Gunter Hampel

Gunter Hampel ( born August 31, 1937 in Göttingen ) is a German jazz musician (composer, vibraphonist, saxophonist, flutist, pianist and bass clarinetist ).

Life and work

Hampel initiated in 1953 for the first time own combo. He studied architecture and in 1958 was a professional jazz musician who, among other things was with Toto Blanke and later with Werner Lüdi on tour. The plate Heartplants (1964 ) was one of the first attempts independent European jazz. From 1966 he worked increasingly with European musicians such as John McLaughlin, Arjen Gorter, Willem van Manen and Willem Breuker together, but increasingly also with American soloists, especially Marion Brown, Jeanne Lee and Anthony Braxton. Particularly noteworthy is the plate The 8th of July (1969 ), available on the European and American free jazz to a convincing synthesis.

Since 1969 he lives in New York. The early 1970s he founded the Galaxy Dream Band, which had nearly 30 years of existence. The key players of Galaxy Dream Band were next to him his then girlfriend, the jazz singer Jeanne Lee, and clarinetist Perry Robinson. Furthermore, Hampel has always played solo and duo concerts (especially with Brown and Lee, but also with Boulou Ferré ).

Then Hampel was just as Thomas Keyserling, who previously played for many years in the Galaxy Dream Band, part of the indie project The Cocoon. Later, a collaboration with the Jazzkantine and the creation of improvised jazz - hip-hop project, Next Generation, on which work together musicians Christian Weidner, Gerrit Juhnke, or Mike Diez with the dancer Shaun Vargas and the rapper was Smudo. In New York trio he worked with Lou Grassi and Perry Robinson. Furthermore Hampel founded the " Gunter Hampel John Schleiermacher Duo ," the " Gunter Hampel European trio" in the next Hampel and Schleiermacher still played Bernd Oezsevim. 2001 was the Gunter Hampel Music Dance Improvisation Company. His son Ruomi Hampel -Lee contributes to some current projects.

Since 1972, Hampel are multi-day workshops for children, and trying to teach them with the Music Dance Improvisation Company through movement and improvisation the first steps in Kollectives jazz improvisation.

Hampel has also written film scores as well as 1996, the music for the play Sid and Nancy by Ben Becker. Hampel was also involved in the performance of compositions by Hans Werner Henze, Krzysztof Penderecki and Don Cherry.

Awards and prizes

In 1978 the Hampel Critics Poll of Down Beat in the vibraphone division highlighting as New Star. For his outstanding artistic work him in 1997, the Lower Saxony State Prize was awarded. On 28 October 2007, the city of Göttingen Hampel gave their Medal of Honor. For his life's work, he was awarded in November 2007 with the German Jazz Award (Albert Mangelsdorff Prize ). On June 23, 2009, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon. In 2010 he was awarded the Praetorius Music Prize in the category Music Innovation Award.

Disco Graphical Notes

• Heartplants (1964, with Manfred Schoof Alexander von Schlippenbach, Buschi Niebergall, Pierre Courbois )
• The 8th of July (1969, with Anthony Braxton, Jeanne Lee, Willem Breuker, Arjen Gorter, Steve McCall )