Jürgen Saalmann studied classical guitar at the Musikhochschule Münster and graduated in 1997 as a certified guitar teacher. Jürgen Saalmann teaches guitar at the Haltern am See municipal music school and is a lecturer at the JKS Herne. Since 2005 he has been running the Stereoflex Records label with Michael Nötges. He works as a freelance composer and currently gives concerts with the programs “Traumzeit” (meditative guitar music) and “transit” (acoustic guitar & global beats).

After a few years in various progressive rock and pop bands, he began composing and performing as a solo guitarist. In 2015, the specialist magazine Akustik Guitar wrote: "Jürgen Saalmann is one of the modern crossover classics". His compositions range from romantic, meditative guitar music to contemporary guitar music and all-style world music. The album for the live program transit was rated in the music magazine Folker 2015 as "an interesting blend of acoustic guitar music, folky melodies, hip beats and atmospheric soundscapes".

Jürgen Saalmann has released several solo CDs on the Stereoflex Records label. They were among other things discussed in music magazines such as Jazz Podium, Concerto and Acoustic Guitar. Tracks from the album "Transit" were among others presented at the stations hr2-kultur and the SR 2 Kulturradio. Some pieces are played regularly on WDR4 and WDR5. Saalmann's music was streamed well over 2 million times on Spotify.