Ingolf Burkhardt was born in 1963 in Baden-Würtemberg, South Germany. His first encounter with music was a local brass band. There Ingolf, as a nineyear old,  played the bugle his grandfather had bought him. Four years later he discovered a new world when his dear old music professor Kühn in the Junior High School Big Band taught him how to play the blues. At the age of 16 Ingolf got his first professional gig with a dance  band. In 1982 he started playing with the locally famous and often awarded SBF Big Band (Stadt Bad Friedrichshall) from which many band members today work as professional jazz musicians.

Ingolf was nominated to play with the official Youth Big Band of of his home County Baden-Württemberg (Landesjugend Big Band Baden-Württemberg) under the leadership of the American jazztrombonist and music professor Jiggs Whigham. This experience included an extensive tour in Africa and several of LP recordings. Between 1985 and 1989 Ingolf studied at Cologne Music Conservatory with the German jazz veteran and trumpet professor Manfred Schoof as well as Jiggs Whigham. During this period Ingolf’s professional career also took off, playing with the WDR Big Band (West German Radio Big Band), the official Big Band of the EU, Chaka Khan, Peter Herbolzheimer’s RC&B and the #1 hit "New York, Rio, Tokyo" with Trio Rio. Furthermore, Ingolf played first trumpet with the musical “Starlight Express” in Bochum, Germany, for two years.

Playing with Bujazzo, the national youth jazz orchestra of West Germany in 1987, Ingolf first met American trumpet legend Bobby Shew. This was not only the beginning of a friendship but also a very important learning experience. After a couple of years of regular studies with Bobby Shew, they founded a quintet and made six tours around Germany from 1989 to 1995. Bobby Shew encouraged Ingolf to become a trumpet teacher himself, which resulted in a professorship at the Music Conservatory in Hamburg from 2001 to 2008.  Based on the technique of Bobby Shew he teaches private lessons and master classes around Europe.

 Since 1990 Ingolf is a regular band member of the NDR Big Band (North German Radio). In his work with NDR Ingolf had the pleasure of playing with a long list of the jazz greats such as Lionel Hampton, Abdullah Ibrahim, Jimmy Smith, McCoy Tyner, Johnny Griffin, Joe Pass, Michael Gibbs, Gary Burton, Al Jarreau, Stanley Turrentine, Van Morrison, Oscar Brown Jr., Pee Wee Ellis, Bobby McFerrin, Dave Holland, Joao Bosco, Jaques Morelembaum.

As one of the most requested studio musicians in Germany, Ingolf has recorded amongst many others Loona, Echt (“Rekorder”), James Last, Mr. President, Scatman John, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Dieter Bohlen, Christina Stürmer, Howard Carpendale, Vicky Leandros, Trio Rio, Peter Fessler, Al Martino, Tony Christie, plus countless jingles with his horn section The Matterhorns. Ingolf is also a member of Joe Gallardo’s Latino Blue, a latin jazz group. The CD "Blueseando" was released in February 2002 with Enja Records.

In 2003 British saxophone legend Alan Skidmore asked Ingolf to join his afro-british band UBIZO as a soloist. This ongoing success has resulted in 2 cds: "The call" (2003) and "50 journeys" (2008) produced by Colin Towns, Provocateur Records, and appearances on major European jazz festivals as well as at the famous Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in London.

So far, Ingolf has released 4 CDs with his own compositions and arrangements. “Jazzed Friends” (1996, Mons Records) with Ingolf Burkhardt & Ludwig Nuss Quintet which the acknowledged jazz critic Mike Hennessey described as “...refreshing vitality, ... musicians who thoroughly enjoy what they are doing... spirited, technichally assured, rhythmically dynamic, musically adventurous...”.

Solo project, “Strangers” (2001, PAO Records) with Ingolf Burkhardt Quartet mainly contains his own compositions. Though it is accoustic, it has a modern approach with grooves and beautiful ballads. This CD as well as the release concerts have received raving reviews by the audience and the press. This was followed by the CD "Just B4" under the band name Ingolf B4 (2002, rent a dog records) with piano genious Vladislav Sendecki, American bass player Paul Imm, and Britain's #1 studio & session drummer Ian Thomas.

His latest, groove-oriented project, JAZUL, combines Germany's hottest soul/ pop rhythm section with  his jazzy trumpet sound. Their first album "What...? (2007, rent a dog records) got great reviews and the group toured extensively through Germany. The new album "That...!" has been released in september 2009 with "C.A.R.E.music group", the new record label of Tom Glagow, former CEO of "Global Chrysalis".

"Mc Jazz", an acid jazz album directed by famous pop producer Annette Humpe and produced by bassist Anselm Kluge was released on "ACT" on sep 15th 2009. It features Ingolf on tp/ flgh and Peter Weniger on saxes.

Martin Ehlers and his trio feature  Ingolf on their new album "Feel the light", accoustic popjazz with a lot of smooth flugelhorn. The CD is out on "NRW records".