Pianist, Composer, Arranger

It was during his primary school days that Claus was introduced to Jazz through radio programs and he was particulary fascinated by such masters as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford etc. At the age of eleven he began playing trumpet and three years later the piano became his second and eventually main instrument. While still in high school Claus had his first precious expiereances and public appearances with jazz ensembles lead by high school teacher Juerg Heydner. He also started forming several bands and began performing around the Munich area.

Upon graduating from high school Claus entered the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria. During the time studying in Austria with Prof. Dr. Harry Neuwirth, Claus was already touring different countries with stellar performers such as Art Farmer, Andy Bey   and Mark Murphy and appeared on several radio and television shows. He received his diploma in 1992 with Honors .

Claus spent the following three years in New York City where he formed the Claus Raible Sextet as well as working as a sideman and performing in many New York jazz clubs. It was in New York that he met, and later took master classes from pianist Dr. Barry Harris who has been a great influence on his writing and arranging.

In 1998 Claus returned to Munich, Germany and began splitting his time between New York and Europe. Since then he has organized at least two tours per year in Europe that include various international lineups, such as the Claus Raible Trio, Quintet, Sextet etc.

Claus, among other things, is currently working on a series of projects; "Presenting the Music of...", dedicated to great Jazz composers and stylists such as Thelonious Monk, Elmo Hope and Tadd Dameron. The setups vary from Quartet to Nonet.

Claus is currently teaching at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Munich, Germany.

PERFORMANCES

Live performances with such greats like:

Andy Bey, Jimmy Cobb, Ira Coleman, Keith Copeland, Howard Curtis, Ben Dixon, Manny Duran, Isla Eckinger, Jon Faddis, Art Farmer, Derrick Gardner, Vincent Gardner, Herb Geller, Dusko Goykovich, Mark Gross, Stjepko Gut, Daryl Hall, Vincent Herring, Dennis Irvin, Gene Jackson, Jack Jeffers, Sean Jones, Brad Leali, Jimmy Lovelace, John Marshall, Don Menza, Bob Mover, Mark Murphy, Grzegorz Nagorski, Lewis Nash, John Ore, Bosko Petrovic, Valery Ponomarev, Al Porcino, Ferdinand Povel, Allan Praskin, Alvin Queen, Ack van Rooyen, Douglas Sides, Andy Scherrer, Roman Schwaller, Ed Thigpen, Luigi Trussardi, Britt Woodman, James Zollar and many others.

Claus has appeared on festivals such as:

Montreaux Jazz Festival (1989), Jazz Fest Wien (1991), Kulturfest Dubrovnik, (1995, 1996), Jazzdays Ebersberg (1998, 2001, 2004), Aspen Jazz, Aspen, Colorado, USA (1999), Jazztage Hilden (2003), Ollon du Jazz (2003), Internationale Jazzwoche Burghausen, (2003), Midem, Cannes (2004), Generations, Frauenfeld (2004), Belgrade Jazz Festival (2005), Nis Jazz Festival (2005), Novi Sad Jazz Festival (2005, 2007), Piano Off Stage, Lucerne (2007 and many others.

AWARDS

• Award for the best band at the Iternational Jazz Competition in Mauterndorf, Austria. (1989)
• Award for the best soloist at the Iternational Jazz Competition in Mauterndorf, Austria. (1989)
• Graduation with Summa Cum Laude at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. (1992)
• Award of Distinction for Outstanding Performances by the Austrian Minister of Cultural Affairs and Science. (1992)
• The CD “Claus Raible Trio – Live At Birdland” was nominated for the Award of the German Record Critics. (2005)
• Award for Outstanding Performances by the Bavarian Minister of Cultural Affairs and Science (2006)