Hugh stonemason

Hugh Steinmetz (born February 15, 1943 in Copenhagen ) is a Danish trumpeter and composer of modern jazz .

Live and act

Hugh Steinmetz began playing the trumpet in 1957; initially he played in traditional jazz and swing bands. In 1960 he founded his own formation with the alto saxophonist Franz Beckerlee , who initially played neo-bop under the influence of the music of Miles Davis / John Coltrane , then - inspired by Ornette Coleman  - developed a more free style. With Steffen Andersen and Sunny Murray they recorded the album Action as the Contemporary Jazz Quartet ; Third Stream Music followed in 1965 with composer and pianist Niels Viggo Bentzon . The formation performed at the Belgian Comblain Jazz Festival in 1964 and had various radio and television broadcasts in Denmark. Hugh Steimetz also played in Brødrene Vogels Sextet in 1964 and was active as a composer and soloist for the Danish Radio Jazz Big Band ; so he worked in 1965 on the album The Radio Jazz Group . From 1966 he was a member of the avant-garde formation Cadentia Nova Danica , which was led by John Tchicai . He also worked a. a. with Don Cherry , Archie Shepp , Gary Peacock , Albert Ayler , Rashied Ali and Roswell Rudd . In 1968 the album TCJQ was created with the Contemporary Jazz Quintet (alongside Beckerlee and Andersen Niels Harrit and Bo Thrige), on which the group experimented with electrically amplified instruments, in 1969 the second album by Cadentia Nova Danica , Afrodisiaca , with the Steinmetz as co -Leader and composer acted. In 1969 Cadentia Nova Danica worked with 26 musicians as a regular orchestra for Danish Radio under the direction of John Tchicai and Hugh Steinmetz and had monthly radio appearances. In Germany he worked on Manfred Schoof's album European Echoes in 1969 ; In the same year he played at the Free Jazz Meeting Baden-Baden in an international orchestra under the direction of Lester Bowie ( Gettin 'to Know' Ya All ). In the late 1960s and early 1970s Steinmetz worked with Peter Brötzmann and Peter Kowald in Germany, gave concerts with Willem Breuker , Han Bennink and Misha Mengelberg in Holland and Belgium; During this time he also made music with John Stevens , Evan Parker , Derek Bailey , Paul Rutherford , Irène Schweizer Pierre Favre and Claude Delcloo . In Denmark, Steinmetz continued to work with John Tchicai, as well as with Johnny Dyani , Giorgio Musoni, Ivan Krill, Michael Schou, Steen Claesson, Jesper Zeuthen , Pierre Dørge and Lasse Lunderskov. Due to illness, he had to give up playing the trumpet temporarily in 1976; In 1982 he began studying musicology at the University of Copenhagen . In 1986 he worked occasionally with the University Big Band, the Jeppe Tangs Quintet and some experimental groups. In 1990 he obtained his master’s degree with a thesis on Joseph Schillinger and the Schillinger composition system . In the 1990s he played in various big bands and with his own formations, u. a. with Bill Buchmann, Rasmus Welling, Marko Martinovic, Nils Karlson and Simon Koppel. In 1993 he founded the Hugh Steinmetz Octet and in 1994 recorded the album City Music with his own compositions. Since 1996 he has led the 17-piece orchestra Communio Musica , with which he recorded the albums Gate of Changes and Special Alloy . With the ensemble he performed a. a. at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 1998 and wrote for it for the next decade. In 1999 he participated in the project The Danish Wave with the Orbit Big Band , the Tritonus Choir and Jesper Thilo ; 2000 worked with the alto saxophonist Luther Thomas in New York City as well as with Cim Meyer, Søren Eriksen, Jimmy Roger Petersen and Ole Rømer. Since 2004 he has also worked again with the revived Cadentia Nova Danica and with the ToneArt Ensemble . In 2005 he founded the VogelSteinmetzQuartet with Karsten Vogel .

Hugh Steinmetz's trumpet playing is heavily influenced by Don Cherry, to whom he also dedicated his suite The Cherry Blossom .

Discographic notes

• NU! (Debut 1966; Steeplechase ed. 2001)
• The Contemporary Jazz Quartet: Action Action (Steeplechase, 1964/67) with Franz Beckerlee, Niels Harrit, Steffen Andersen, Bo Thrige Andersen, Sunny Murray
• John Tchicai: Cadentia Nova Danica ( Polydor , 1968)
• Manfred Schoof: European Echoes ( FMP , 1969)
• Janus Head (with Luther Thomas, Nils Davidsen , Ole Rømer, 2003)
• Hugh Steinmetz Sextet: The Cherry Blossom (Hummin 'Records, 2007)

literature

• Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings . 8th edition. Penguin, London 2006, ISBN 0-14-102327-9 .
• International who's who in popular music . 2002, ISBN 978-1-85743-161-2

Web links

• Biography with discography and list of works