WHO ?

photo: Anca Moiceanu

“LARS KUTSCHKE IS A BEAUTIFUL SURPRISE! HIS WARM AND ROUND TONE COMBINED WITH A BRILLIANT TECHNIQUE AND INVENTIVE SOLOING MAKES HIM A PERFECT ANSWER TO THE HAMMOND ORGAN.” - JOEY DE FRANCESCO

“LARS’ PHRASING AND NOTE CHOICE ARE IMPECCABLE AND HE STRETCHES WAY OUT WITHOUT EVER ABANDONING THE GROOVE…HE’S WELL VERSED IN ALL TYPES OF AMERICAN MUSIC BUT COMES TO IT WITH A CONTINENTAL FLAIR THAT’S HYPNOTIC AND INTRUIGING” - MIKE O’CULL, ROCK & BLUES MUSE

“ SOULFUL BLUES SONGS WITH INCOMPARABLE GUITAR PLAYING BY LARS KUTSCHKE” - BLUESMAGAZINE.NL

Lars Kutschke's work as a guitar player and composer spans many styles of music and has taken him around the globe a couple of times. He started writing and performing songs and playing music for a living in the mid-90s, which included playing every gig from weddings to TV Shows and musical productions. He studied Jazz Guitar in his Hometown Dresden and won a DAAD scholarship to continue at Rotterdam’s Conservatory in the Netherlands.

Kutschke met Michigan-based Gospel/Blues singer Sharrie Williams in 2001. Williams invited him to join her band, which provided the young guitar player with pricelesss first-hand experience: getting thrown into cold water playing clubs and festivals along the American east coast and Midwest. first gigs included opening up for Buddy Guy at his club “Legends” and playing the Chicago Blues Festival. Kutschke cut his teeth touring close to 40 countries as musical director of Sharrie’s band. Sharing bills with legends like Mavis Staples, The Holmes Brothers, Van Morrison, Ike Turner, Hubert Sumlin, Taj Mahal, Lucky Peterson, Lurie Bell, Larry McCray and Robert Cray provided profound lessons and left him with an ever-growing love and respect for American roots music that is reflected in his playing and writing.

He co-wrote and co-produced 3 albums for Sharrie - all of which were nominated for the American Blues Music Awards (BMA). Festival appearances include North Sea Jazz Festival (NL), Jazz A Juan Antibes (F), Chicago Blues Festival (U.S.A.), Burghausen Jazz Festival (GER), Sziget Festival (HU), EFES Blues (Turkey & Russia), Colne Blues (U.K.), Blue Seas Festival (Curacao, Antilles), Cathage Jazz Festival (Tunisia), Dubai Jazz Festival (UAE) - just to name a few.

Kutschke recorded two albums with Italian Organ Maestro Alberto Marsico and drummer Gio Rossi under the name Soundsville. The Trio toured clubs and festivals throughout Europe.

Connections in the Blues circuit also lead to performing with other artists of the genre, including Bettye Lavette, Lucy Woodward, Tad Robinson, Sax Gordon, Alex Schultz, Kirk Fletcher and others.

Inbetween Kutschke took gigs touring Europe, China and Thailand with a Musical company, performing with Orchestras Dresdner Sinfoniker, WDR Sinfonieorchester and Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2008 he performed a Concert for Electric Guitar and Orchestra written by composer Michael Fuchs and a John Dowland programme with Ingolf Seidel, Baritone of RIAS Kammerchor. In 2010 he played guitar in German Rapper Sido’s “MTV UNPLUGGED” concert.

Lars Kutschke joined German Indie-band Keimzeit in 2019. His work in Germany includes performing with household artists Die Zöllner, Alphaville, Dota Kehr, Uschi Brüning, Günther Fischer, Barbara Dennerlein and many others. Kutschke wrote music for theatre and film and currently performs in theatre productions at Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, Schauspielhaus Leipzig and Staatsschauspiel Dresden.