Frank Chastenier

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frank Chastenier in early 2010

Frank Chastenier (born December 24, 1966 in the Niederrhein region) is a German jazz pianist who played with the WDR Big Band Cologne for 26 years .

Live and act

Chastenier received his first piano lessons at the age of eight; when he was thirteen he took first place in youth jazz competition . A year later he became the youngest member of the State Youth Jazz Orchestra of North Rhine-Westphalia. At the age of 17, Chastenier began studying classical piano at the University Institute in Aachen with Ulla Graf and was also enrolled in jazz studies with Francis Coppieters at the Cologne University of Music . He also played in the Federal Youth Jazz Orchestra and then with Peter Herbolzheimer . In 1987 he reached the finals at the Thelonious Monk International Competition in Washington, DC . From 1991 to 2018 he was a member of the WDR Big Band Cologne , with whom he recorded around 50 albums.

In 1994 Bob Brookmeyer dedicated the Serious Music piano concerto to him . For a long time Chastenier worked mainly in the background. The closest was the collaboration with friend and producer Till Brönner . In 2004 his first solo album For You was released . This was awarded a German Jazz Award in the Gold category in 2009 because of its sales .

Well-known musicians and entertainers with whom Chastenier has worked over the years include Till Brönner, Hildegard Knef , Manfred Krug , Wolfgang Niedecken , Ray Brown , Peter Erskine , Bob Brookmeyer , Vince Mendoza , John Clayton , George Gruntz , Lalo Schifrin , Chaka Khan , Al Jarreau , Dee Dee Bridgewater , Randy Crawford , Caterina Valente , Patti Austin and Michel Legrand . He also worked on recordings by Till Brönner ( Generations of Jazz , Chattin with Chet ), Greetje Kauffeld ( Dreaming ), Rolf Kühn ( Inside Out, Internal Eyes ) and Paquito D'Rivera ( The Clarinetist ). In 2010 he released his second album Songs I've Always Loved ( EmArcy ). Together with Pe Werner he performs in a duo with the program “Stille Wasser”.

He is also active as a composer. For the audio book Roger Willemsen reads Brehms Tierleben , he composed 41 piano miniatures.

Chastenier is married and has one daughter.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Farewell Frank Chastenier (WDR)
  2. ↑ Hans Bernd Kittlaus - Frank Chastenier
  3. ↑ Gold / platinum database of the Federal Music Industry Association, accessed on November 17, 2015
personal data
SURNAME Chastenier, Frank
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German jazz pianist
DATE OF BIRTH December 24, 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH on the Lower Rhine