Tonight at the Loft, Cologne: John Schröder, drums

John Schröder was barely a teenager when the 16th German Jazz Festival came to town. The headliners were John McLaughlin, John Scofield and John Abercrombie. Then and there, John decided he wanted to be a jazz guitarist. He got more than his wish: described by regular collaborator Hayden Chisholm as ‘a freak of nature’, John is a gifted multi-instrumentalist, as comfortable at the drum kit or keyboard as he is on the guitar. Or the saxophone. Or…

Apart from two or three lessons with Michael Sagmeister and a half-hearted training in classical guitar and piano when he was a kid, John’s musicianship is all his own work, and although he’s played with the greats – from Chet Baker to John Hollenbeck – he’s never been much interested in taking a purist approach to anything. He is an omnivore, consuming everything from the classical repertoire to acid jazz.

John with saxophonist Felix Wahnschaffe, bassist Oliver Potratz and drummer Eric Schäfer last year at RAW Tempel, Berlin

A few years ago, John moved to Berlin (‘There are more jazz clubs here, and a real jazz sub-culture’) though he maintains close links with his old home of Frankfurt, and maintains a quartet there with alto-saxophonist Felix Wahnshuffe, bassist Ed Schuller and drummer Ernst Bier.

A new CD, with Christian Weidner on alto sax, Oliver Potratz on bass and Oliver Steidle on drums, was released in October last year.