Updated: March 10, 2026
Jakob Dreyer is a German jazz musician, bass player, and composer. He appears on over 30 albums as a sideman, and as a leader he has released two albums on Fresh Sound New Talent: Songs, Hymns & Ballads Vol. 1 and Songs, Hymns & Ballads Vol. 2. Both volumes feature Jason Rigby on saxophone, Jon Cowherd on piano, and Jimmy Macbride on drums. Jakob Dreyer has performed with artists such as Steve Wilson, Jochen Rueckert, Mike Holober, Tivon Pennicott, and Manuel Valera, to just name a few, and notable venues he has performed at include the Carnegie Hall in New York City and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. Extensive tours have led him through most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India, Russia and the U.S.
Tags
All About Jazz Articles
Jakob Dreyer: Roots and Things
by Alberto Bazzurro
Jakob Dreyer è un contrabbassista tedesco di quarantacinque anni di cui questo costituisce il terzo album da leader (il primo nel 2022, tutti su Fresh Sound New Talent), inciso in realtà a Mount Vernon (come innumerevoli altri, da un po' di anni a questa parte) nel marzo 2025 con un trio tutto a stelle e strisce. Lo compongono sedici brani, di cui cinque brevissimi, poche decine di secondi, col sound d'insieme fortemente caratterizzato dalla vibrafonosta Sasha Berliner. Il ...
Continue ReadingJakob Dreyer: Roots and Things
by La-Faithia White
Jakob Dreyer originally studying piano from age four, switched to bass at age 14. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Music and Drama in jny: Hamburg, Germany, where he studied both classical and jazz. He then studied at the Amsterdam Conservatory before later establishing himself as an in- demand sideman in Germany for many years, working with national artists like Gabriel Coburger Sandra Hemper and Sebastian Gillen as well as international artists like Dusko Goykovich, Nils ...
Continue ReadingJakob Dreyer: Roots and Things
by Dan McClenaghan
Bassist Jakob Dreyer searched for a new sound for his third album as a leader. He has, for his previous two releases, expressed his art via the standard quartet--sax, bass, drums and piano. For Roots and things, the piano is replaced by Sasha Berliner's vibraphone, joining the leader's other new-to-the-fold sidemen, saxophonist Tivon Pennicott and drummer Kenneth Salters.A vibraphone in the group is an inspired choice. The instrument is seeing a 2024/2025 resurgence. Blue Note Records, in particular, ...
Continue Readingkansha 感謝, The Kronstadt Collective, Carlos Dafé, Jakob Dreyer
by Cheryl K.
During this week's two-hour program of jazz and improvised music, selections from new releases by singer-songwriter Phylipe Nunes Araujo; the collective kansha 感謝; pianist Aaron Parks; The Kronstadt Collective (vocalist Gina Kronstadt); Brazilian singer/multi-instrumentalist Carlos Dafé; saxophonist John O'Gallagher; and bassist Jakob Dreyer.Playlist Bob Mover and Walter Davis, Jr. “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square from /The Salerno Concert (Reel to Real) 7:26 Samara Joy “Autumn Nocturne" from Portrait (Verve) 3:45 Phylipe Nunes Araujo “Asa" from Phylipe Nunes ...
Continue ReadingJakob Dreyer: Songs, Hymns And Ballads Vol. 1 and Vol. 2
by Dave Linn
German-born bassist Jakob Dreyer grew up interested in many diverse music styles. He says, “As a little child I had a thing for national anthems, church hymns, and traditional songs with simple melodies that I could remember and sing." He began playing classical piano at a young age but also enjoyed playing the pop music he was listening to. He does note, “My dad had a couple of jazz records, but I was not particularly interested in them."
Continue ReadingTake Five With Bassist / Composer Jakob Dreyer
by AAJ Staff
Meet Jakob Dreyer Jakob Dreyer is a New York City based jazz musician, bassist, and composer. Born and raised in Germany he moved to New York in 2014. He appears on over 30 albums as a sideman, and as a leader he has released two albums on Fresh Sound New Talent: Songs, Hymns & Ballads Vol. 1 and Songs, Hymns & Ballads Vol. 2. Both volumes feature Jason Rigby on saxophone, Jon Cowherd on piano, and Jimmy Macbride on drums. ...
Continue ReadingYuko Togami: Dawn
by Dan McClenaghan
Drummer Yuko Togami's Dawn arrives as a beautiful surprise. It is the debut of the Japanese-born and now New York-based artist. Debut sets don't carry great expectations--one hopes for competence and a hint of a flair for the art form, the occasional creative spark shooting up from an otherwise acceptable but perhaps mediocre effort. For a newcomer to the scene, this would be a success. Yet Dawn rises up over the horizon with a bright glow that takes things well ...
Continue Reading
Wayne Shorter
saxophone
John Coltrane
saxophone
Miles Davis
trumpet
Bill Evans
piano
Kenny Garrett
saxophone
Dave Holland
bass
Charles Mingus
bass, acoustic
Thelonious Monk
piano
Jaco Pastorius
bass, electric
