Michael Griener (b. 68), self-taught by listening to and playing with many of his elders, spent his formative years as a teenager with bass clarinetist Rudi Mahall and began his freelance career in 1988, initially in intensive collaboration with Günter Christmann in Hannover, and since moving to Berlin in 1994 has distinguished himself as one of the most versatile drummers on the current jazz scene, as evidenced by his work with Mal Waldron, Butch Morris, Tal Farlow, Evan Parker, Aki Takase, Tony Malaby and many others.
His more than thirty-year collaboration with bassist Jan Roder has been described by the press as ‘probably the most popular rhythm team on the Berlin jazz scene’, ‘one of the best rhythm groups in Europe’ and ‘one of the most exciting and sworn dynamos of NowJazz’, whose work together is documented on the CD Be Our Guest and numerous other recordings.
Informed by a deep knowledge of the jazz tradition, he moves mainly in the border area between jazz and free improvisation, as for example in his trio with Ellery Eskelin and Christian Weber. In 2002, Baby Sommer brought him on as a lecturer at the Dresden Musikhochschule, where he continues to teach jazz drums. In March 2006, Griener received the “Most Creative Soloist” award at the New German Jazz Awards ceremony in Mannheim. His music has been documented on numerous CD releases, including Intakt, HatHut, FMP, Jazzwerkstatt, Moers Music and many more.