Rainer Brüninghaus is a German jazz pianist, composer, and university teacher. He began classical piano training at age nine and formed his first jazz trio at sixteen, later studying sociology at the University of Cologne from 1968 to 1972 and music from 1971 to 1975. In 1970 he founded the experimental jazz rock group Eiliff, and in 1973 he joined the band of guitarist Volker Kriegel. From 1973 to 1985 he was a frequent guest with the Hessian Broadcasting Corporation jazz ensemble and big band. At the German Jazz Festival Frankfurt in 1978, he performed a 50-minute commissioned suite that brought him wider critical recognition. He has also collaborated with musicians including Jan Garbarek, Carla Bley, John Abercrombie, Eberhard Weber, and others.
