Milan Šamko (born 1946 in Leipzig) is a German pianist and keyboardist. In the 1980s, he became a sought-after studio musician of the GDR.

Biography

Šamko studied piano and

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

at the

Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

in Berlin. From the mid-1960s, jazz and blues became more and more a passion for him. He was primarily devoted to playing the music and listening to his favorite classics of Herbie Hancock,

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

, or Keith Jarrett. Samko then advanced through his very own style of writing and improvising as a jazz musician. He has worked as a soloist on the Hammond organ as well as in the radio big band. In addition to his appearances in bands, since GDR-times to this day, he has frequently accompanied the

diseuse A monologist (), or interchangeably monologuist (), is a solo artist who recites or gives dramatic readings from a monologue, soliloquy, poetry, or work of literature, for the entertainment of an audience. The term can also refer to a person wh ...

Sonja Kehler Sonja Kehler (2 February 1933 – 18 January 2016) was a German actress and chanson singer, known internationally for her interpretation of works by Bertolt Brecht, first playing his characters on the theatre stage, then focused on singing his son ...

- both on stage and on record - for a CD with a new

Else Lasker-Schüler Else Lasker-Schüler (née Elisabeth Schüler) (; 11 February 1869 – 22 January 1945) was a German-Jewish poet and playwright famous for her bohemian lifestyle in Berlin and her poetry. She was one of the few women affiliated with the Expressi ...

setting. Samko, who now lives near Potsdam and teaches piano lessons, has been part of the blues band Passover Blues since the mid-1990s. He also played in the Honky Tonk Duo, with whom he was also to be heard at the

Umbria Jazz Festival The Umbria Jazz Festival is one of the most important jazz festivals in the world and has been held annually since 1973, usually in July, in Perugia, and surrounding cities of the region of Umbria Italy. Furthermore, the Umbria Jazz Winter Festi ...

Potsdamer Musiker in Perugia
/ref> and he performed with old friends like , , Harro Hübner or Horst "Verti" Melzer.

References

External links

Porträt (Pass over Blues)

Milan Samko
on Discogs

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samko, Milan German jazz pianists German jazz composers Male jazz composers Musicians from Leipzig 1946 births Living people German male pianists 21st-century pianists 21st-century German male musicians