Karl Theodor Geier
Karl Theodor "KT" Geier (born January 31, 1932 in Cologne ; † March 21, 2020 ) was a German jazz bassist (also cello) who had worked in Switzerland since the 1960s.
Live and act
Geier was born into a musical family in Cologne on the Rhine in 1932, the fifth of six children. At the age of eleven he received his first cello lessons. From 1953 he worked as a cellist in Freiburg im Breisgau, specializing in basso continuo. From 1955 he studied ten semesters in the master class with Atis Teichmanis at the Freiburg State University of Music. As early as 1948 he played as a jazz bassist (autodidact) and earned his living with it. He has received several awards as a bassist at the annual competitions of the German Jazz Federation . Later he was a member of the Modern-Jazz-Freiburg Rhythm-Section, which exclusively accompanied soloists from Switzerland ( Umberto Arlati , Bruno Spoerri , Raymond Court , Hans Kennel , Franco Ambrosetti , Flavio Ambrosetti ) It followed the activity in the George Gruntz Trio (with Daniel Humair or Kenny Clarke on drums) as a backup for many American musicians ( Chet Baker , Donald Byrd , Johnny Griffin , Dexter Gordon , Sal Nistico , Bobby Jaspar , Lee Konitz ) at festivals all over Europe.
In 1958 and the following years Geier toured with the Barney Wilen Quartet (with Peter Baumeister on drums) through Germany, France and Switzerland. There were also countless appearances at festivals and on television (including: Albert Heath , Max Roach , Billy Brooks , Kenny Drew , Joe Zawinul , Horace Parlan ). In the late sixties and early seventies he played with the Mal Waldron Trio (with Pierre Favre ) and the Benny Bailey Quartet. Throughout the years, Vince Benedetti has been a close musical companion and mentor.
From 1964 he worked for the DRS Big Band for ten years as a bass player and finally as a sound engineer. In 1975 he began to lead jazz workshops, first in Zurich and later in Uster.
Discographic notes
- George Gruntz Quintet: Mental Cruelty (Decca 1960, with Marcel Peeters , Raymond Court , Barney Wilen, Kenny Clarke )
- Gil Cuppini Quintet: What's New? Vol. 2 (Meazzi 1961, with George Gruntz, Barney Wilen, Dusko Goykovich )
- Franco Cerri : International Jazz Meeting (Columbia, 1961)
- John Lewis & Albert Mangelsdorff : Animal Dance (Atlantic 1964)
- Franco Cerri: And His European Jazz Stars (Columbia 1969, featuring Lars Gullin , with Flavio Ambrosetti, Pierre Favre, George Gruntz)
- Metronome Quintet : s'Wonderful (Downtown Rec. 2002)
Lexigraphic entries
- Bruno Spoerri , Biographical Lexicon of Swiss Jazz CD supplement to: B. Spoerri (Hrsg.): Jazz in Switzerland. History and stories. Chronos-Verlag, Zurich 2005, ISBN 3-0340-0739-6 .
- Ueli Staub (Ed.): Jazz City Zurich. From Louis Armstrong to the Zurich Jazz Orchestra. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-03823-012-X .
- Walter Büchi (Ed.), Kathrin Bänziger (Ed.) André Bernhard (Ed.): Winterthur. Yearbook 1999. Edition Winterthur Foundation, Winterthur 1998.
- Jürgen Schwab, The Frankfurt Sound. A city and its jazz history (s). Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt 2004.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ KT Geier is dead. ZSZ, March 1, 2020, accessed on March 23, 2020 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Geier, Karl Theodor |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Vulture, KT (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German jazz bassist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 31, 1932 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Cologne |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 21, 2020 |