Biggi Vinkeloe

Biggi Vinkeloe is one of few women musicians of her generation that has been influential in jazz and improvisational music. She has an enormous musical range and has initiated a great number of genre-bending projects and focuses on bridging traditional and folk music from India and Europe, sacred music and jazz, field recordings and electronic with acoustic music, compositions and improvisations. Music is the most wonderful and magic universal language not limited by any border.

musician (alto saxophone, flute), composer

When I became a professional musician, I was one of few woman saxophonists in jazz and improvised music, and therefore rarely had the chance to work with women. In 1988 and 1989, I was a member of the Cecil Taylor Workshop Band, which meant working intensely with him for several weeks with concerts in Berlin and Kassel and an album: Legba Crossing, part of Cecil Taylor in Berlin 88 box.

I have worked with many amazing musicians from Europe, North America and Asia and released more than 40 albums on labels in Europe and the US, both as physical copies and as online albums.

I have registered almost 200 compositions, from solo pieces to pieces for larger ensembles.

social activist and entrepreneur

I have always been passionate about gender issues and equality, already at a five year old I realized that I would be very difficult to pursue my vision and dreams just because I was born a girl. Gender equality is still not achieved today, six decades later.

I have been member of women activists organization in Germany, France and Sweden. From 2018 to 2020 I was the International President of WJSF (Women in Jazz South Florida).

I was part of an important exchange project between Gothenburg and Washington, D.C. http://www.womeninjazzsweden.se/in-english celebrating and bringing attention to women in a traditionally male-dominated music community.

Together with Nema Vinkeloe I initiated PROUD, a project with focus on sanitary pads.

I am part of Global Kulture based in Bangalore, India http://globalkulture.org, I am member of the Bishozi International Project, https://www.bishozi.com/en/projects and co-initiator of BAM, Bishozi Art Movement in Uganda.