The jazz pianist Thomas Rückert comes from a musical family where he practiced dealing with music and his instrument, the piano, at an early age. He received piano lessons at the age of 7, and then supplemented these with saxophone and drum lessons at the age of 16. At 17 he had his first piano students, later music students and took over the training of trained musicians. So he decided on the piano and in 1990 began studying at the Cologne University of Music with Rainer Brüninghaus and John Taylor, which he completed with a postgraduate "concert exam".
In 1999 he traveled to New York for the first time to see his brother Jochen Rückert, who has lived there since 1995. He found his stay in the metropolis of jazz inspiring and moving. The New York experience was also evident in his first own studio albums, which he wrote with his trio between 2002 and 2006: "Debut" on JHM records (2002), "Dust of doubt" on Pirouet Records (2004) and "Blue in Green" with Pirouet Records (2006). At the same time, Thomas Rückert appeared in television and radio productions, including the WDR, and made guest appearances, for example, at the Istanbul Jazz Days, the Hilden Jazz Days, the Audi Jazz Festival in Cologne and numerous other renowned festivals. He went on tours abroad as far as Balbeck in Lebanon, and it was important for him to work with Lee Konitz, whom he had come to appreciate and respect as a jazz icon. But he also works with other musicians and bands such as Mark Johnson, Greg Hutchinson, Donny McCathlin, Greetje Kauffeld, Mark Murphy, Kevin Mahogany, Tony Lakatos, Randy Brecker, Adam Nussbaum, Ack van Royen, Jay Anderson, John Goldsby, and not last with his brother Jochen. In short, he is not only a sought-after musician with his trio, but also as a sideman.
In addition to his work as a jazz pianist, Rückert teaches and composes at the Osnabrück University of Music. He is working on a solo program that will allow jazz music to be carried to audiences far away from jazz. The lover of early music likes to build a bridge between the two musical currents.
Thomas Rückert lives with his family - two children - in the Bergisches Land.