Luxembourg native Paul Wiltgen is internationally recognized as an accomplished drummer, an imaginative composer and a visionary bandleader. An artist in the truest sense of the word, Paul compellingly balances his musical aesthetic and his personal passion, creating a sound from the drums that simultaneously supports and inspires.

 Born in Luxembourg in 1982, Paul was raised in a musical family. After an extensive classical tutelage and a considerable amount of orchestral experience, Paul decided to pursue what would become his life’s passion: a career as a drummer.

Not long after realizing his true vocation, Paul became one of the most in-demand drummers in and around Luxembourg. August 2001 saw the mark of a major milestone in Paul’s life: he moved to New York City to study at the Manhattan School of Music.

Since graduating, Paul is in the vanguard of today’s jazz scene, having worked with many of its leading voices, including Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mike Moreno, David Binney, Lage Lund, Patrick Cornelius, Michael Janisch, Ambrose Akinmusire, Will Vinson, Walter Smith III, Bireli Lagrene, Tim Collins, Pablo Held and Franz von Chossy.
In collaboration with New Orleans guitarist, composer and producer Brian Seeger, Wiltgen released the album Organic Trio “Saturn’s Spell” in 2017, which features four of his original compositions and which charted nationwide at #2 in the US JazzWeek Charts in February 2017 and remained in the Top 10 for two months.

As the drummer and co-leader of the trio Reis/Demuth/Wiltgen, he has recorded and released four albums. The trio collaborates on a regular basis with saxophonist Joshua Redman, who performed Wiltgen’s composition “Floppy Disk” with his own groups in 2014 and 2015. During the trio’s March 2018 European Tour featuring Joshua Redman, Reis/Demuth/Wiltgen appeared at the Luxembourg Philharmonic presenting the trio’s music arranged for the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra by multiple Grammy Award winning composer and conductor Vince Mendoza. This repertoire was recorded in July 2022 and the album will be released by the renowned Italian label CAM Jazz in 2024.

Wiltgen was also the leader of a New York band named “The Paislies”, which released an album on the Fresh Sound New Talent record label in 2007. He is one of the original members of The TransAtlantic Collective (Whirlwind Records, UK), a vivacious contemporary jazz ensemble made up of musicians based in London and New York City.