Finn Wiest

Biography

Young drummer Finn Wiest is a first-call sideman in the NYC jazz scene and just finished his Master’s degree at the City College of New York with Carl Allen, Steve Wilson and Mike Holober.
He was born in Biberach an der Riss, Germany, and started playing the drums at the age of four. In his youth, Finn won numerous national as well as international musical competitions and was accepted to the Youth Jazz Orchestra of Baden-Wuerttemberg. In 2017, he went on to study with Jonas Burgwinkel and Michael Küttner at the Conservatory of Cologne.
In 2022, he was part of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (BuJazzO) and member of the “Gutenberg Jazz Collective” where he was able to work with guest artists such as Billy Hart, Ben Street, Kris Davis, Becca Stevens and Ingrid Jensen. In 2020, he was a finalist at the “Biberacher Jazzpreis” with the formation “Hat Trio” and received the prize for the best composition at “Tremplin Jazz” in Avignon in 2022 with his own quintet.
He has performed and toured with renowned musicians such as Ray Gallon, Pablo Held, Florian Ross and Tyreek McDole. In the Spring semester of 2024, Finn was working as an assistant teacher for the Bachelor’s ensembles at The City College of New York and in April 2024 he was invited to teach a masterclass at “Struttin Jazz Lab” in Mexico City as well as leading his trio there.
He has played at Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Philharmonie Cologne, The Django NYC and the original Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem amongst others.
As of early 2024, his discography includes „Wiedersehen“ with the Stefan Schöler Trio (Unit Records, 2021), „Meet Me At The Loft” with Pablo Held (2022), and “Proyecto Colonia” with Melissa Pinto (2022). In 2025 he is going to release his debut album “Aurora” with his quintet.
Pablo Held describes his playing as “very tasteful and musical”