Toto Blanke

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Toto Blanke , actually Hans Otto Blanke (born September 16, 1936 in Paderborn ; † October 24, 2013 in Hamburg ) was a German jazz guitarist .

Live and act

Blanke performed with Gunter Hampel and Otto Wolters while he was studying architecture in Braunschweig (between 1957 and 1964) . At the beginning of the 1960s he was part of the City Gents dance band in Paderborn , where he shared the melody parts with tenor saxophonist Berndt Meinolf. 1970 he switched to professional life. With the rock jazz group Association P. C. (to which the bassist Sigi Busch , the Dutch drummer Pierre Courbois and as keyboard player Jasper van't Hof and Joachim Kühn belonged) he appeared at numerous festivals (including 1971 at the Berlin Jazz Festival ) and released some records in the early 1970s, including a. also with the flautist Jeremy Steig . He then worked with Joachim and Rolf Kühn , Randy Brecker , Jan Akkerman and in a duo with Philip Catherine . In 1975 Blanke recorded his first album "Spiders Dance" with Joachim Kühn, Charlie Mariano , John Lee and Gerry Brown . His group Electric Circus initially included (in 1976, after the musicians had found each other two years earlier at the Baden-Baden New Jazz Meeting ) Jasper van't Hof and the drummer Edward Vesala ; Blanke later expanded the group into a quartet (including with Dave King , most recently with Tony Lakatos , Heinrich Hock and Norbert Dömling ). The group, which was supplemented by the pianist Stu Goldberg and Trilok Gurtu , also toured the GDR, Italy, Austria and Poland.

As a duo, Blanke was also with the Czech guitarist Rudolf Dašek , with whom he a. a. was heard at the international guitar festival “Guitarras del Mundo” 2002 in Argentina, with Stu Goldberg or Charlie Mariano . He also played with Adelhard Roidinger , Leszek Zadlo , Chris Beier and Lajos Dudas . For his preoccupation with the music of the tango , Blanke founded the "Trio Tango" together with the singer Raul Montero and changing bandoneon players. In 1992 a quartet was formed with the bandoneon virtuoso Rene Maria Rivero, the bassist Carlos Bica and the percussionist Marcio Doctor . In 1996 he recorded the CD "Sur" with the guitarist and charango player Diego Jasca .

In recent years Blanke has mainly appeared with solo productions, but also with text and music programs with Eugen Drewermann and Erwin Grosche . As the great-nephew of the artist Willy Lucas , he made a film about him or his landscape and city images.

In 2011 the musician received the culture award of his hometown Paderborn for his artistic activity.

Blanke died after a short, serious illness at the age of 77.

Discographic notes

Under his own name

  • Spider's Dance (1975, with Charlie Mariano, Joachim Kühn , John Lee and Gerry Brown )
  • Tales of Tomorrow (1978, with Jörg Kramer, Marian Lale, Makar tiefig, Thomas Schultze)
  • Somewhere in Time (1981)
  • Fools Paradise (1989)
  • Going Crazy (2004)
Toto Blanke's Electric Circus
  • First Meeting Baden Baden 1974 (ed. 2006, with Jasper van't Hof, Edward Vesala)
  • Electric Circus (1976, with Jasper van't Hof, Edward Vesala, and Dave King)
  • Live at the Quartier Latin (1976, with Jasper van't Hof, Edward Vesala, ed. 1979)
  • Friends (1979, with Matthias Nadolny , Stu Goldberg, Norbert Dömling, Heinrich Hock, Trilok Gurtu)
  • Family (1980, with Stu Goldberg, Norbert Dömling, Heinrich Hock, Trilok Gurtu)
  • Bella Donna (1983)

Toto Blanke & Rudolf Dašek

  • Silhouettes - Duets for Acoustic Guitars (1981)
  • Meditation - Church Music! (1984)
  • Tramontana (1987)
  • Two Much! Guitar (1991)
  • Between the Bridge and the Silence (2000)
  • Mona Lisa (2000)

Jorge Cardoso / David Qualey / Rudolf Dašek / Toto Blanke

  • Talking Hands - Live (1990)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Neue Westfälische NW-news.de of 27 October 2013: Paderborn musician Toto Blanke died. The man with hat and guitar is dead by Holger Kosbab , accessed on October 27, 2013
  2. ↑ Report (Muse Leaves)
  3. ↑ meeting (baby blue pages)
  4. ↑ meeting (omm)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Blanke, Toto
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Blanke, Hans Otto (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German jazz guitarist
DATE OF BIRTH September 16, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Paderborn
DATE OF DEATH October 24, 2013
Place of death Hamburg