Axel Zwingenberger
Axel Zwingenberger ( born May 7, 1955 in Hamburg ) is a German boogie -woogie and blues pianist and composer.
Life and work
Zwingenberger, son of a doctor, received from his 6 years of piano lessons, but only came with 17 years with the boogie -woogie in touch. By then he had ( quote) " not known that one can so play the piano ." From this point on, this style was the focus of his musical work.
In 1975 he got his first record deal. Over the years, he stepped on (Big Joe Turner, Lionel Hampton, Champion Jack Dupree, Mama Yancey, Jay McShann and many more) along with a number of prominent American jazz musician. This cooperation usually also led to recordings. The series of recorded sessions includes approximately 30 vinyl records or CDs. He has (in my language ) also contributed to albums by Bill Wyman 's Rhythm Kings ( Just For A Thrill ) or Ludwig Hirsch. Happy and regularly he also performs with his brother, the jazz and blues drummer Torsten Zwingenberger on.
Axel Zwingenberger enriches the Boogie Woogie with his own compositions and also the publication of printed music.
In the spring of 2009 - mediated by the pianist Ben Waters - renewed Zwingenberger his musical collaboration with Charlie Watts. Since then Zwingenberger, Waters, Watts and bassist Dave Green play together in the band "The ABC & D of Boogie Woogie ". The band name is derived from the name Axel, Ben, Charlie, and Dave.
Boogie Woogie and the steam engine
On his concert tours in the early 1990s on the territory of the former GDR him many of the steam locomotives still present there caught the eye, and the acoustic near the steam engine technology for the pounding rhythm of the boogie woogie. He revived his old hobby of photography, specializing traveling to flash night shots of steam trains in the style of the photographs by O. Winston Link. Zwingenberger documented his love of steam locomotives in a photo book ( The magic of the trains, ISBN 3-926398-02-7 ) with these self- taken photographs, supplemented by CDs with railway boogie woogie and steam locomotive original tones. Zwingenberger founded with friends the " Stiftung Kultur on rails" to promote the survival and operation of historic listed rail vehicles such as the 18 201. In his concerts he would love to present railway music.
In the Press
Martin writes in the Kunzler Jazz Encyclopedia, Volume 2: From La Barbera to Zwingenberger: "With enormous drive and sense of place in the atmosphere of the pianist Axel Zwingenberger represents the summit of European Boogie Woogie Renaissance. "
Peter Stöbich says in the key World 3 /03: "Axel Zwingenberger plays the boogie woogie as authentic as his legendary mentor ... For many younger pianists of the hamburger is now itself become an idol and mentor. "
Awards
For the album Let 's Boogie Woogie All Night Long Zwingenberger got together with Blue shouter Big Joe Turner the German Record Critics' Award in the category " Traditional Jazz". 2007 Zwingenberger was admitted to the United States in the Boogie Woogie Hall Of Fame.
Furthermore, the front page of the Weekend Journal of the Hamburg evening paper from 23 September 2000 was designed by the magic of the trains with photographs from his book and was awarded the European Newspaper Award 2000 in the category Photography. Furthermore, he shared with Gottfried Böttger and Torfrock the NORD AWARD 2007.