Per Art

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Pro Art is a German fusion band from Ilmenau . The band was founded in 1973 and initially played jazz rock , but soon turned to the blues and was for a time the accompanying band of the singer Stefan Diestelmann . In the 1980s they were one of the most famous blues bands in the GDR . In later years the band's style shifted back to jazz rock and fusion. The band around the brothers Walter and Andreas Geyer has numerous links with other East German blues and jazz bands. Several younger members of the band switched to Clueso backing bands .

history

Pro Art was founded in 1973 by Walter Geyer (vocals, harmonica) in Ilmenau. The jazz rock boom in what was then the GDR gave rise to the foundation. One of the first important appearances of the band was at the 3rd Ilmenau Jazz Days in 1974 together with the Theo Schumann Combo and Panta Rhei .

The band was close to the then important blues scene in Erfurt and soon changed their repertoire into their own blues pieces, initially focusing on the style of John Mayall , Eric Clapton and Cream , and later on the "blacker" blues in the style of Dr. John's oriented. In the late 1970s, Pro Art accompanied the blues singer Stefan Diestelmann. At that time Walter Geyer mostly worked with musicians from the band Epy Thal , from which the group Bromm Oss emerged in 1979/80 .

After founding Bromm Oss, which concentrated on cover versions and original compositions in Lauscha dialect, Walter Geyer formed a new line-up from Pro Art, which included his brother Andreas Geyer (organ) and bassist Edgar "Eddi" Janta, who also played with Waldemar Weiz in his band Modern Blues .

In the 1980s the band was one of the most famous blues bands in the GDR, but like most of the popular blues bands in the Erfurt scene, there was no state radio or record production (see GDR music # blues music ).

In the late 1980s, the band's style turned back to jazz rock and fusion. The band has undergone numerous line-up changes and now mostly appears as an octet with a four-piece brass section. Singer Walter Geyer emigrated to Ecuador in 2007 and is therefore only an occasional guest musician. Since then, the group has mainly played its own instrumental compositions.

In addition to Andreas Geyer, saxophonist Tom Hahnemann, formerly with Keimzeit , is one of the current band members. Hahnemann and Walter Geyer were also with the band Pass over Blues at different times, to which many other well-known musicians such as the pianist Milan Šamko belonged in the course of their long history . Andreas Geyer was also involved in numerous other projects, including a. most recently in the formations Elektrotischlerei , Andy Geyer Trio , Andy Geyer Quartet and in Dieter Gasde's formations Traveling Blues Band and Gumbolaya as well as with Eddi Janta in Waldemar Weiz 's 2006 reformed band ergo .

Well-known members of Pro Art from more recent times include trombonist Christian Kohlhaas, guitarist Christoph Bernewitz, bassist Matthias Eichhorn and drummer Henning Luther, who joined the Clueso bands after their time at Pro Art . Kohlhaas plays in the regular band of Clueso, Bernewitz and Eichhorn belong to the Bernewitz Trio , Eichhorn and Luther belong to the STÜBAphilharmonie .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Creative sound attacks - Fortieth Jazz Days Ilmenau , Ilmenau 2013, p. 7.
  2. ↑ Michael Rauhut: Blues in the GDR - cultural symbolism and political interpretation. In: PopScriptum 8 - Afro-American Music in Germany. Series of publications published by the Research Center for Popular Music at the Humboldt University in Berlin
  3. ^ Pass over Blues website

literature

  • Michael Rauhut : The customer book. Blues in Thuringia . State Center for Civic Education Thuringia, Erfurt 2011
  • Reinhard Lorenz: Tell me where you stand - In the undergrowth of the Thuringian blues , in: Michael Rauhut and Reinhard Lorenz (eds.): I've had the blues a little longer - traces of music in Germany , Christoph Links Verlag 2008

Web links