1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, Germany) is a German professional
music journalist
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
Dombrowski studied German literature, history and philosophy and occasionally plays in an amateur jazz band. He has been a music journalist since 1994, writing about jazz music and appreciation of the musical culture of Germany. From 2006 to 2008, he was editor of jazz music for the
Süddeutsche Zeitung
The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat.
History ...
, one of Germany's leading newspapers. He regularly writes for numerous music publications, such as the Neue Musikzeitung and German jazz music magazines like ''Jazzzeitung,'' ''Jazz thing'' or the British ''London Jazz News''.
Presenting an overview of the history of, and current jazz in Germany, he edited the online series ''Jazz from Germany'' for the German cultural organisation, the Goethe-Institut. In 2011, he curated a compilation of 18 CDs, called ''Dive into Jazz,'' presenting a wide range of jazz from both the US, Europe and other countries.
Dombrowski is the author of a musical biography of
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of br ...
, a history of the jazz
saxophone
The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...
and of two jazz music guides, including the popular
Reclam
Reclam Verlag is a German publishing house, established in Leipzig in 1828 by Anton Philipp Reclam (1807–1896).Bavarian radio network. As a member of
juried competition
A juried competition is a competition in which participants' work is judged by a person or panel of persons convened specifically to judge the participants' efforts, either by the competition's stated rubric or by a subjective set of criteria depen ...
s, he has also been active in music awards like the German
Echo Music Prize
Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The first ECHO Awards ceremony was held in 1992, and it was set up to hono ...
or the ''Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik'' ( German Record Critics' Award).
From 1998 to 2014, he was artistic director of the jazz festival at
Schloss Elmau
Schloss Elmau is a four-story castle and national monument with hipped roof, tower and porch, situated between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Mittenwald in a sanctuary of the Bavarian Alps, Germany. It lies at the foot of the Wetterstein mount ...
(European Jazztival), and from 2002 to 2004, he and Moroccan jazz musician
Majid Bekkas
Majid Bekkas (, born 1957 in Salé, Morocco), also known as Abdelmajid Bekkas, is a Moroccan musician on guembri, oud, guitar and vocals, who is internationally known for his contributions to World music and Ethno jazz with North African roots ...
curated the ''Jazz au Chellah'' festival in Rabat, Morocco.
His mainly
black-and-white photographs
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
of jazz musicians, concerts and festivals have been published both online as well as appearing in public exhibitions, such as at Munich's jazz venue ''Unterfahrt'' or other jazz venues in Germany. In 2019, his photograph of American jazz musician
Roscoe Mitchell
Roscoe Mitchell (born August 3, 1940) is an American composer, jazz instrumentalist, and educator, known for being "a technically superb – if idiosyncratic – saxophonist". ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' described him as "one of the key figures ...
at the
Jazzfest Berlin
JazzFest Berlin (also known as the Berlin Jazz Festival) is a jazz festival in Berlin, Germany. Originally called the "Berliner Jazztage" (''Berlin Jazz Days''), it was founded in 1964 in West Berlin by the Berliner Festspiele. Venues included B ...
2018 was selected by the ''Jazz World Photo'' competition in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
as one of the best jazz pictures of the year.
Dombrowski speaks and writes in German, English and French, which allows him to write reports about European jazz scenes in countries like Austria, Italy and France.
Awards
In 2013, Dombrowski received the ''Award for German Jazz Journalism'', where the jury praised his wide musical expertise and journalistic style as a music critic.
Selected bibliography
* ''John Coltrane – sein Leben, seine Musik, seine Schallplatten'', Oreos Verlag 2002,
* ''Basis Diskothek Jazz'', Reclam, 2005 (revised edition 2011),
* ''Das Originale und das Originelle – Techniken kultureller Aneignung am Beispiel des Oriental Jazz''. In Wolfram Knauer (ed.) ''Begegnungen – The World meets Jazz'', Darmstädter Beiträge zur Jazzforschung, vol. 10, Wolke Verlag 2008
* ''Portrait Saxofon: Kultur, Praxis, Repertoire, Interpreten'', Bärenreiter Verlag 2010,
* ''111 Gründe, Jazz zu lieben: Eine Liebeserklärung'', Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, 2019,
Music journalism
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...