In the organizer's words:

In 2001, at the age of 20, Gutknecht went to New York on a scholarship to the renowned New School University, where Jack Wilkins and Vic Juris became his teachers. More importantly for him, however, he was able to throw himself into the action in the Big Apple for a year and a half: he worked with Seleno Clarke, Barbara Tucker, Reverend Run (from Run DMC), and last but not least met George Benson, a great role model who also inspired him to sing. He was also able to perform with Les Paul, who also created the stage name Torsten Goods.

Goods had continued to work with no less energy and determination even before his stay abroad in his native Germany. In 2000, he became a member of the BundesJugendJazzOrchester led by Peter Herbolzheimer and soon afterwards - even before graduating from high school - recorded his first album: "Manhattan Walls" (Jardis) was released in 2001 with Tony Lakatos, Davide Petrocca, Dejan Terzic, Guido May, Jan Eschke, Andreas Kurz and Rick Keller.

Two years after "Soul Searching", Torsten Goods is back - with a new sound and fresh energy. His eighth studio album "Soul Deep" will be released in September 2025 on Membran Records. The new songs go deep - stylistically and emotionally - and combine jazz, soul and personal stories in a very unique way. It will also be intense live: the tour starts in the fall and in April 2026 he can finally be heard here in Dortmund.