Jakob Helling is a composer, arranger, trumpeter, and orchestra leader. His work moves in the dynamic space between jazz, contemporary music, and orchestral sound art — driven by the ambition to question stylistic conventions and to reflect anew on the social relevance of music in today’s world.

Just as he seeks to bridge the gap between light, entertaining music and serious, thought-provoking compositions, the themes he explores range from the deeply serious to the playfully humorous.

As a father of two children, he is particularly attuned to political and social issues. His artistic practice is shaped by themes such as body identity, male vulnerability, gender roles, and the search for strategies toward a sustainable and livable future.

As a composer and conductor, Helling has collaborated with internationally renowned ensembles, including the WDR Big Band Cologne, the hr-Bigband, as well as leading ensembles and soloists from the contemporary and jazz scenes. His arrangements and original works have been presented in venues such as the WDR Funkhaus Cologne, Queen Elizabeth Hall London, the Rheingau Music Festival, and the Jazzwerkstatt Festival Graz. In 2024, he also worked as an arranger during Soumik Datta’s residency with the Philharmonia Orchestra London.

With his projects WINDOWS WIDE OPEN and GLOW (2025), Helling continues to expand his compositional language, developing precise sonic architectures and further aligning his work with the social responsibilities of composing.

With his “Jakob Helling Concert Big Band” he released two albums:

“Live in 2019” (2020 – self-published) and

“Nerds & Sweeties” feat. Fay Claassen (2023 – Quinton Records)

Photo by Baiba Yurkevic