institute in Estonia. The CD “Crosshatched” was voted the Best German Jazz Album of 2008 by the German radio station Deutschlandfunk. In 2009 and 2010, Bründl toured widely, playing concerts and taking part in numerous workshops and festivals, amongst others in Budapest, Tallinn and Salerno (Martucci Jazz Festival, Villa Guariglia Vietri Sul Mare). In 2011, Manfred Bründl and Silent Bass released the CD “Tip of the Tongue – A Tribute to Peter Trunk” featuring Hugo Read, Rainer Böhm and Jonas Burgwinkel.

Bründl was a lecturer at the University of Mainz, Germany from 1989 to 1996. In 1996 he was appointed a professorship at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Weimar where he teaches to the present day.