tobias delius was born on the july 15th 1964 in oxford, england. in 1980 he began playing the tenor saxophone in bochum, germany. during 1983/84 he stayed in mexico city where he joined pianist francisco t_llez and his “cuarteto mexicano de jazz”.

in 1984 tobias delius moved to amsterdam where he studied briefly at the sweelinck conservatorium. he soon became involved with the lively local improvising scene. since 1990 tobias delius leads his own 4tet with tristan honsinger (cello), joe williamson (bass) and han bennink (drums). he performs trios with pianist cor fuhler & various drummers (louis moholo and paul lovens for example) and co-leads trio san francisco with fellow saxophonists sean bergin & daniele d’agaro.

his trio with bassist joe williamson and drummer steve heather is called “booklet”. apa ini is a quartet with hilary jeffery (trombone), wilbert de joode (bass) & serigne gueye (percussion).

the duo with pianist michiel scheen from tobias delius’ first years in amsterdam is also performing again. he can also be heard in such diverse bands as sean bergin’s mob, cor fuhler’s corkestra, and misha mengelberg’s icp.

in february 2004 tobias delius was awarded the boy edgar prize, the netherlands’ most prestigious award in improvised music.