Georg Graewe
Georg Graewe (born June 28, 1956 in Bochum , often also Georg Graewe ) is a German composer and a pianist of modern creative jazz and new improvisation .
Live and act
Gräwe, who is a self-taught musician , began working as a guitarist in a rock group in 1971. In 1974 he founded his first quintet as a pianist, which was documented by Free Music Production with two albums and existed until 1980. Then he started working with Theo Jörgensmann . In 1981 he founded his “Grubenklangorchester”, which was based initially on compositions by Eisler and Bergmannslied , but then found its own tonal language with new structures from composed parts and free improvisation. This medium-sized ensemble, which, according to Martin Kunzler, is “a very interesting alternative somewhere between the Willem Breuker collectionand the Vienna Art Orchestra ”, existed for more than a decade with an international cast (including Willem van Manen , Phil Minton ), received a lot of attention from critics and listeners and performed at international festivals. Graewe also worked with Anthony Braxton , John Tchicai , Evan Parker , Barre Phillips , Marilyn Crispell , John Lindberg , Mark Feldman , Joëlle Léandre , Herb Robertson , François Houle and Ken Vandermark . Since 1989 he has been playing in a trio with Ernst Reijseger and Gerry Hemingway ( The View from Points West ). From 1995 he also played in a quintet with Mats Gustafsson , Sebi Tramontana , Mark Dresser and Mark Sanders ; he also forms a quartet with Frank Gratkowski , Kent Kessler and Hamid Drake . With Dorothea Schürch , Anne LeBaron , Robert Dick , Melvyn Poore and Hans Schneider he formed a “Chamber Ensemble”. Furthermore, Gräwe, who has dealt intensively with the tradition of Afro-American piano playing in jazz, performs solo and in a duo with Sebi Tramontana.
Gräwe's compositions, which are committed to both European modernism and the developments of the jazz avant-garde, have been performed worldwide. In addition to piano music, he has written chamber music, orchestral pieces, film music (including for the television for Karl Grune's silent film Schlagende Wetter ), as well as three operas and music for theater performances (including for the Schauspielhaus Bochum , Schauspiel Köln and the Burgtheater Vienna ), radio plays, video productions and installations.
In 1993 he founded the label Random Acoustics . He taught at the Jazz Institute Berlin and currently lives in Nickelsdorf .
Award
In 2015 Gräwe received the SWR Jazz Prize endowed with 15,000 euros ; with him a musician is being honored “to whom jazz in Germany owes its trend-setting impulses. Graewe has set standards in particular through the development of an equally free and concise language of sound and form, which is just as influenced by the American jazz piano tradition as by European art music, ”said the jury's statement.
Web links
- Bio and detailed discography (Engl.)
- Biography of the Donaueschinger Musiktage
- Random Acoustics website
- Georg Gräwe at Discogs (English)
Secondary 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 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ SWR Jazz Prize 2015 for Georg Graewe / pianist from Bochum receives the oldest jazz prize in Germany endowed with 15,000 euros
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Graewe, Georg |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Graewe, Georg |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German jazz pianist and composer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 28, 1956 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bochum |