Günter "Baby" Sommer (born 25 August 1943) is 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 ...

drummer.

Career

Sommer was born in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

on 25 August 1943. His first instrument was the trumpet, which he studied at school. He started playing the drums aged 15 or 16. He studied music at

Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber The Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber (Carl Maria von Weber College of Music; also/formerly known as Dresden Conservatory or Dresden Royal Conservatory) is a university of music in Dresden, Germany. History The Hochschule opene ...

in Dresden. A solo percussion album, ''Hormusik'', was released by FMP in 1979. In the same year, FMP also released a trio album recorded with

Peter Kowald Peter Kowald (21 April 1944 – 21 September 2002) was a German free jazz and free improvising double bassist and tubist. Career A member of the Globe Unity Orchestra, and a touring double-bass player, Kowald collaborated with many Europea ...

and

Wadada Leo Smith Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith (born December 18, 1941) is an American trumpeter and composer, working primarily in the fields of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation. He was one of three finalists for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Music for '' Ten Fr ...

. He has worked with Smith intermittently throughout his career. During the 1980s he also worked with

Peter Brötzmann Peter Brötzmann (born 6 March 1941) is a German saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Early life Brötzmann was born in Remscheid, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He studied painting in Wuppertal and was involved with the Fluxus movement ...

Irene Schweizer Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

, and with the writer Gunter Grass. In the early 1990s he began leading a trio with Didier Levallet, then with Theo Jörgensmann, and joined in 1995 for 13 years as drums professor the faculty at Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber. His usual nickname ''Baby'' is due to a comparison, homage to the multifaceted US drummer

Baby Dodds Warren "Baby" Dodds (December 24, 1898 – February 14, 1959) was an American jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. He is regarded as one of the best jazz drummers of the pre-big band era, and one of the most important ...

.see Discogs

Discography

* ''Gruppe Synopsis'' with Synopsis (Amiga, 1974) * ''Hormusik'' (FMP, 1979) * ''

Touch the Earth ''Touch the Earth'' is an album by a free jazz trio consisting of American trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, German bassist Peter Kowald and German drummer Günter Sommer, which was recorded live in 1979 and released on the German FMP label. It was ...

'' with

(FMP, 1980) * ''Dedication'' with Hans-Günther Wauer (FMP, 1982) * ''Hormusik Zwei'' (Nato, 1983) * '' If You Want the Kernels You Have to Break the Shells'' with Peter Kowald (FMP, 1983) * '' Pica Pica'' with Peter Brotzmann and

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 ...

(FMP, 1984) * ''Percussion Summit'' with John Purcell, Urszula Dudziak (Moers Music, 1984) * ''Verschrankte Konstruktion'' with Hans-Günther Wauer (Amiga, 1986) * '' Live at Taktlos'' with

Irène Schweizer Irène Schweizer (born 2 June 1941) is a Swiss jazz and free improvising pianist. She was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. She has performed and recorded numerous solo piano performances as well as performing as part of the Feminist Improvis ...

and

Maggie Nicols Maggie Nicols (or Nichols, as she originally spelled her name as a performer) (born 24 February 1948), is a Scottish Free jazz, free-jazz and Free improvisation, improvising vocalist, dancer, and performer. Early life and career Nicols was born ...

(Intakt, 1986) * ''Irene Schweizer & Gunter Sommer'' (Intakt, 1988) * '' The Storming of the Winter Palace'' with

(Intakt, 1988) * ''Reserve'' with Peter Brotzmann (FMP, 1989) * '' In East Berlin'' with

(FMP, 1989) * '' Riobec'' with Cecil Taylor (FMP, 1989) * ''Cordes Sur Ciel'' with Didier Levallet (European Music/Sud-Ouest, 1990) * ''Camino Fatal'' with Ekkehard Jost (Fish Music, 1990) * ''Cappuccini Klang'' with Peter Kowald (Splasc(h), 1992) * ''Sachsische Schatulle: Hormusik III'' (Intakt, 1993) * ''Merseburger Begegnung'' with Hans-Günther Wauer (Kip, 1994) * '' BIB'' with Sylvain Kassap, Didier Levallet (FMP, 2002) * ''Wokonda'' with Achim Jaroschek (Konnex, 2003) * '' Between Heaven and Earth'' with

Conny Bauer Konrad "Conny" Bauer (born 4 July 1943) is a German free jazz trombonist. He is the brother of the trombonist Johannes Bauer. As a student at senior high school in Sonneberg between 1957 and 1961, he was enthusiastic about modern music and danc ...

and Peter Kowald (Intakt, 2003) * ''Hic Sunt Leones'' with Frank Paul Schubert (Jazz Haus, 2007) * ''Delphinius & Lyra'' with Raymond MacDonald (Clean Feed, 2007) * '' Wisdom in Time'' with Wadada Leo Smith (Intakt, 2007) * ''Abbara'' with

Rafik Schami Rafik is the given name of: * Rafik Al-Hariri (1944–2005), business tycoon, former Prime Minister of Lebanon * Rafik Bouderbal (born 1987), French-born Algerian player currently playing for ES Sétif in the Algerian Championnat National * Rafik ...

(Intakt, 2008) * ''Peitzer Grand Mit Vieren'' (Jazzwerkstatt, 2009) * ''Live in Jerusalem'' (Kadima Collective, 2009) * ''Songs for Kommeno'' (Intakt, 2012) * ''Jesper Lovdal Gunter Sommer'' (ILK Music, 2012) * ''Dry Swing & Tandem Spaces'' with Oliver Schwerdt (Euphorium, 2013) * ''Three Seasons'' (HGBS, 2014) * ''Sources'' with Johannes Enders (Moderntunemusic, 2016) * ''Fundstuecke'' with Gabriele Hasler (Laika, 2016) * ''Le Piccole Cose'' (Intuition, 2017) * ''Baby's Party'' (Intakt, 2018) * ''Grande Casino'' with EUPHORIUM_freakestra (Euphorium, 2018) * ''One For My Baby And One More For The Bass'' with

Barry Guy Barry John Guy (born 22 April 1947, in London) is an English composer and double bass player. His range of interests encompasses early music, contemporary composition, jazz and improvisation, and he has worked with a wide variety of orchestras ...

and Oliver Schwerdt (Euphorium, 2020) * ''Karawane'' with The Lucaciu 3 (Intakt, 2022)

References

External links

Official site
* 1940s births Living people Free jazz drummers German jazz drummers Male drummers German male musicians Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber alumni Avant-garde jazz drummers Recipients of the Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic German male jazz musicians Intakt Records artists FMP/Free Music Production artists {{Germany-musician-stub