Klaus Kreuzeder (4 April 1950 in

Forchheim Forchheim () is a town in Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the Gateway to the Franconian Switzer ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

– 3 November 2014 in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

) was a German

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

Life

Klaus Kreuzeder was born in

, West Germany in 1950 and grew up in Altdorf near

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. Since contracting

Polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

at the age of one and a half years, he was reliant on a wheelchair for all of his life, thus also performing live onstage in a wheelchair. Kreuzeder had a professional music career for more than 30 years. In 1971, he appeared live with the band ''Ex Ovo Pro'' at the Free Open Air Festiva
Hoehn
He went on to become a member of the Jazz Rock band Aera, with whom he performed as a professional musician from 1973 through 1982, also acting as booking agent and de facto band leader. When Aera disbanded, Kreuzeder suddenly found himself "stranded" and faced with massive debt and financial liabilities as high as 70,000 Deutsche Mark. In the below referenced documentary he explained that his physical disability left him with a very small number of options as to finding a conventional day job, which is why he ultimately decided to make a living as a musician performing in public places and inner city shopping areas (busking). He was joined by guitarist Willi Herzinger and the two rose to some local fame with their street bound performances, which audiences said to be of the highest musical caliber. In 1984 Kreuzeder played four concerts joining

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

on stage. 1985 marks the making of the first documentary for movie theaters "Grand Slam" (rated "highly valuable" by critics) and the beginning of a collaboration with

Eberhard Schoener Eberhard Schoener (born May 13, 1938, Stuttgart) is a German musician, composer, conductor, and arranger. His activities combine many styles and formats. Originally a classical violinist and conductor of chamber music and opera, he was one of th ...

for ARD-Klassik-

Rocknacht ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz ...

. In the same year, music producer Steve Leistner added Kreuzeder to his roster of artists and begins producing "Sax as Sax Can"'s first CD. In 1986, Kreuzeder received the "Kulturpreis" award of the city of

and in that same year

Bayerischer Rundfunk Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR; "Bavarian Broadcasting") is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcas ...

produced a 45 minute TV documentary titled "Diesseits von Eden". In 1987 Kreuzeder shared the stage with

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 1 ...

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disbande ...

Gianna Nannini Gianna Nannini (; born 14 June 1954Who Is Who
''Bello e possibile'' ...

and

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

. The "Sax as Sax Can" CD was published that year, followed by many live performances of the duo. In 1988, Kreuzeder was joined by guitarist Henry Sincigno and after some 50 live concerts the two begin producing their sophomore CD "Saxappeal", which was published in 1990 followed by numerous live and TV performances thus establishing the two-piece act as a household name in the music industry. Kreuzeder also shared the stage with artists like

Konstantin Wecker Konstantin Alexander Wecker (born 1 June 1947, Munich) is a German singer-songwriter; he also works as a composer, author, and actor. Life and work Classically educated at the Wilhelmsgymnasium, Wecker got one of his first jobs as a songwriter a ...

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...

and

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his works in jazz fusion and world music, he began his career as a guitarist of the group Return to Forever in 1974. Between the 1970s and 1980s, albums such as ' ...

. In 1999, Leistner's music labe
Trick Music
released a "Best of Kreuzeder" album. As a proponent of the burgeoning inclusion movement in Germany, Kreuzeder performed six concerts at the

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaired ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in 2000. In 2002 Klaus Kreuzeder became a member of the Miroslav Nemec band and often appeared with them year round. Notable performances included a concert at

Bellevue Palace (Germany) Bellevue Palace (german: Schloss Bellevue, ), located in Berlin's Tiergarten district, has been the official residence of the President of Germany since 1994. The schloss is situated on the banks of the Spree river, near the Berlin Victory Colu ...

for the German Federal President. Band leader Nemec had risen to popularity due to his part as detective chief superintendent "Ivo Batic" in the German TV crime series

Tatort ''Tatort'' ("Crime scene") is a German language police procedural television series that has been running continuously since 1970 with some 30 feature-length episodes per year, which makes it the longest-running German TV drama. Developed by ...

. The two had also become personal friends in addition to performing together. The progression of

Post-polio syndrome Post-polio syndrome (PPS, poliomyelitis sequelae) is a group of latent symptoms of poliomyelitis (polio), occurring at about a 25–40% rate (latest data greater than 80%). These symptoms are caused by the damaging effects of the viral infection ...

symptoms and additionally having contracted cancer resulted in several near fatal collapses of his system. His deteriorating condition forced him to terminate his career as a professional musician in 2013. Kreuzeder had continued to author his autobiography and a DVD until his death. Both works were due for publication in 2015.

Awards

* 1986 Kulturpreis der Stadt Muenchen * 1998 Oberbayerischer Kulturpreis * 2007 Life Award für Menschen mit einem Handicap in der Kategorie Lebenswerk * 2009 Schwabinger Kunstpreis * 2010 Kulturpreis der Bayerischen Landesstiftung

Literature

* Klaus Kreuzeder ''Glück gehabt''. Autobiografie. München (Langen Müller) 2010

References

External links

Klaus Kreuzeder official webpage

Videos
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kreuzeder, Klaus 1950 births 2014 deaths German saxophonists Male saxophonists 20th-century saxophonists 20th-century German male musicians People from Forchheim 20th-century German musicians