The Fivepipes

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The Fivepipes were a German vocal ensemble in the 1980s and 1990s . Her repertoire included jazz standards and vocal improvisations.

Career

The Fivepipes were founded in 1985 in Cologne as an a cappella vocal quintet. In the year of its founding, it was expanded to include a four-piece band and the transformation into the Close Harmony Quartet. Oliver Heuss left the ensemble in 1986 because he landed the hit New York, Rio, Tokyo as a keyboardist with Trio Rio . The cast of the Fivepipes consisted of Birgitta Niesemann, soprano; Susanne Schneider, Alto; Rainer Stemmermann, tenor; Werner Brücker, bass; Reinhard Schaub, keyboards; Ralph Herrnkind, guitar; Emanuel Stanley, bass and Peter Weiner, drums. After Birgitta Niesemann left in 1993, various sopranos joined the vocal quartet until the final separation in 1996.

Act

The repertoire of the Fivepipes mainly comprised popular tracks from mainstream jazz in the style of Count Basies or Duke Ellington and ranged from slightly rockier pieces from Manhattan Transfer to vocal concepts in the sense of Bobby McFerrin's Vocal Summit . The press and the trade press particularly praised the surprising arrangements and varied performances of the fivepipes, which repeatedly set new impulses through the inclusion of vocalese and scat singing elements as well as a cappella lectures.

The Fivepipes were able to convince the audience of their ability and idiosyncratic style right from their first appearances: "Rhythmic-harmonic precision in connection with the band, and brilliant solo excursions in humorous packaging electrified the audience from the very first piece," wrote the Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung after one of the first concerts in October 1986. From then on, the ensemble toured Germany, played in almost all known German jazz clubs and took part in various national and international festivals. In 1986 the Fivepipes made their first TV appearance under the moderation of Glen Buschmann . In the following year they were invited to participate in the show program WDR Sprungbrett as well as to other TV appearances at WDR Cologne, SWF Baden-Baden and Mainz. In 1988 they took part in the international festival s´Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands and produced their debut CD Pipelines .

Productions

Several big band productions followed from 1989:

  • 1989 WDR Big Band production under the direction of Jerry van Rooyen
  • 1989 WDR production Billie sings the Blues with big band and orchestra; Guest next to the Fivepipes were u. a. the singer Marjorie Barnes and the American jazz drummer Mel Lewis .
  • 1990 WDR Big Band production with German classics from the 1940s and 1950s.
  • 1991 Radio production with the Dutch metropolis Orkest under the direction of Rob Pronk .
  • 1991 Appearance with the Erwin Lehn Big Band at the international radio exhibition in Berlin .
  • 1992 TV / radio production with the SDR Big Band on the occasion of the 40th stage anniversary of Big Band leader Erwin Lehn with Caterina Valente , Roberto Blanco , Horst Jankowski , Max Greger u. a.
  • 1993 Live radio production of Fascinating Rhythm with the WDR Big Band from the Philharmonie in Cologne. Guests next to the Fivepipes were Humphrey Campbell, Sabine Hettlich and Ines Reiger .
  • In 1996 the Fivepipes split.

swell

  • Jazz Podium June 1988: homogeneity, intonation security, sound and rhythmic precision. The Fivepipes (p. 48)
  • Jazz Podium July 1989, Five Pipes (cover story, pp. 3–7)
  • Nordsee-Zeitung Bremerhaven, February 20, 1988: Rousing solos. “Five Pipes” with great success at the Folk-Treff Leherheide
  • Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, October 27, 1988: Fivepipes hit the nerve. Kölner Vokalgruppe presents first LP in Essen
  • Kölnische Rundschau, February 25, 1989: The style of the late 80s
  • Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, March 14, 1989: The discovery of jazz
  • Westfalen-Blatt, May 13, 1991: Bizarre voice acrobatics. The Cologne vocal ensemble "Five Pipes" gets huge applause in the Minden Jazz Club
  • Nordwest-Zeitung, July 27, 1991: Impressive sovereignty and perfection. Convincing cultural summer concert with “The Five Pipes” on Schlossplatz

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