Carolyn Breuer – Biography
I was born in Munich. I took piano lessons before I decided to switch to the – then still classical – saxophone. Soon, my father introduced me to the basics of jazz. Playing music together at home in the evenings became a much-loved ritual in our family. By the age of 15, I was already playing in several bands. At 19, I became the first female musician to join Peter Herbolzheimer’s Bundesjugendorchester (Youth Jazz Orchestra).
From 1988 to 1993, I studied jazz saxophone at the Royal Conservatory in Hilversum. During that time, I regularly played month-long engagements in Athens with my own Carolyn Breuer Quartet, and I also appeared as a saxophonist in a Drum tobacco commercial that was shown in cinemas worldwide.
At the age of 21, I recorded my first CD, A Family Affair, together with my father Hermann Breuer, a renowned jazz pianist and trombonist, for the prestigious ENJA label. Together, we performed at numerous festivals.
After completing my degree, I recorded the CD Simply Be with Dutch singer Fay Claassen. The following year, I released my own album Acquaintance. I then moved to New York, where I took lessons with George Coleman. Branford Marsalis attended one of my concerts, liked my playing, and invited me to study with him. I paid for my first lesson with an Ajax Amsterdam football jersey.
After leaving New York and returning to Amsterdam, I toured Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Turkey, Greece, and Germany with my quartet. I even shared the stage with George Coleman at the North Sea Jazz Festival.
In 2000, I founded my own record label, NotNowMom! Records. The label’s first release was my album Fate Smiles On Those Who Stay Cool. The CD sold very well in the Netherlands, and the then Dutch Minister of the Interior, Klaas de Vries, even referred to my name and the album title in a speech before the Dutch Parliament.
The second release on NotNowMom!, Night Moves, reached the Top 20 in Japan.
In 2002, I released Serenade, an album featuring my own compositions, performed by my quartet together with musicians from the renowned Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam. The orchestral arrangements were written by Henk Meutgeert. This classical-jazz crossover album was released both on NotNowMom! and on BMG/Ariola, with different cover artwork.
In 2003, Serenade received a prestigious German music award that had previously been associated mainly with classical music.
Since 2004, I have regularly worked with Witchcraft, an ensemble of outstanding female jazz musicians. The renowned Los Angeles-based trumpet player Stacey Rowles was a permanent member of the band until her untimely death in 2009.
In 2006, I was invited to perform as a guest soloist with the WDR Big Band. The program also featured five of my own compositions, specially arranged for the production by Michael Abene.
In 2008, my son was born, and naturally I slowed down my jazz career for a while. Nevertheless, together with German author Sabine Bohlmann, I released two CDs for children: the jazzical Der kleine Erdbär and the rap/hip-hop production Pauli – Ich rap mir die Welt. The latter received an award from the German Association of Music Schools.
In 2009, I had the opportunity to perform the complete Serenade album at Munich’s Gärtnerplatztheater together with the theatre’s orchestra.
In 2010, I worked as a sideman in various jazz projects, and a third collaboration with Sabine Bohlmann was released: an accompanying CD for her book BabySpielZeit.
In 2012, I performed with Alan Parsons and his band when he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the DIVA Awards.
In 2013, I was the musical director of a show at Lit.Cologne with the renowned German author Roger Willemsen. After a longer break from the jazz scene, I returned with Four Seasons of Life – an ambitious production featuring orchestra, big band, quartet, piano, acoustic guitars, and a wide range of arrangements. In September 2013, the complete album was performed live at Munich’s Gasteig with 37 musicians on stage.
In 2014, I initiated a new project called Shoot The Piano Player! and recorded Shoot The Piano Player! Volume One. I also toured with the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble under the direction of Wolfgang Dauner.
In 2017, I founded the duo Peace Rebel Radio together with Christian Sudendorf, acoustic guitarist of Shoot The Piano Player!. Christian had already appeared on one track of my album Four Seasons of Life. Peace Rebel Radio opened a new chapter for me, as it was the first project in which I also began singing. Christian writes wonderful songs and lyrics, often with a socially critical perspective – something that is very important to me personally. We call our music Urban Folk. You can find more about Peace Rebel Radio on the Projects page.
Since 2019, I have also been working with pianist Andrea Hermenau. We first played together in a quartet and released an album with that line-up. Since 2025, we have mainly been performing as a duo – a very direct and intimate musical setting that I particularly enjoy.
Another project very close to my heart is Bernd Lhotzky’s Shakespeare production with actress Birgit Minichmayr. Whenever Quadro Nuevo is unable to take part, I join the project on saxophone.
These are some of the musical projects that mean the most to me today. For the past four years, I have also been curating and hosting the jazz concert series Matter of Heart at Munich’s Lätarekirche.