Born in 1973 in Wolfsburg, Germany, Daniel Erdmann began to play the saxophone at the age of ten, and went on to study at the National Music School in Berlin. Influenced by teachers like Gebhard Ullmann and Aki Takase, he developed an approach which, while fundamentally free, demonstrates a profound knowledge of and respect for the whole jazz tradition.

His own quartet Erdmann 3000 was established in 1999, and has issued a string of critically acclaimed CDs, and in 2002 he joined up with guitarist Hasse Poulsen and drummer Edward Perraud to form the trio Das Kapital, which blends electronic and acoustic, improvised and composed elements in a wholly distinctive manner.