has studied at the "Hilversums Conservatorium" in Holland and at the „Musikhochschule Köln“.
In 1995, he was the only german guitar player who had reached the semifinals in the renowned "Thelonious Monk Competition" in Washington D.C..

1997 his CD debut as a leader "Common Language", with Jeff Hamilton, Larry Fuller and John Goldsby is released on „Doubletime-Records“ and gets raving reviews in the press. The german magazine "Jazzpodium" calls him „one of the master guitar-players of modern jazz“. He wins numerous awards and the "Stiftung Kunst und Kultur des Landes NRW" donates him a guitar made by the world-famed luthier Robert Benedetto. His second CD "In The Moment", with Chris Potter, Adam Nussbaum and John Goldsby, co-produced by the WDR, Germanys biggest radio and broadcasting station, is released in 2000. "Super jazz guitar playing" writes "allaboutjazz.com" and calls him "Germany´s best kept secret".

The German magazine "Akustik Gitarre" writes : "A concentrated charge of musicality...a must for jazz-guitar lovers and a real discovery in the German scene." Critics of the American "JazzTimes Magazine" vote „In The Moment“ as one of the top 5 CDs of the year. The german Foreign Ministry and the “Goethe Institut” send his bands to Egypt, to Sudan and to Turkey, and he puts together a German - American band for a concert at the germen pavilion at the „Expo 2000“. Numerous appearances at international festivals and in clubs, are indicators for his growing popularity and status in the international jazz community.

2004 his third album as a leader, "Nocturnes", with Dietmar Fuhr on bass, Chander Sardjoe on drums and mridangam, the „Minguet Stringquartet“ and arrangements by Florian Ross, is released. "Joachim Schoenecker is among the best that European guitar jazz has to offer!" writes "Gitarre & Bass", and "Jazzthing", another German jazz magazine says: "An incredibly beautiful album. "Besides his projects as a leader with his quartet, trio or ensemble (trio + stringquartet), Joachim Schoenecker is much in demand as a sideman and has worked in the studio or on stage with many famous musicians like "Toots" Thielemans, Patti Austin, Paquito D´Rivera, Peter Erskine, Don Braden, John Riley, Jeff Hamilton, Dick Oatts, John Marshall, Michael Abene, Peter Weniger, Silvia Droste, the WDR Bigband and the WDR Sinfonieorchestra.
He has also been teaching jazz - guitar and ensemble classes at the “Hochschule für Musik und Theater” in Leipzig from1999 to 2005.

Official Website