Volker Kriegel (24 December 1943 – 15 June 2003) was a German
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 majo ...
guitarist and composer who also an author and drew cartoons. He was a founding member of the
United Jazz + Rock Ensemble.
Biography

Kriegel was born in
Darmstadt
Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...
on 24 December 1943.
He began to play the guitar at the age of 15.
Kriegel studied sociology with
Theodor Adorno
Theodor is a masculine given name. It is a German form of Theodore. It is also a variant of Teodor.
List of people with the given name Theodor
* Theodor Adorno, (1903–1969), German philosopher
* Theodor Aman, Romanian painter
* Theodor Blu ...
, but in 1962 was already playing in a band with
Albert and
Emil Mangelsdorff
Emil Mangelsdorff (; 11 April 1925 – 20 January 2022) was a German jazz musician who played alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet and flute. He was a jazz pioneer under the Nazi regime which led to his imprisonment. After World War II a ...
in Frankfurt, and abandoned his studies.
He was then in a fusion band led by an American expatriate, vibraphonist
Dave Pike
David Samuel Pike (March 23, 1938 – October 3, 2015) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He appeared on many albums by Nick Brignola, Paul Bley and Kenny Clarke, Bill Evans, and Herbie Mann. He also recorded extensively as l ...
, and recorded the album ''Noisy Silence – Gentle Noise'' (1969).
Simultaneously, Kriegel started the
Mild Maniac Orchestra.
He recorded the album ''Keep on Driving'' (MPS, 1970) with
Don "Sugarcane" Harris, then signed with
MPS
MPS, M.P.S., MPs, or mps may refer to:
Science and technology
* Mucopolysaccharidosis, genetic lysosomal storage disorder
* Mononuclear phagocyte system, cells in mammalian biology
* Myofascial pain syndrome
* Metallopanstimulin
* Potassium perox ...
and released the jazz-rock album ''Spectrum'' (1971).
Five years later he started the
United Jazz + Rock Ensemble, a shifting collective which at various times included
Charlie Mariano
Carmine Ugo Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist who focused on the alto and soprano saxophone. He occasionally performed and recorded on flute and nadaswaram as well.
Biography
Mariano was born in ...
, Albert Mangelsdorff,
Ack van Rooyen, and
Barbara Thompson.
In 1977 Kriegel co-founded the label Mood Records, which released his own music and that of the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble.
Kriegel drifted from music and started writing children's books.
"During the 1990s, he ceased his activities as a leader and concentrated instead on working as a composer and on his longstanding second career as a cartoonist; his illustrations appeared in newspapers, magazines, books, and animated films."
''Manchmal ist es besser, man sagt gar nix'', a book containing some of his cartoons and writings on jazz and other topics, was published in 1998.
He reunited the Ensemble for a tour in 2002.
He died of cancer
in Spain on 15 June 2003.
Discography
As leader
* ''With a Little Help from My Friends'' (
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
, 1968) with
Peter Trunk,
Günter Lenz
Günter Lenz (born 25 July 1938) is a German jazz bassist and composer.
Activities
Lenz was born in Frankfurt am Main. He first taught himself guitar and studied with Carlo Bohländer, playing jazz in the clubs of the U.S. Army from 1954 onw ...
, Peter Baumeister, Claudio Szenkar
* ''Spectrum'' (
MPS
MPS, M.P.S., MPs, or mps may refer to:
Science and technology
* Mucopolysaccharidosis, genetic lysosomal storage disorder
* Mononuclear phagocyte system, cells in mammalian biology
* Myofascial pain syndrome
* Metallopanstimulin
* Potassium perox ...
1971, re-released 2003)
* ''Inside: Missing Link'' (MPS, 1972) with
Albert Mangelsdorff
Albert Mangelsdorff (September 5, 1928 – July 25, 2005) was a German jazz trombonist. Working mainly in free jazz, he was an innovator in multiphonics.
Early life
Mangelsdorff was born in Frankfurt on September 5, 1928, as the son of the boo ...
,
Alan Skidmore
Alan Richard James Skidmore (born 21 April 1942) is an English jazz tenor saxophonist, and the son of saxophonist Jimmy Skidmore.
Career
He was born in London, England. Skidmore began his professional career in his teens, and early in his caree ...
,
Heinz Sauer,
John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar may refer to:
Academics
*John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487
*John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar
*John Taylor (English publisher) (178 ...
,
Eberhard Weber
Eberhard Weber (born 22 January 1940, in Stuttgart, Germany) is a German double bassist and composer. As a bass player, he is known for his highly distinctive tone and phrasing. Weber's compositions blend chamber jazz, European classical music, ...
,
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
, Peter Baumeister,
Cees See
Cees See (January 5, 1934, Amsterdam - December 9, 1985, The Hague) was a Dutch jazz drummer.
See worked in the 1950s with Freddy Logan and Jack Sels, and in the early 1960s with Rolf Kühn, Pim Jacobs, and Herman Schoonderwalt. He also played ...
* ''Lift!'' (MPS, 1973) with
Zbigniew Seifert,
Stan Sulzmann, Eberhard Weber, John Taylor,
John Marshall
John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...
* ''Mild Maniac'' (MPS, 1974) with
Rainer Brüninghaus
Rainer Brüninghaus (born 21 November 1949) is a German jazz pianist, composer and university teacher.
Career
He was born in Bad Pyrmont, Lower Saxony, Germany. Rainer Brüninghaus was educated in classical piano, playing from the age of nine, a ...
, Eberhard Weber,
Peter Giger,
Joe Nay
Joe Nay (May 10, 1934, in Berlin – December 22, 1990, near Munich) was a German jazz musician, composer and drummer.
After studying guitar at the Berlin Conservatory, Nay studied under Kenny Clarke in Paris in 1959. Together with the pianist J ...
* ''Topical Harvest'' (MPS, 1975) with Albert Mangelsdorff, Rainer Brüninghaus, Peter Giger, Joe Nay
* ''Octember Variations'' (MPS, 1976)
* ''Elastic Menu'' (MPS, 1977)
* ''Houseboat'' (MPS, 1978) with Wolfgang Schlüter
* ''Long Distance'' (MPS, 1979)
* ''Schöne Aussichten'' (Mood, 1983)
* ''Palazzo Blue'' (Mood, 1992)
* ''Journal'' (Mood, 1992)
With
United Jazz + Rock Ensemble
* ''Live in Schützenhaus'' (Mood, 1977)
* ''Teamwork'' (Mood, 1978)
* ''The Break Even Point'' (Mood, 1979)
* ''Live in Berlin'' (Mood, 1981)
* ''United Live Opus Sechs'' (Mood, 1984)
* ''Round Seven'' (Mood, 1987)
* ''Na endlich!'' (Mood, 1992)
* ''Die neunte von United'' (Mood, 1996)
As sideman
With
Klaus Doldinger
* ''Doldinger Goes On'' (1967)
* ''Doldinger Jubilee Concert'',
Passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the perso ...
(1974)
With
Don "Sugarcane" Harris
* ''Keep on Driving'' (1970)
* ''Got the Blues'' (1972)
* ''New Violin Summit'' (1972)
* ''Keyzop'' (1975)
* ''Flashin' Time'' (1976)
With
Dave Pike
David Samuel Pike (March 23, 1938 – October 3, 2015) was an American jazz vibraphone and marimba player. He appeared on many albums by Nick Brignola, Paul Bley and Kenny Clarke, Bill Evans, and Herbie Mann. He also recorded extensively as l ...
* ''Noisy Silence – Gentle Noise'' (1969, MPS)
* ''Four Reasons'' (1969, MPS)
* ''Live at the Philharmonie'' (1969, MPS)
* ''Album'' (1971, MPS)
* ''Infra Red'' (1972, MPS)
* ''Salomao'' (1973, MPS)
With others
*
Emil Mangelsdorff
Emil Mangelsdorff (; 11 April 1925 – 20 January 2022) was a German jazz musician who played alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet and flute. He was a jazz pioneer under the Nazi regime which led to his imprisonment. After World War II a ...
: ''Swinging Oil Drops'' (1966)
* ''Kühn Brothers & The Mad Rockers'' (1969)
* Jonny Teupen: ''Harpadelic'' (1969, MPS)
* Curt Cress Clan: ''CCC'' (1975)
Sources
* Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby; Priestley, Brian. ''Jazz: The Rough Guide'', Penguin, 1995,
References
External links
Official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kriegel, Volker
1943 births
2003 deaths
20th-century guitarists
German jazz guitarists
Jazz fusion guitarists
Jazz-rock guitarists
German male guitarists
United Jazz + Rock Ensemble members
20th-century German male musicians
German male jazz musicians
20th-century German musicians