Christian Mehler

Chris Mehler is a German jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York and has been a guest soloist with the WDR Big Band Cologne and the SWR Big Band. He leads his own sextet, which stands out with its frontline of vocals, guitar and trumpet, and plays in the international jazz quartet „My Imaginary Friend“ with Catalan jazz drummer Jorge Rossy, which released its debut album "Gentle Giant" in 2022. Over the years, Mehler has gained extensive experience in large ensemble playing and has participated in numerous live and studio productions as a solo, section and lead trumpeter in all German radio big bands.

He is a member of several large ensembles such as the „Subway Jazz Orchester“ in Cologne, the „Ed Partyka Jazz Orchestra“ and „Fabia Mantwill Orchestra“ in Berlin and the „Tobias Becker Big Band“ in Stuttgart.
Through his numerous tours around the world, he has performed with musicians such as Maria Schneider, Jacob Collier, Jim McNeely, Kurt Elling, John Abercrombie, John Beasley, Randy Brecker and Billy Childs. 
He also receives international commissions as a teacher and was already teaching jazz trumpet at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart at the age of 27. Mehler gives workshops on trumpet, improvisation and practicing and is also a popular coach for big band section.

After completing his bachelor's degree in jazz trumpet at the Cologne University of Music and Dance with Prof. Andreas Haderer and Matthias Bergmann, Mehler moved to New York City for two years thanks to a DAAD scholarship, where he received his Master of Music at the Manhattan School of Music in 2019. In addition to his main teachers there, Ingrid Jensen, Phil Markowitz and Scott Wendholt, he also studied composition and arranging with Prof. Jim McNeely and Mike Holober, who have contributed significantly to his stylistically flexible artist profile as a jazz and lead trumpeter, bandleader, composer, arranger and educator. Since summer 2023, he's living in Berlin.

Discography (since 2020): 

• Chris Mehler Sextet: Debut Album "Whales & Swarms", vsl. 2024
• Munich Lab Band: "The Way Things Are", 2023
• Ed Partyka Jazz Orchestra: "Hold Your Fire", 2023
• My Imaginary Friend (w/ Jorge Rossy): "Gentle Giant", 2022
• Andreas Pientka Tentett: "Tiefe Nacht", 2022
• Jürgen Friedrich Large Ensemble: "Semi Song", 2022
• Magnus Mehl: "Upside Down An In Between", 2021
• Subway Jazz Orchestra: "Still Screaming", 2020