Gunter Gruner started playing drums in marching bands in east germany. Later he sat in with the band of his father, playing Rock, Pop and R&B music. After taking music lessons and listening to Coltrane, Monk and Art Ensemble of Chicago he started to perform jazz music with local musicians. When moving to Hamburg he met pianist Jörg Hochapfel, bassist John Hughes, trumpeter Thomas Burhorn, guitarist Clinton Campisi, performing in various combinations and listening to more jazz recordings. After studying with drummer Björn Lücker and being accepted into the jazz program of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg he studied with bassist Lukas Lindholm, composer/arranger Wolf Kerschek, pianist Dieter Glawischnig as well as taking lessons with drummers John Hollenbeck, Tom Rainey and Alex Riel who came to Hamburg for recording sessions with the NDR Bigband. In 2005 he moved to New York, studying jazz performance at City College, learning from jazz great's John Patitucci, Mike Holober and Scott Reeves. Over a time period of three years he took private lessons with forward-thinking drummer Andrew Cyrille. He also performed with the acclaimed theater ensemble "Waterwell", playing shows at Joe's Pub, Barrow Street Theater, Perry Street Theater and Lion's Theater. He recorded with Daniel Carter, Salim Washington, Kirk Knuffke, Yusuke Yamamoto, Christoph Auer, Emilio Teubal and Nicholas Letmann Burtinovic. His contemporary jazz ensemble "The Invisible Landscape" was presented at the RUCMA/ Vision series at the Living Theater New York and nominated for a Roulette Van Lier Fellowship for composition. Original compositions are featured in the film "take it" by award winning director Max Weissberg.
During the past 5 years Gunter Gruner has also performed with William Parker, Roy Campbell, Hill Greene, Lakecia Benjamin, Ras Moshe, Tom Zlabinger, David Moss, Andrew Jordan, Rodney Gardiner and many others.
