Christof Lauer

Christof Lauer 2017 at Jazz im Palmengarten in Frankfurt

2010 in Frankfurt am Main

Christof Lauer (born May 25, 1953 in Melsungen , Hessen ) is a German jazz musician ( tenor saxophone , composition ). He was u. a. awarded the SWF Jazz Prize (1986) and the State of Hesse's Jazz Prize (2005) and is one of the most important European jazz saxophonists.

Live and act

Lauer comes from a pastor's family , learned to play the piano at the age of six and also had cello lessons in his childhood . He eventually studied this instrument at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main . In 1971 Lauer switched to the tenor saxophone and from 1972 to 1974 studied jazz at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz with Dieter Glawischnig . Then he was a member of the Erich Kleinschuster Sextet .

In 1978 Christof Lauer returned to Frankfurt, in 1979 he became a member of the “ Jazz Ensemble des Hessischer Rundfunk ” and also took Günter Kronberg's place in the Voices group with Heinz Sauer , Bob Degen and Ralf Hübner . In 1993 Lauer joined the NDR Big Band as a soloist (where he worked until his retirement in 2018), in 1994 he became a member of the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble , in which he took the place of Charlie Mariano . In 1996 Albert Mangelsdorff brought him into his quintet.

Lauer was strongly influenced in his musical development by free jazz and the music of John Coltrane . Musician personalities like Stan Getz and Albert Ayler also had an influence on Lauer, who has long since found his own musical language. Lauer has been publishing CDs under his own name on a regular basis since 1990. He played albums with Michel Godard and Marc Ducret , as well as with Jens Thomas , Geir Lysne and other artists.

Prizes and awards

• 1986 Jazz Prize of the Südwestfunk (today Südwestrundfunk )
• 1999 Annual Prize of the German Record Critics for Fragile Network
• 2005 Hessian Jazz Prize .
• 2015 ECHO Jazz for his album Petite Fleur as big band album of the year

Discographic notes

With Patrice Héral and Michel Godard, 2010

• 1990 Christof Lauer (with Joachim Kühn , Palle Danielsson and Peter Erskine ), annual German Record Critics ' Award
• 1994 Evidence (French award "Choc de L'Année"), quarterly award of the German record review
• 1999 Fragile Network
• 1999 Kudsi Ergüner Ottomania
• 2001 Christof Lauer / Jens Thomas Shadows in the Rain , quarterly award of the German Record Critics 4/2001
• 2003 Heaven
• 2003 Christof Lauer / Jens Thomas Pure Joy
• 2006 Blues in Mind (with Michel Godard and Gary Husband )
• 2011 Out of Print , in a duo with Eric Watson, (Outnote Records)
• 2014 Petite Fleur with NDR Bigband play Sidney Bechet (ACT)
• 2015 Gerardo Nuñez, Ulf Wakenius, Chano Domínguez, Ramón Valle Trio, Christof Lauer, Cepillo * - Jazzpaña Live (ACT)

literature

• Dieter Römer: Games without borders: Christof Lauer . In: Wolfgang Sandner : Jazz in Frankfurt. Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1990, pp. 25-27.

Web links

Commons : Christof Lauer  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Portrait (ACT)
• Christof Lauer at Discogs (English)