Günther Klatt

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Günther Klatt (born May 2, 1957 in Munich ; † December 8, 2012 there ) was a German jazz saxophonist, painter and sculptor. As an "original tenorist" and "lateral thinker", he dared to be "deeply rooted in the jazz tradition ... conceptual, chiseled, very harmonious excursions into freely improvised realms."

Life

After graduating from high school , Klatt studied graphics to work as a set designer . It was not until 1976 that he learned the saxophone as an autodidact ; he is influenced on his instrument by Paul Gonsalves and Dexter Gordon as well as by Archie Shepp . The manual “Jazz in Munich” describes Klatt's playing as “vicious, angry and aggressive, spontaneous and expressive” and points to its sensuality, its deep sonority and its “smoky vibrato”.

He had his first engagement in 1979 with Nico Bunink , with whom he was on tour in the Netherlands. 1980 and 1981 appearances with Dusko Goykovich , Sam Rivers , Doug Hammond , Joe Nay and Lala Kovacev , but also with their own group. In 1982 Klatt produced his first LP “The Horn is Back” with a quartet that included Kovacev, the exceptional New Zealand pianist Paul Grabowsky and bassist Leonard Jones . In 1984 he played in New York City with Marty Cook , whom he brought to Germany. He later played in a trio with Jürgen Wuchner and Andreas Krieger . In the early 1990s he worked with Aki Takase in a duo (CD "The Ballads of Duke Ellington") and with Frank Lacy , Ed Schuller and Ronnie Burrage in the group New York Razzmatazz (CD "FaMozzo"). From 1986 to 1998 he played with the pianist Tizian Jost (CD "Live in Mexico City"). In recent years he was u. a. heard with the Munich Jazz Lizzards , but continued to give concerts occasionally with his own formations at home and abroad, mostly in a duo with the pianist and jazz accordionist Christian Ludwig Mayer .

Klatt only played in a few constellations with which he also appeared internationally (Europe, Latin America, Indian subcontinent) and drew the inspiration for the music from his occupation with other media, his work for film and as a painter and sculptor. In recent years he was increasingly active as a painter and sculptor, had worked a lot in Venice , occupied himself with "tecnica mista" and built bizarre objects in flight ("flight measures").

On December 8th, 2012 he died after a long illness.

Awards

In 1982 he received the Culture Prize of the City of Munich. During his stay in New York City in 1984, he was awarded first prize by the International Jazz Federation in the First European Jazz Competition.

Discographic notes

  • The Horn Is Back (JG Records 9, 1982)
  • Strangehorn (self-published, 1985)
  • Günther Klatt & Elephantrombones ( Enja , 1988)
  • Günther Klatt & Aki Takase Art of the Duo: Plays Ballads of Duke Ellington (Tutu 1990)
  • Günther Klatt & New York RazzMatazz Fa Mozzo (Tutu 1995)
  • Günther Klatt & Tizian Jost Art of the Duo: Live in Mexico City (Tutu, 1998)

Exhibitions

  • Cultural Center Einstein (Munich, 2001)
  • Galleria Antico Ardenghe (Venice, 2001)
  • "Old Botanical Garden" pavilion (Munich, 2001)
  • Bankhaus Reuschel & Co. (Munich, 2001)
  • Painting & Sculpture: Galeria Duomo (Bergamo / Italy) (2002)
  • Exhibition at PMA, Munich (2002)
  • Exhibitions in the Unterfahrt jazz club (Munich, 2003)
  • Gallery Spitzer (Frankfurt a. M., 2003)
  • Gallery "Orangerie am Englischer Garten" (Munich, 2003)
  • Gallery Schöninger (Munich, 2003)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Death report on Klatt's website . Page no longer available, September 30, 2018.
  2. ↑ Peter Wießmüller In Memoriam Gunther Klatt: An Obituary (jazzpages.com)


personal data
SURNAME Klatt, Günther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German jazz saxophonist, painter and sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH May 2, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH December 8, 2012
Place of death Munich