Born in 1956 in Bochum in the midst of German's heavy industrial and coal mining "Ruhr" area, Georg Graewe took up guitar at the age of 8. He joined a local rock band when he was 15, playing guitar and some piano. He also provided the band with a couple of original compositions. In 1974, after abandoning guitar and concentrating on piano and composition, Graewe formed his first quintet. Two years later, he recorded his first record for the Berlin-based FMP label. Since then, he has recorded for different labels in Europe and America. Since starting his ongoing trio with cellist Ernst Reijseger and drummer Gerry Hemingway in 1989, Graewe has recently focused on solo work as well as a new quintet with saxophonist Mats Gustaffson, trombonist Sebi Tramontana, bassist Mark Dresser, and drummer Mark Sanders.
In 1993, Graewe started Random Acoustics, which helped expand his role as a producer and publisher of new music. This recital consists in part of fully improvised character pieces inspired by keyboard music of Frescobaldi, Scarlatti, Brahms and Schoenberg (hence the title "Traces of Memory"), and in part of improvisations suggested by the complex time-structures of Coltrane and Boulez
