Image 01 credits: Uli Neumann Cosel

Nils Kugelmann

Bass

Nils Kugelmann (b. 1996, Munich) discovered music early, starting on recorder before moving to piano, clarinet, and bass. He wrote his first clarinet piece at 11, a big band composition at 15, and orchestral works and two musicals by 18—premiered under his direction at venues including Munich’s Herkulesaal, Nymphenburg Palace, Wagenhalle, and Gasteig.

After graduating from the Pestalozzi Gymnasium in 2015, he studied jazz double bass at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München with Henning Sieverts, completing his Bachelor (2020) and Master (2022). Already active as a sideman, he performed with the Benny Golson Quartet, Trio Elf, the Jazzrausch Bigband, Johannes Enders, and others.

Since 2022, Kugelmann has focused on his own project, the Nils Kugelmann Trio, performing widely across Germany and abroad. Their debut album Stormy Beauty was nominated for the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik; the Süddeutsche Zeitung praised it as “a brilliant album by one of the most universal musicians in this country.” He also plays contralto clarinet in the duo Shuteen Erdenebaatar & Nils Kugelmann and piano in Wolfgruber Kugelmann.

His trio won first prize at the European Young Artist Jazz Award Burghausen 2023, alongside awards such as the Biberacher Jazzpreis, Förderpreis des Bayerischen Jazzverbands, the Future Sounds Competition in Leverkusen, the Musikstipendium der Stadt München, and the BMW Young Artist Jazz Award.

Kugelmann’s long awaited album, Life Score, was released on April 25, 2025.

Projects

contemporary groove trio art duo art

Nils Kugelmann Trio
Nils Kugelmann Trio
Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet
Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet
Shuteen Erdenebaatar & Nils Kugelmann
Shuteen Erdenebaatar & Nils Kugelmann

Calendar

2025

06 09
DE - Mainz
Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet | Akut Festival
14 09
DE - Ulm
Shuteen Erdenebaatar & Nils Kugelmann | Verein für moderne Musik Ulm/Neu-Ulm e. V.
17 09
DE - Regensburg Club Show
Nils Kugelmann Trio | Leerer Beutel
18 09
DE - Traunstein
Nils Kugelmann Trio | Kulturforum Traunstein
26 09
DE - Leipzig
Shuteen Erdenebaatar & Nils Kugelmann | Horns Erben
30 09
GB - Dorking
Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet | Betchworth Park Golf Club
02 10
DE - Berlin Espresso Konzert
Nils Kugelmann Trio | Konzerthaus Berlin
03 10
DE - Einbeck
Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet | Kultur im Esel e.V.
10 10
DE - Hameln Doppelkonzert Shuteen & Nils / Nils Kugelmann Trio
Shuteen Erdenebaatar & Nils Kugelmann | Doubletime Jazz & Kultur Club
11 10
DE - Hameln Doppelkonzert Shuteen & Nils / Nils Kugelmann Trio
Shuteen Erdenebaatar & Nils Kugelmann | Doubletime Jazz & Kultur Club
22 10
FR - Paris
Shuteen Erdenebaatar & Nils Kugelmann | Sunset Sunside Jazz Club
01 11
NL - AJ Nijmegen
Shuteen Erdenebaatar & Nils Kugelmann | BREBL
02 11
NL - Nijmegen
Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet | Festival Jazz International Nijmegen
06 11
DE - Ingolstadt Jazz in den Kneipen
Nils Kugelmann Trio | Jazztage Ingolstadt
07 11
DE - Erding
Shuteen Erdenebaatar & Nils Kugelmann | Jazztage Erding
11 11
DE - Leipzig
Nils Kugelmann Trio | Horns Erben
14 11
DE - Landsberg
Nils Kugelmann Trio | Stadttheater Landsberg
17 11
DE - Kassel Club Show
Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet | Theaterstübchen
19 11
DE - Gauting
Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet | Bosco
22 11
DE - Heidelberg
Shuteen Erdenebaatar & Nils Kugelmann | DAI Heidelberg - Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut
06 12
DE - Lüdinghausen
Nils Kugelmann Trio | Burg Vischering

2026

28 01
DE - Plauen
Nils Kugelmann Trio | Malzhaus
30 01
DE - Hannover
Nils Kugelmann Trio | Jazz Club Hannover
31 01
DE - Lindau (Bodensee) Jazz auf der Hinterbühne
Nils Kugelmann Trio | Stadttheater Lindau
01 02
DE - Waldshut-Tiengen
Nils Kugelmann Trio | Schloss Tiengen
13 02
DE - Mannheim
Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet | Ella & Louis
07 03
DE - Lüneburg Lüneburg JazzIG
Shuteen Erdenebaatar Quartet | Musikschule Lüneburg
show more

Contact

Floriane Schroetter

Booking Agent

Wenna Liu

Production Manager