Felix Astor

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Felix Astor (* 1968 in Heidelberg ) is a German jazz musician ( drums , also guitar and vocals, composition ).

Live and act

Astor started playing drums at the age of eight. As a teenager he played classical orchestral music, but also attended workshops with Elvin Jones and Billy Hart to play jazz. From 1989 to 1992 he studied at the Cologne University of Music with Peter Giger . In 1993 he received a scholarship for a summer course at the Academy of Fine Arts with Keith Copeland , Kenny Wheeler , Mick Goodrick , Abraham Adzenyah and Chucho Valdés .

Astor initially belonged to Reiner Witzel’s band , with whom two albums were created. He also founded his own projects; with his sextet he received the Henessy Jazz Search in 1998 . In the trio "DRA" of the vibraphonist Christopher Dell he has been exploring the limits of what is rhythmically feasible since 1998 and in 2002 won the "JazzArt, Music of the 21st Century" prize. He was also a member of the quartet of Allan Praskin and Wolfgang Köhler ( Around Jazz , 2003). With his astornauts he presented his own compositions on the album Hibble (2006). He can also be heard on albums with Matthias Bröde , Jürgen Friedrich , Christoph Adams and Peter Fessler .

He also worked with Charlie Mariano , Ornette Coleman , Benny Bailey , Lew Soloff , Herb Geller , Lonnie Plaxico , Gustavo Bergalli , Wilson de Oliveira , Gunter Hampel , Simon Nabatov , Matthias Schubert , Achim Kaufmann , Ed Schuller , Bill Ramsey and Marianne Rosenberg . At the invitation of the drummer Sergio Gomes, he went on his first study trip to Brazil in 1996. 1999 followed a six-month stay in São Paulo to study drums and percussion. He now also plays Brazilian music as a singer and guitarist.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d portrait
  2. ↑ There he was also involved in the later published album by Markus Burger & Jan von Klewitz The Banff Sessions - A Tribute to Kenny Wheeler (2015, with Kenny Wheeler , Stefan Lottermann , Norma Winstone , Martin Gjakonovski ).
personal data
SURNAME Astor, Felix
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German jazz musician (drums, guitar, vocals, composition)
DATE OF BIRTH 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Heidelberg