Torsten Goods was the son of an Irish mother and a German father in Dusseldorf in 1980. Torsten was raised in Germany by his family, who moved to Erlangen. Goods was able to get early access to jazz music thanks to his mother’s extensive record collection. This included Irish folk songs as well as jazz legends such as Oscar Peterson and Duke Ellington. However, his first steps as a guitar player were influenced by pop and rock music. Goods started to study guitar seriously at the age of 14. He met Peter O’Mara, a renowned guitarist and teacher who was able to teach him the intricacies improvised music. Torsten was just 17 years old at the time. His talent and enthusiasm were evident. He was quickly accepted into master classes by some of the greatest guitarists. He attended workshops in New York by Jim Hall, John Scofield, and also took lessons in Strasbourg with Bireli Lagrene, a virtuoso Gypsy guitarist. This was a significant influence on his growth. Gutknecht, then 20 years old, traveled to New York in 2001 with a stipend to attend the New York New School. Vic Juris and Jack Wilkins were his teachers. Torsten had to get involved in the musical life of “Big Apple” even more. Seleno Clarke and Barbara Tucker were his collaborators. He also met George Benson who was a significant influence on Gutknecht’s singing. He also had the opportunity to perform alongside guitar legend Les Paul. This gave him his name, “Torsten Goods”. Goods was no less energetic and determined in Germany than he was in New York prior to his New York stay. He joined the German Youth Jazz Orchestra in 2000 under Peter Herbolzheimer. Shortly after, he recorded his first album under his own name, “Manhattan Walls”, (Jardis), 2001. It featured Tony Lakatos and Davide Petrocca as well as Guido May and Jan Eschke. Andreas Kurz was also on the album. In 2004, “Steppin”, (Jazz4ever), was released. Jan Miserre and Marco Kuhnl were his band members at the time. Dejan Terzic and Tony Lakotos were also in the band. Lutz Hafner was a German player. The German Record Critics Award was presented to the album, and Goods was hailed by international jazz critics as an “emerging force in the jazz scene”. In 2005, Goods was selected by Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock as the final round of “Thelonious monk jazz guitar competition” in Washington D.C. Since then Torsten has been extensively touring Europe, Asia, the USA. He has been a part of many notable performances, including those with Bob James, Chris Potter and James Genus. Torsten Goods was the son of an Irish mother and a German father in Dusseldorf in 1980. Torsten was raised in Germany by his family, who moved to Erlangen. Goods was able to get early access to jazz music thanks to his mother’s extensive record collection. This included Irish folk songs as well as jazz legends such as Oscar Peterson and Duke Ellington. However, his first steps as a guitar player were influenced by pop and rock music. Goods started to study guitar seriously at the age of 14. He met Peter O’Mara, a renowned guitarist and teacher who was able to teach him the intricacies improvised music. Torsten was just 17 years old at the time. His talent and enthusiasm were evident. He was quickly accepted into master classes by some of the greatest guitarists. He attended workshops in New York by Jim Hall, John Scofield, and also took lessons in Strasbourg with Bireli Lagrene, a virtuoso Gypsy guitarist. This was a significant influence on his growth. Gutknecht, then 20 years old, traveled to New York in 2001 with a stipend to attend the New York New School. Vic Juris and Jack Wilkins were his teachers. Torsten had to get involved in the musical life of “Big Apple”. Seleno Clarke and Barbara Tucker were his collaborators. He also met George Benson who was a significant influence on Gutknecht’s singing. He also had the opportunity to perform alongside guitar legend Les Paul. This gave him his name, “Torsten Goods.” Goods was no less energetic and determined in Germany than he was in New York prior to his New York stay. He joined the German Youth Jazz Orchestra in 2000 under Peter Herbolzheimer. Shortly after, he recorded his first album under his own name, “Manhattan Walls”, (Jardis), 2001. It featured Tony Lakatos and Davide Petrocca as well as Guido May and Jan Eschke. Andreas Kurz was also on the album. “Steppin”, (Jazz4ever) was released in 2004. Jan Miserre and Marco Kuhnl were his band members at the time. Dejan Terzic and Tony Lakotos were also in his band. Lutz Hafner was a German player. The German Record Critics Award was presented to the album, and Goods was hailed by international jazz critics as an “emerging force in the jazz scene”. In 2005, Goods was selected by Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock as the final round of “Thelonious monk jazz guitar competition” in Washington D.C. Since then Torsten has been extensively touring Europe, Asia, the USA. He has been a part of many notable performances, including those with Bob James, Chris Potter and James Genus. Goods started working exclusively for ACT in 2006 as an artist. His ACT debut, Irish Heart, (ACT 9714-2), in which he explores his Irish roots, was a major breakthrough. It not only introduced him to a wider audience, but also made him a well-known singer. Goods has a superb guitar technique, but he is also a sensitive and expressive singer who is equally at home in blues and pop. He was invited to many major European festivals, including the Paris Jazz Festival and Jazz Baltica, Burghausen Jazz Days, Burghausen Jazz weeks, JazzKaar Estonia, JazzKaar Estonia and the Traumzeit-Festival in Den Haag. Also, he was invited to the London International Jazz Competition, Montreux Jazz Guitar Competition and the European Guitar Award in Dresden. Goods expands his musical repertoire with 1980 (ACT 9719-2), his second ACT album. Goods adapts the music of great artists from 1980 (the year Goods’s birth) and adds his own compositions. Goods continues to follow the footsteps of jazz singers like Al Jarreau or Michael Buble. Five years have passed since his last album, “1980”, in which he took over the soundtracks from the year he was conceived. Although it took a while, good things do sometimes take time. This “rising star” (“Kulturspiegel”) decided to take a break from recording and reexamine his fast-moving career. After a time, he decided to stop accepting album offers and make guest appearances on the German HR and SWR radio major bands with Till Bronner’s group as well as Larry Coryell. He moved to R territory from jazz.
