Biography
Sebastian Noelle was born 1973 in Göttingen, Germany, into a very musical family, his father playing the 19-string renaissance lute, guitar and piano and his mother playing cello. Alfred Dürr, one of the worlds foremost experts on the music of J.S. Bach, is his grandfather. Before he could speak he sang melodies and could imitate the sounds of birds, "which in fact is not too far removed from the ideal I'm trying to achieve on my guitar now…", he says.
The earliest influences
were hymns (his father was a protestant minister, who later converted to Catholicism
to become a priest), Irish Folk music, Beatles and Bob Dylan songs. There
also was the "yellow tape", a cassette that had guitar music of
strange beauty on it, which he later found out was called "Flamenco".
Sebastian's early formal musical education was purely classical. The cello
was his main instrument from age 7-14. It was not until much later though,
that he learned to appreciate it's angelic sound and, who knows, you might
see him perform on the cello one of these days… The guitar came into Sebastian's
life when he was 12. It was an instant love affair and the perfect vehicle
to live out his obsession with the Beatles' music. He fashioned a makeshift
4-track from a pair of cassette recorders and attempted to eke out complete
Fab Four arrangements. "I would record the primary vocal and guitar parts
at the same time, on one machine.", he recalls. "Then I'd play the
tape back, while singing and playing the secondary parts and recording everything
on the other machine. I'd repeat the process, playing the bass line on my
cello. Of course, by the time I was finished, the first 'track' would be barely
audible."
Through natural evolution (Beatles - Heavy Metal - Rock - Funk - Fusion) Sebastian's musical ear finally started drawing from the inexhaustible resources of so called "jazz music". After a short detour of theological studies at the University of Heidelberg he completed a 4-year program of Jazz Performance and Composition at the Hochschule für Musik in Mannheim, his main teachers being Frank Kuruc, Jürgen Friedrich, Adrian Mears and Keith Copeland. The education Sebastian received there was very bebop oriented, lots of transcribing and learning standards. The essence of his musical personality though was formed outside the school, in a small club named "Schwoorz", where he founded and established a weekly jazz concert series. Every Wednesday, for three years, he would present his original compositions mixed with jazz classics, followed by a jam session. Anything could happen. The elite of the German jazz scene would stop by and sit in, players like Thomas Stabenow, Jürgen Seefelder, Adrian Mears, Allan Blairman or Peter O'Mara. It was the greatest preparation for a professional career a player could wish for. Other significant events in his musical life of that time were his performances at the "Montreux Jazz Festival" and the "North Sea Festival" (with the Mannheim Jazz Orchestra) in 1998 and at the "Mannheim Jazz Days '99" with a big band led by composer Maria Schneider.
After graduation in 2000 Sebastian received a prestigious full scholarship from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) to study abroad for 2 years. He chose to study with Gene Bertoncini and John Abercrombie at The New England Conservatory in Boston, MA. His jazz chops got an edge and his personal style developed fully, thanks to his great teachers, which included Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Moses, Bob Brookmeyer, George Russell, Ran Blake, Joe Maneri Cecil McBee and George Garzone. In addition, Sebastian explored the territory of microtonalism, Indian ragas and the Lydian Chromatic Concept. Frequently playing in established Boston metropolitan area jazz venues such as the "Ryles Jazz Club", "Wally's Café", the "Good Life" or "Limbo" he soon became an integral part of the jazz scene. Sebastian's two CDs as a leader ("Freedom Trail" with guest star John Abercrombie and "Home Is Where The Heart Is" featuring classical jazz guitar legend Gene Bertoncini) were recorded 2001 in Boston.
In the summer of 2002 Sebastian took a logical step and moved to New York, immediately playing with some of the city's foremost creative musicians such as Ari Hoenig, Donny MCCaslin, Ingrid Jensen, Chris Cheek, Sam Yahel, Eric McPherson and Wayne Escoffery. In addition to performing and recording with his many projects, which range from leading his own trio to funk/rock and world music groups, Sebastian teaches jazz guitar at the Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory and his private studio. He was featured in a full-page article in the August 2003 issue of GuitarOne, one of the best known guitar magazines in America.
Among many others Sebastian Noelle has recorded and/or performed with John Abercrombie, Gene Bertoncini, JoAnne Brackeen, Lewis Nash, Mulgrew Miller, Bob Moses, Maria Schneider, Ingrid Jensen, Bobby Shew, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Dave Santoro, John Hollenbeck, Scott Reeves, Michael Abene, Adam Thomas, Sam Yahel, Jeff Galindo, Diego Voglino and James Merenda.
Sebastian's original compositions include works for big band, string quartets, solo guitar, voice, and small jazz ensembles and have been performed extensively in the U.S. and Europe.
Education: BA in jazz
performance and composition (Hochschule für Musik in Mannheim, Germany),
Graduate Diploma Jazz Guitar with Distinction in Performance (New England
Conservatory, Boston, MA)