Monday, December 24, 2018

Milestone Maniac: Volker Kriegel 75

Just gonna toss this up as we head for the big holiday here, because it's a great show in tribute to a criminally unsung guitar player and a personal favorite musician.
This guy was born this day in 1943 and has been gone for 15 years now, although his music is never far from my hi-fi even long gone.
Truth be told, his 1970s funkathons are among my most favored of the Fusionscape.
And what a player. Very few can play a lot of notes and never waste one, but Volker Kriegel was definitely one of them.
Initially my lazy ass was gonna skip him over, but then I heard this HR Bigband tribute concert of his Fusion stuff, played by that cracking German Radio ensemble, so no skippage today.
This one was just recorded at the end of November, as homage to VK's 75th b'day today, so it makes the perfect celebration.
HR Bigband
"Mild Maniac: Hommage an Volker Kriegel" 
HR Sendesaal
Frankfurt, Germany
11.22.2018

Set 1:
01 applause
02 Lift
03 announcement
04 Für Hector
05 announcement
06 Prinz Eisenherz
07 announcement
08 The E Again
09 announcement
10 Morandi
11 announcement
12 Mild Maniac
13 intermission, interviews + radio announcements

Set 2:
14 applause + announcement
15 Schnellhörspiel
16 announcement
17 Between the Seasons
18 announcement
19 A Piece with a Chord From a Yorkshire Terrier
20 announcement
21 Ach Kina
22 band introductions
23 Missing Link
24 announcement
25 Definitely Unsuspicious

Total time: 2:17:57

John Schröder - guitar
Jesse van Ruller - guitar
Martin Scales - guitar
Heinz-Dieter Sauerborn - alto saxophone
Oliver Leicht - clarinet, flute
Tony Lakatos - tenor saxophone
Steffen Weber - tenor saxophone
Rainer Heute - baritone saxophone
Marko Mebus - trumpet
Thomas Vogel - trumpet
Martin Auer - trumpet
Axel Schlosser - trumpet, flugelhorn
Günter Bollmann - trombone
Shannon Barnett - trombone
Christian Jaksjø - trombone
Manfred Honetschläger - trombone
Peter Reiter - Fender Rhodes
Hans Glawischnig - bass
Jean Paul Höchstädter - drums
Jim McNeely - conductor, arranger & announcer

digital capture of a Nov. 2018 HR2-Kultur broadcast
I will be right back as St. Nick descends the chimney later on, with some Christmas birthday love for one of the best voices of our age -- and a Christmas baby to boot -- but don't sleep on this Volker Kriegel set... you'll not hear a more loving, blazingly played tribute to a more deserving artist if you live to be as old as Krampus!--J.
12.24.1943 - 6.15.2003
(this cartoon is a VK self portrait)