Axel Zwingenberger (born 7 May 1955) is a German blues and

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pi ...

pianist and songwriter.

Biography

Zwingenberger was born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, West Germany, and enjoyed eleven years of classical piano training. After listening to recordings by pianists Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons,

Meade "Lux" Lewis Anderson Meade Lewis (September 4, 1905 – June 7, 1964), known as Meade Lux Lewis, was an American pianist and composer, remembered for his playing in the boogie-woogie style. His best-known work, "Honky Tonk Train Blues", has been recorded by ...

, he became a

musician. In 1974 he performed with pianists Hans-Georg Moeller, Vince Weber and Martin Pyrker at the First International Blues and Boogie Woogie Festival in Cologne, West Germany. They also played at the Stars of Boogie Woogie and the Hans Maitner festival. A year later he signed with a record label, which released his solo albums ''Boogie Woogie Breakdown'', ''Power House Boogie'', and ''Boogie Woogie Live''. He has worked with

Ray Bryant Raphael Homer "Ray" Bryant (December 24, 1931 – June 2, 2011) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger. Early life Bryant was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on December 24, 1931. His mother was an ordained minister who had tau ...

Champion Jack Dupree William Thomas "Champion Jack" Dupree (July 23, 1909 or July 4, 1910 – January 21, 1992) was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. His nickname was derived from his early career as a boxer. Biography Dupree was a New Orleans ...

Lloyd Glenn Lloyd Colquitt Glenn (November 21, 1909 – May 23, 1985) was an American R&B pianist, bandleader and arranger, who was a pioneer of the "West Coast" blues style. Career Born in San Antonio, Texas, from the late 1920s, Glenn played with vari ...

, Lionel Hampton,

Jay McShann James Columbus "Jay" McShann (January 12, 1916 – December 7, 2006) was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and B ...

, Joe Newman,

Sammy Price Samuel Blythe Price (October 6, 1908 – April 14, 1992) was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and jump blues pianist and bandleader. Price's playing is dark, mellow, and relaxed rather than percussive, and he was a specialist at creating the ...

, Big Joe Turner, Sippie Wallace, Charlie Watts, Vince Weber, Bill Wyman, and Mama Yancey. His publications include ''Boogie Woogie: Piano Solo'', a book of twelve of his compositions transcribed. A railfan since early childhood, he published photographs of

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

in ''The Magic of Trains'' Axel Zwingenberger, ''Vom Zauber der Züge'' - ''The Magic of Trains'' photo book - and established a non-profit group with the German Foundation for the Protection of Historical Monuments which works for the preservation of trains, such as the steam-powered

DR 18 201 The German express locomotive, number 18 201 of the Deutsche Reichsbahn in East Germany, appeared in 1960–61 at Meiningen Steam Locomotive Works as a conversion of the Henschel-Wegmann train locomotive 61 002, the tender from 44 468 and parts ...

. In spring 2009, with English pianist Ben Waters, he renewed his relationship with Charlie Watts, drummer of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

. With bassist Dave Green, they played concerts under the name The ABC&D of Boogie Woogie. In June 2012 they released their first album, ''Live in Paris'' (

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

2012), and performed in New York City at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

and the

Iridium Jazz Club The Iridium is a music club located on Broadway in New York City. The club featured weekly performances by Les Paul for nearly fifteen years. History The club opened in January 1994 at its original location, at 63rd Street and Broadway in th ...

Selective discography

References

External links

Axel Zwingenberger's homepage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zwingenberger, Axel 1955 births Living people Musicians from Hamburg Boogie-woogie pianists Blues pianists German jazz pianists 21st-century pianists

Biography

Selective discography

References

Further reading

External links