Fritz Hartschuh

Fritz Hartschuh (born June 28, 1930 in Heidelberg ) is a German jazz musician ( vibraphonist , initially also pianist) and business manager .

Live and act

Hartschuh had piano lessons as a child, then studied piano at the conservatory and until his state examination in 1958 economics at the University of Heidelberg . At the same time he played in American clubs and since 1955 as the resident pianist of Cave 54 . During this time he performed with guest stars such as Chet Baker , Don Ellis , Zoot Sims , Bud Shank , Milt Jackson , Connie Kay and Al Heath . Hartschuh, who had been self-taught with the vibraphone since 1950 , switched to it in 1956. He performed with his own groups at the German Jazz Festival in Frankfurt ; he was also employed by Wolfgang Lauth between 1957 and 1961 (and he was involved in 9 recordings). He later worked with Joki Freund and with the German All Stars (including an appearance in 1965 at the Paris Jazz Festival ). With his own quartet he performed at the German Amateur Festival in Düsseldorf in 1962; With this band he recorded the LP "Autumn in Europe" in 1964. In 1966 he and Emil Mangelsdorff received the “ German Record Prize ” for his “Swinging Oildrops ”.

He then worked as an industrial manager - initially in the nuclear industry , later in the environmental technology sector. During this time he played occasionally with Volker Kriegel (in a quartet with Peter Baumeister ), and later with the Frankfurt Swing All Stars . When he left his job in 1988, he returned to the jazz scene. He played at the Burghausen Jazz Week and performed at the Jazz Festival at Sea with u. a. Clark Terry , Jimmy Woode and Herb Ellis on and in 1993 on the Barrelhouse Jazzband's anniversary tour with Butch Miles and Billy Mitchell . He also played in a quintet with the clarinetist Paolo Tomelleri Swing. He also played hard bop with a quartet that includes pianist Peter Reiter , Vitold Rek and Ralf Hübner (CDs "Monk Project" 1994, " Erik Satie Project" 1996). He also performed with Dusko Goykovich and Heinz Sauer ( Eternal Verities ).

Discographic notes

• Autumn in Europe (1964, with Rolf Lüttgens , Dieter von Goetze , Rolf Quenzel)
• Paolo Tomelleri / Fritz Hartschuh Quintet Milan Swing (1992, with Carlo Uboldi, Marco Ratti, Stefano Bagnoli )
• Monk Project (1996, L + R Records )
• Fantasmo Classic (2003, Konnex Records ; with Luca Campioni, Flaviano Braga, Marco Ricci, Stefano Bagnoli)

literature

• Martin Kunzler : Jazz Lexicon. Volume 1: A – L (= rororo-Sachbuch. Vol. 16512). 2nd Edition. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-16512-0 .
• Dieter Römer: Excess with vibraphone: Fritz Hartschuh. In: Wolfgang Sandner (Ed.), Jazz in Frankfurt. Frankfurt am Main 1990, pp. 136-139, ISBN 3-7973-0480-3 .
• Jürgen Wölfer : Jazz in Germany. The encyclopedia. All musicians and record companies from 1920 until today. Hannibal, Höfen 2008, ISBN 978-3-85445-274-4 .

Web links

• Fritz Hartschuh at Allmusic (English)