Toby Fichelscher

Tobias "Toby" Fichelscher (* 1927 ; † 1992 ) was a German jazz and blues musician ( vocals , percussion , piano ).

Live and act

Fichelscher played in the Berlin music scene in the post-war period and recorded a number of singles under his own name ( Toby Fichelscher Blues Combo , Toby Fichelscher with rhythm section or Toby Fichelscher with his combo ) such as “On Chano's Track” or “Blues on Amiga”. In the late 1950s, Fichelscher was one of the best blues singers on the German scene , alongside Wolfgang Sauer and Knut Kiesewetter . As musical director he was involved in the film Der Treue Husar (1954, directed by Rudolf Schündler ). As a regular he sang and played at the German Jazz Festival in Frankfurt and was polled twice. Through his appearances in many Berlin clubs, at venues such as the Riverboat on Fehrbelliner Platz or the Egg Shell on Breitenbachplatz, he contributed to making jazz popular again in the city after the war.

Without knowing fluent English, Fichelscher appeared as a blues and jazz singer, and played bongos based on the model of Chano Pozo (“On Chano's Track”). Before the Berlin Wall was built, he was also known in the local jazz scene as an eccentric “5-finger boogie pianist”. Fichelscher performed regularly in Berlin clubs with the band of vibraphonist Manfred Burzlaff . Fichelscher sang a few rock'n'roll songs for the Bertelsmann record company ; in addition, some of his blues and jazz recordings were released on vinyl EPs from labels such as Brunswick (" St. James Infirmary ", 1955) and Amiga ("Basin Street Blues", Toby Fichelscher With Brom's Dixieland Band , 1957). In the field of jazz, Tom Lord registered four recording sessions of the musician between 1955 and 1957.

In 1960 he got the opportunity to play the leading role in Hansjürgen Pohland's film Tobby for the production company Modern Art Film GmbH , according to a press release at the time, "a film that goes beyond routine". Inspired by the innovations of former Italian and French directors, the film shows the existential Berlin jazz scene and the jazz beatnik Toby Fichelscher in the Nouvelle Vague style.

Toby Fichelscher is the father of the musician Daniel Fichelscher , who was a member of the Krautrock bands Popol Vuh and Amon Düül II .

Discographic notes

• Busting the Bongos (Sonorama, ed. 2013), with Manfred Burzlaff (vibraphone), Joe Nay (drums), Herbert Putzler (bass), Joseph Janik (guitar), Lothar Behr (tenor horn), Peter Reinke (alto saxophone)

Web links

• Portrait at Sonorama
• Toby Fichelscher at Allmusic (English)
• Toby Fichelscher at Discogs (English)
• Toby Fichelscher in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ In his blues combo played Manfred Frenz (piano), "T-Bone" Lewandowski (electric bass), Günter Wilk (drums); see. Tom Lord: Jazz Discography (online)
2. ↑ Michael Rauhut, Reinhard Lorenz: I've had the blues a little longer: traces of a music in Germany . 2008, p. 199; see also Jazz in Germany: the German jazz chronicle until 1960 by Horst Heinz Lange. G. Olms, 1996 -
3. ↑ Contemporary photography ( egg shell at Breitenbachplatz 1961: the legendary bluesblower, singer and boogie 5-finger pianist Toby Fichelscher )
4. ↑ ^{a b} Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography (online, accessed April 6, 2019)
5. ↑ With Frantüek Malat (piano), Jan Kulisek (banjo), Ludek Hulan (LH, bass, vocals), Ivan Dominak (drums), Toby Fichelscher (TF, vocals), Gustav Brom (leader).
6. ↑ Legend of the Unholy Drinker. Der Tagesspiegel, May 18, 2012, accessed on April 6, 2019 .