Hartmut Hillmann Band

Hartmut Hillmann has been one of the most influential German six string bass guitar players in the last twenty-five years.

He started in 1987 to adapt the styles of the likes as Jaco Pastorius and Marcus Miller for the six stringed fretted and fretless instrument. Besides his incredible ability to groove and playing supportive, he is an ethnomusicologist having studied African and Indian rhythms intensively.

Leaving the Europe and Africa touring odd-meter Funk band „Zabriskie Point“ after six years in 1997, he started to concentrate on his solo career with his project „Illicit Poetry“ as composer, arranger and leader. The results were two CDs: „Eclectic Jazz“ and „Uncivilized“. Though enthusiastically acclaimed by many critics, there was not the major record deal Hartmut h (...) Mehr anzeigenad dreamed of and he retired in frustration from the music biz in 2002.

He started to concentrate on teaching kids with special needs improvisation, exploring his Buddhist practice and playing drums in his German-Japanese Band „Ushi-Tora“ for five years.

He jumped back to the Jazz scene in 2007 joining several band projects as a sideman like Dgroove, Wasserspiele, mbaf/ Scottish singer Kate Cassidy, touring with fellow bass player Kai Eckhardt and doing some solo concerts.

Since summer of 2008 he‘s leading his own project again, mixing jazz, funk and electronic ambient music to a special style of NuJazz, named: „The Hartmut Hillmann Band“, featuring some of the finest German Jazz musicians: percussion players Klaus Frölich and Warren Wunderlich . The keyboard seat is occupied by Joachim Hain, who is also renowned as a drummer.

The Hartmut Hillmann Band can be heard as the house band at Frankfurt‘s Japanese Club „Mangetsu“ on a regular monthly basis.

Besides all that Hartmut continues to coach kids with special needs, giving bass workshops and demonstrations for his endorsers: Fodera Guitars, Euphonic Audio, Evidence Audio cables, Italia Leather straps, Wilson Effects, Cocco strings and most recently iGig cases. Weniger anzeigen