George Gruntz
Encyclopedia
George Gruntz is a Swiss jazz
pianist
, organist
, harpsichordist
, keyboardist
and composer most noteworthy for his work with artists such as Phil Woods
, Roland Kirk, Don Cherry
, Chet Baker
, Art Farmer
, Dexter Gordon
, Johnny Griffin
and Mel Lewis
.
From 1972 to 1994 he served as artistic director for the JazzFest Berlin
. Gruntz is also an accomplished arranger and composer, having been commissioned by many orchestras and symphonies.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
pianist
Jazz piano
Jazz piano is a collective term for the techniques pianists use when playing jazz. The piano has been an integral part of the jazz idiom since its inception, in both solo and ensemble settings. Its role is multifaceted due largely to the instrument's combined melodic and harmonic capabilities...
, organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
, harpsichordist
Harpsichordist
A harpsichordist is a person who plays the harpsichord.Many baroque composers played the harpsichord, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, George Frideric Handel, François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau...
, keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
and composer most noteworthy for his work with artists such as Phil Woods
Phil Woods
Philip Wells Woods is an American jazz bebop alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader and composer.-Biography:...
, Roland Kirk, Don Cherry
Don Cherry (jazz)
Donald Eugene Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz cornetist whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman. He went on to live in many parts of the world and work with a wide variety of musicians.-Biography:Cherry was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and...
, Chet Baker
Chet Baker
Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker, Jr. was an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and singer.Though his music earned him a large following , Baker's popularity was due in part to his "matinee idol-beauty" and "well-publicized drug habit."He died in 1988 in Amsterdam, the...
, Art Farmer
Art Farmer
Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet/flugelhorn combination designed for him by David Monette. His identical twin brother, Addison Farmer Arthur Stewart "Art" Farmer (August 21, 1928, Council Bluffs, Iowa –...
, Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
, Johnny Griffin
Johnny Griffin
John Arnold Griffin III was an American bop and hard bop tenor saxophonist.- Early life and career :Griffin studied music at DuSable High School in Chicago under Walter Dyett, starting out on clarinet before moving on to oboe and then alto sax...
and Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis
Mel Lewis was an American drummer, jazz musician and band leader. He was born Melvin Sokoloff in Buffalo, New York to Russian immigrant parents....
.
From 1972 to 1994 he served as artistic director for the JazzFest Berlin
JazzFest Berlin
JazzFest Berlin is a jazz festival based in Berlin, Germany. Originally called the "Berliner Jazztage" , it was founded in 1964 in West Berlin by the Berliner Festspiele. It is considered one of the world's premier jazz festivals...
. Gruntz is also an accomplished arranger and composer, having been commissioned by many orchestras and symphonies.
Discography
- Tiger by the Tail, 2006 Concert Big Band;
- Noon in Tunisia, 2006;
- The Magic of a Flute, 2005;
- Mental Cruelty, 2003 (1960 Jazz Soundtrack);
- 30+70 The One Hundred Years of George Gruntz (available as download);
- Akt 2: Aria for George Gruntz (available as download);
- Brainplay #3 George Gruntz Percussion Ensemble (available as download);
- Global Excellence, 2001;
- Symphonie les Echanges, 2000 (available as download);
- Ringing the Luminator--Piano Works by Gruntz and arrangements of pieces by others;
- Merryteria, 1999 Concert Big Band;
- Live at JazzFest Berlin, 1999 Concert Big Band;
- Sins 'n Wins 'n Funs, 1996 (compilation of live performances from 1981-1997) Concert Big Band;
- Mock-Lo-Motion, George Gruntz Trio with Franco Ambrosetti (tpt);
- Ray Anderson Big Band Record, 1994;
- Cosmopolitan Greetings, 1992 Big Band;
- Beyond Another Wall: Live In China1992; TCB Records)
- First Prize, 1989 Concert Big Band;
- Happening Now, 1987 Big Band;
- TheaterTheatre (album)Theatre is an album by Swiss pianist, composer, and arranger George Gruntz's Concert Jazz Band '83 recorded in 1983 and released on the ECM label.-Reception:...
(ECM, 1984) - The George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band '83.
External links
- George Gruntz page at Enja Records site