Karl Alfred Ratzer (born July 4, 1950, Vienna) is an Austrian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

guitarist. Ratzer played in rock bands as a teenager and moved to the United States in 1972, where he initially played with

High Voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant spec ...

. He began working in Atlanta in 1973 and played with

Dan Wall Daniel Lee Wall, Jr. (born September 7, 1953, Atlanta, Georgia, US) is an American jazz organist and pianist. Wall was leading his own small group at Atlanta club the Carousel while still in high school. He attended the Berklee College of Music, ...

from 1974 to 1977; following this, he moved to New York City and worked with

Bob Berg Robert Berg (April 7, 1951 – December 5, 2002) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Berg was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States. Berg started his musical education at the age of six when he began studying classical piano. He be ...

, Steve Grossman,

Bob Mintzer Robert Alan Mintzer (born January 27, 1953) is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader. Early life Mintzer was born and raised in a Jewish family in New Rochelle, New York, on January 27, 1953. He attended the Inter ...

, and

Jeremy Steig Jeremy Steig (September 23, 1942 – April 13, 2016)Peter Keepnews, "Jeremy ...

. He moved back to Vienna in the early 1980s, and worked throughout Europe with

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened in "Jaws"): it is either said that ...

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

, James Moody, and

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...

.Mark Gilbert, "Karl Ratzer". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz''. 2nd edition, ed.

Barry Kernfeld Barry Dean Kernfeld (born August 11, 1950) is an American musicologist and jazz saxophonist who has researched and published extensively about the history of jazz and the biographies of its musicians. Education In 1968, Kernfeld enrolled at U ...

. He was guest professor at the

University of Music and Performing Arts Graz The University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, also known as Kunstuniversität Graz (KUG) is an Austrian university. Its roots can be traced back to the music school of the '' Akademischer Musikverein'' founded in 1816, making it the oldest u ...

from 1999 to 2003, and became docent at the Vienna Music Institute in 2004. Ratzer's cousin is jazz musician

Harri Stojka Harri Stojka (born 22 July 1957 in Vienna) is a Viennese jazz guitarist. He comes from the diasporic Lovara-Roma dynasty of the Bagareschtschi clan. In the 1980s he played in Montreux with the likes of Larry Coryell and Biréli Lagrène. Nowad ...

Discography

As leader

* ''Gipsy Love'' with Gipsy Love (BASF, 1971) * ''In Search of the Ghost'' (Vanguard, 1978) * ''Street Talk'' (Vanguard, 1979) * ''Finger Prints'' (CMP, 1979) * ''Dancing On a String'' (CMP, 1980) * ''A Fool for Your Sake'' (GiG, 1981) * ''Electric Finger'' (RST, 1982) * ''Gitarre'' (Atom, 1982) * ''Gitarrenfeuer'' (Bellaphon, 1985) * ''Serenade'' (RST, 1986) * ''Gumbo Dive'' (RST, 1991) * ''Waltz for Ann'' (L+R, 1993) * ''Bayou'' (Bellaphon, 1993) * ''Coasting'' (Bellaphon, 1995) * ''Saturn Returning'' (Enja, 1997) * ''Moon Dancer'' (Enja, 1998) * ''Real to Reel'' (Dominant, 2000) with

Carl Verheyen Carl Verheyen is an American musician best known for being the guitarist of Supertramp, the leader of the Carl Verheyen Band, and as a Los Angeles session guitarist. He was ranked ''One of the World's Top 10 Guitarists'' by Guitar Magazine and w ...

* ''All the Way'' (Enja, 2004) * ''You've Changed'' (Organic Music, 2011) * ''Underground System'' (Organic Music, 2014) * ''My Time'' (Organic Music, 2016) * ''Midnight Whistler'' (Organic Music, 2017) * ''Tears'' (Organic Music, 2018)

As sideman

, ''Land of Dreams'' (Tilly Disc, 1982) *

Carlos Franzetti Carlos Alberto Franzetti (born June 3, 1948) is a composer and arranger from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Early life Franzetti was born on June 3, 1948 in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Carlos Osvaldo Franzetti and Beatriz Julia Elena DeGiacomo de Fran ...

, ''Grafitti'' (Sonorama, 2007) *

Ray Mantilla Raymond Mantilla (June 22, 1934 – March 21, 2020) was an American percussionist. Discography As leader * ''Mantilla'' (Inner City, 1978) * ''Hands of Fire'' (Red, 1984) * ''Synergy'' (Red, 1986) * ''Dark Powers'' (Red, 1988) * ''The Next Step ...

, ''Mantilla'' (Inner City, 1978) *

Players Association The Players Association was a New York based studio group, put together by drummer/arranger Chris Hills and producer Danny Weiss in 1977 on Vanguard Records. Overview The Players Association recordings brought in leading jazz session musician ...

, ''Turn the Music Up!'' (Vanguard, 1979) *

Jeremy Steig Jeremy Steig (September 23, 1942 – April 13, 2016)Peter Keepnews, "Jeremy ...

Eddie Gomez Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle *Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Linu ...

, ''

Rain Forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

'' (CMP, 1980) * Supermax, ''One and All'' (Koch, 1993) *

, ''Off the Wall'' (Enja, 1997) *

Rudi Wilfer Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spiri ...

, ''Live'' (RST, 1982)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratzer, Karl Austrian jazz guitarists Male guitarists Musicians from Vienna 1950 births Living people