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 major ...

guitarist and composer who also an author and drew cartoons. He was a founding member of the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble.

Biography

19921123 volker kriegel ujre braunschweig

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 Blueger, ...

, but in 1962 was already playing in a band with

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

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 ...

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 le ...

, 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 Don Francis Bowman "Sugarcane" Harris (June 18, 1938 – November 30, 1999) was an American blues and rock and roll violinist and guitarist. He is considered a pioneer in the amplification of the violin. Career Harris was born and raised in P ...

, then signed with MPS 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 Ack van Rooyen (1 January 1930, The Hague – 18 November 2021) was a Dutch jazz trumpeter and flugelhornist. He was the brother of Jerry van Rooyen. Van Rooyen began playing with a military band as a teenager, touring bases in Indonesia. He the ...

, 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 Peter Trunk (May 17, 1936, Frankfurt – December 31, 1973, New York) was a German jazz double-bassist. Trunk played late in the 1950s in concert and on radio with Kenny Clarke, Stan Getz, Albert Mangelsdorff, and Zoot Sims. During this time he a ...

, Günter Lenz, Peter Baumeister, Claudio Szenkar * ''Spectrum'' ( MPS 1971, re-released 2003) * ''Inside: Missing Link'' (MPS, 1972) with Albert Mangelsdorff,

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 care ...

Heinz Sauer Heinz Sauer (born December 25, 1932, Merseburg) is a German jazz saxophonist. Sauer was an autodidact on tenor saxophone and began his career playing locally around Frankfurt in the 1950s. He played for many years in Albert Mangelsdorff's ense ...

, John Taylor,

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, m ...

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 * ''Lift!'' (MPS, 1973) with

Zbigniew Seifert Zbigniew Seifert (7 June 1946 – 15 February 1979) was a Polish jazz violinist. Seifert was born in Kraków, Poland. He played alto saxophone early in his career and was influenced by John Coltrane. He devoted himself to jazz violin when he b ...

Stan Sulzmann Stanley Ernest Sulzmann (born 30 November 1948) is an English jazz saxophonist. Biography He was born in London, England. Sulzmann began playing the saxophone at age of 13 and played in 1964 Bill Ashton's London Youth Jazz Orchestra, later ...

, Eberhard Weber, John Taylor,

* ''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, ...

, Eberhard Weber,

Peter Giger Peter Giger (born April 12, 1939 in Zurich) is a Swiss percussionist and bandleader, formerly of the band :de:Dzyan.Steve Freeman, Alan Freeman ''The crack in the cosmic egg: encyclopedia of Krautrock'' 1996 "The talented percussionist, formerly ...

, Joe Nay * ''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 Klaus Doldinger (born 12 May 1936) is a German saxophonist known for his work in jazz and as a film music composer. He was the recipient of 1997's Bavarian Film Awards. Life and work Doldinger was born in Berlin, Germany, and entered a Düsse ...

* ''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 personal ...

(1974) With

* ''Keep on Driving'' (1970) * ''Got the Blues'' (1972) * ''New Violin Summit'' (1972) * ''Keyzop'' (1975) * ''Flashin' Time'' (1976) With

* ''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 *

: ''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