Joachim Kühn

German pianist and composer Joachim Kühn has developed a kaleidoscopic style that crisscrosses classical music, avant-jazz, post-bop, modern composition, stride blues, free improvisation, and rock. He left formal classical studies to follow his older brother, clarinetist Rolf Kühn, into jazz. They cut Impressions of New York for Impulse! in 1968, and the following year Joachim issued Bold Music. In 1976 he released the classic fusion outing Hip Elegy for MPS. During the 1980s, Kühn issued the trio outing Easy to Read with drummer Daniel Humair and bassist Jean-François Jenny-Clark. He issued the charting solo outing Dynamics in 1990, and Colors: Live from Leipzig, in duo with Ornette Coleman, appeared in 1997. An acclaimed trio collaboration with North African musicians titled Out of the Desert appeared in 2019 and was followed by Melodic Ornette Coleman: Piano Works XIII. The solo outing Touch the Light appeared in 2021.