The drummer Torsten Zwingenberger is one of the busiest personalities on the German jazz scene. On his agenda are more than one hundred concerts per year, international tours and numerous projects as a bandleader and sideman. In his twenties he was already working with jazz legends such as Buddy Tate, Harry 'Sweets' Edison and Joe Pass.
In addition, he developed a special technique of drumming called Drumming 5.1, for which he extends the classic drum kit by adding a wide variety of percussion instruments that can be played by all four limbs with artistic precision.
Torsten Zwingenberger first became known along with his brother Axel Zwingenberger and his “Torsten Zwingenberger Trio”, then through jazz heroes such as Buddy Tate and Harry 'Sweets' Edison. With his band “Lyambiko”, Zwingenberger has caused quite a stir until 2006.
You occasionally find him in jazz clubs, on concert stages and festivals. His superior technique and musicianship allow him to implement any ideas on the spot using the drum kit. Great curiosity and passion push him toward new forms of expression and technical refinements. He likes implementing new sounds, in which he connects pld and new styles of jazz with blues, boogie woogie, rhythm and blues, swing, bebop, hard bob, Latin jazz, Afro and Cuban music and funky lounge jazz.
The music genre dearest to his heart remains jazz, and when working on his own albums and performances he is frequently joined by guitarist Patrick Farrant and clarinetist Thomas L' Etienne, with whom he established two formations, BERLIN 21 and NEW ORLEANS SHAKERS. In addition he is currently appearing alongside pianists such as Jan Luley, his brother Axel Zwingenberger and the two International Blues Challenge winners Georg Schroeter and Marc Breitfelder, just to mention a few.
Torsten Zwingenberger was 14 when he made his first appearance as a washboard player in Hamburg on February 3rd 1973. On December 1974 he played his first gigs as a drummer. One of those performances was a live appearance on NDR television, which earned him the German Record Critics' Award in 1986.
TEASY/Torsten Zwingenberger has worked with the following musicians:
Jazz:
Trumpeters: Harry „Sweets“ Edison, Doc Cheatham, Jon Faddis, Joe Newman, Ingrid Jensen, Till Broenner,
Saxophone and clarinet players: Buddy Tate, Plas Johnson, Buddy De Franco, Red Holloway, Danny Moss, Thomas l‘Etienne, John Deffrey, Peter Mueller, Fiete Felsch, Helmar Marczinski, David Beecroft, Finn Wiesner, Ralf Reichert.
Piano players: Jay Mc Shann, Ray Bryant, Jan Luley, David Gazarov, Tommy Weiss, Lionel Haas, Matthias Baetzel, Ekkehard Woelk, Jan-Hendrik Ehlers
Guitar players: Joe Pass, Peter Bernstein, Al Casey, Karl Ratzer, Costa Lukacz, Patrick Farrant, Giovanni Weiss, Giorgio Crobu,
Bassists: Kalli Gerhards, Martin Lillich, Giorgi Kiknadze, Axel Burkhardt
Singers: Lila Ammons, Jocelyn B. Smith, Lyambiko, Regina Tischer, Iris Romen,
Blues and Boogie Woogie:
Singers: Big Joe Turner, Guitar Crusher, Lillette Jenkins, Big Time Sarah, Jo Ann Kelly, Chris Jagger
Piano players: Axel Zwingenberger, Vince Weber, Champion Jack Dupree, Martin Pyrker, Hans Georg Möller, Big Joe Duskin, Memphis Slim, Jools Holland, Georg Schroeter, Michael Pewny, Gregor Kilian
Harp players: Charly Musselwhite, Marc Breitfelder
Crossover artists: Sideman for Drag-Queen Romy Haag
Concerts in Germany, USA, Austria, Switzerland, France, Holland, Belgium, England, Scottland, Ireland, Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Italy, Monaco, Egypt, Syria, Liban, Marokko, Algeria, Tunesia, Senegal, Ghana, Cote Ivar, Togo, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Central African Republic
Big Venues: Berlin Philharmonie, New York Pace Down Town Theater, Vienna Konzerthaus, Hamburg Laeiszhalle und Fabrik, Munich Prinz Regent Theater and Brunnenhof der Residenz, Frankfurt Alte Oper
International festivals: Elbjazz Hamburg, Jazz in the Garden Berlin, Villingen Swingt, Jazz an der Donau, Bonn Beethoven Fest, Duesseldorf Jazzrally, Stuttgart Theaterhaus Jazz-Festival, Jazztage Ingolstadt, Rottweil