Volker Kriegel

• 2-CD SET

When the Darmstadt teenager Volker Kriegel (1943-2003) officially debuted his first chords in the late 1950s, the guitar was still an outsider instrument in jazz. It could boast a few luminaries, but actually everything was still open when, in 1963 and 1964, the autodidact from Hessen won first prizes as guitarist and soloist at the amateur jazz festival in Düsseldorf. The debut recordings in 1963, which Südwestfunk (SWF) recorded with the nineteen-year-old guitarist in trio at the Deutschhaus in Mainz, and the 1969 studio sessions in the Kammersaal Studio, are worlds apart. For one thing, the guitar itself had carved out a career. On top of this, Kriegel had gained in self-confidence. But above all, he had found a counterpart in Claudio Szenkar, who opened up perspectives not only in terms of communication and composition but also through Kriegel's own instrument. The combination of vibraphone and guitar was then still fairly new. In 1968, Kriegel decided to make music his main profession. Thanks to "With A Little Help from My Friends" and an appearance at the German Jazz Festival in Frankfurt, he achieved the breakthrough into public recognition. Together with the vibraphonist Dave Pike, the bassist Hans Rettenbacher and the drummer Peter Baumeister, he founded the Dave Pike Set, which became for four years his artistic center and a beacon combo of European jazz rock.

PERSONNEL:

• Volker Kriegel- guitar
• Dieter Von Goetze - bass on CD 1 [09-14]
• Hans Rettenbacher - bass on CD 2 [08-15]
• Helmut Kampe - bass on CD 1 [01-08]
• Reinhard Knieper - bass on CD 2 [01-07]
• Dieter Matschoß - drums on CD 1 [01-08]
• Peter Baumeister - drums on CD 1 [09-14], CD 2 [08-15]
• Ralf Hübner - drums on CD 2 [01-07]
• Emil Mangelsdorff - flute on CD 2 [01-07]
• Gustl Mayer - tenor sax on CD 2 [08-15]
• Fritz Hartschuh - vibraphone on CD 2 [08-15]
• Claudio Szenkar - vibraphone, congas, percussion on CD 1 [09] to CD 2 [07]

TRACKS:

• CD ONE
• November 5, 1963 - Studio Recording Mainz, Deutschhaus
• 01 Django
• 02 Tabu
• 03 Israel
• 04 Saint Louis-Blues
• 05 Rhythm-A-Ning
• 06 Les Enfants S'ennuient Le Dimanche
• 07 Autumn Leaves
• 08 Three Seconds
• May 10, 1967 - Studio Recording Mainz, Kammersaal
• 09 Tea And Rum
• 10 Morandi
• 11 Don't Wait
• 12 Na Na Imboro
• 13 Nyleve
• 14 Connie's Blues

• CD TWO
• February 1, 1968 - Studio Recording Mainz, Deutschhaus
• 01 Vian-De
• 02 Traffic Jam
• 03 Little Pear
• 04 Norwegian Wood
• 05 Five By Four
• 06 Royal Harp
• 07 Cry It Out
• February 26, 1969 - Studio Recording Mainz, Deutschhaus
• 08 Soul Eggs
• 09 Noisy Silence, Gentle Noise
• 10 Somewhat, Somewhere, Somehow
• 11 Sitting On My Knees
• 12 Slums On Wheels
• 13 I'm On My Way
• 14 Pluns
• 15 Mother People