Axel Zwingenberger | |
|---|---|
 Axel Zwingenberger during the funeral service of Champion Jack Dupree, January 1992 in Hannover, Germany | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 7 May 1955 Hamburg, West Germany |
| Genres | Jazz, blues, boogie-woogie [1] |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, celeste, harpsichord |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Labels | Vagabond, EMI, Eagle |
| Website | boogiewoogie |
Axel Zwingenberger (born 7 May 1955) is a German blues and boogie-woogie pianist and songwriter. [1]
Zwingenberger was born in Hamburg, West Germany, and enjoyed eleven years of classical piano training. After listening to recordings by pianists Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons, Meade "Lux" Lewis, he became a boogie-woogie musician. [2] 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. [2]
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, Champion Jack Dupree, Lloyd Glenn, Lionel Hampton, Jay McShann, Joe Newman, Sammy Price, Big Joe Turner, Sippie Wallace, Charlie Watts, Vince Weber, Bill Wyman, and Mama Yancey. [2] His publications include Boogie Woogie: Piano Solo, a book of twelve of his compositions transcribed. [3]
A railfan since early childhood, he published photographs of steam locomotives in The Magic of Trains [4] 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.
In spring 2009, with English pianist Ben Waters, he renewed his relationship with Charlie Watts, drummer of The Rolling Stones. 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 2012), and performed in New York City at Lincoln Center and the Iridium Jazz Club. [5]
| Year | Title | Solo albums | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Boogie Back to New York City | solo | Vagabond |
| 1992 | Boogie Woogie Classics | solo | PolyGram |
| 1985 | Boogie Woogie Live | solo [6] | Vagabond (also issued on Calligraph) |
| 1980 | Power House Boogie | solo | Vagabond |
| 1978 | Boogie Woogie Breakdown | solo | Telefunken |
| Year | Title | Combinations | Label |
| 2012 | The ABC&D of Boogie Woogie – Live in Paris | w/Ben Waters, Charlie Watts, Dave Green | Eagle |
| 2012 | The Joy of Boogie Woogie | w/Keito Saito | Quatre Mains |
| 2010 | The Magic of Boogie Woogie | w/Charlie Watts, Dave Green | Vagabond |
| 2009 | Lady sings the Boogie Woogie | w/Lila Ammons | Vagabond |
| 2008 | Saxy Boogie Woogie | w/Big Jay McNeely & The Bad Boys | Vagabond |
| 2004 | Groovology | w/Gottfried Boettger | Vagabond |
| 1999 | Brothers in Boogie | w/Torsten Zwingenberger | Vagabond |
| 1999 | The Boogiemeisters | w/Vince Weber | Vagabond |
| 1996 | Swing the Boogie! | w/Jay McShann | Vagabond |
| 1982 | The Boogie Woogie Album | w/Lionel Hampton Orchestra | Vagabond |
| 1978 | Let's Boogie Woogie All Night Long | w/Big Joe Turner | Vagabond |
| 1976 2015 | Boogie Woogie Session '76 live in Vienna – The Complete Recordings | w/Hans-Georg Möller, Martin Pyrker, Torsten Zwingenberger, Vince Weber | EMI/Vagabond (re-release of 2 CDs + DVD) |
| Year | Title | Axel Zwingenberger & The Friends of Boogie Woogie – Series | Label |
| 2000 | Vol. 10: Kansas City Boogie Jam | w/Big Joe Duskin, Sammy Price, Jay McShann | Vagabond |
| 1999 | Vol. 9: Red Hot Boogie Woogie Party | w/Red Holloway, Mojo Blues Band | Vagabond |
| 1993 | Vol. 8: Heat It Up | w/Red Holloway, Mojo Blues Band | Vagabond |
| 1992 | Vol. 7: Champion Jack Dupree sings Blues Classics | w/Champion Jack Dupree, Mogens "Basse" Seidelin, Michael Strasser | Vagabond |
| 1990 | Vol. 6: On Stage with Champion Jack Dupree | w/Champion Jack Dupree, Torsten Zwingenberger | Vagabond |
| 1988 | Vol. 5: Champ's Housewarming | w/Champion Jack Dupree, Mojo Blues Band | Vagabond |
| 1987 | Vol. 4: The Blues of Mama Yancey | w/Estella "Mama" Yancey | Vagabond |
| 1986 | Vol. 3: An Evening with Sippie Wallace | w/Sippie Wallace | Vagabond |
| 1985 | Vol. 2: Between Hamburg & Hollywood | w/Big Joe Turner, Joe Newman, Lloyd Glenn, Torsten Zwingenberger | Vagabond |
| 1984 | Vol. 1: Sippie Wallace | w/Sippie Wallace | Vagabond |
Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s. It was eventually extended from piano, to piano duo and trio, guitar, big band, country and western music, and gospel. While standard blues traditionally expresses a variety of emotions, boogie-woogie is mainly associated with dancing. The genre had a significant influence on rhythm and blues and rock and roll.
William Thomas "Champion Jack" Dupree was an American blues and boogie-woogie pianist and singer. His nickname was derived from his early career as a boxer.
Charles Robert Watts was an English musician who achieved international fame as the drummer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 until his death in 2021.
James Columbus "Jay" McShann 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 Ben Webster.
Albert Clifton Ammons was an American pianist and player of boogie-woogie, a blues style popular from the late 1930s to the mid-1940s.
Pete Johnson was an American boogie-woogie and jazz pianist.
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart was a Scottish keyboardist and co-founder of the Rolling Stones. He was removed from the line-up in May 1963 at the request of manager Andrew Loog Oldham who felt he did not fit the band's image. He remained as road manager and pianist for over two decades until his death, and was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with the rest of the band in 1989.
Sippie Wallace was an American blues singer and songwriter. Her early career in tent shows gained her the billing "The Texas Nightingale". Between 1923 and 1927, she recorded over 40 songs for Okeh Records, many written by her or her brothers, George and Hersal Thomas. Her accompanists included Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dodds, Sidney Bechet, King Oliver, and Clarence Williams. Among the top female blues vocalists of her era, Wallace ranked with Ma Rainey, Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter, and Bessie Smith.
Brunn am Gebirge is a town in the district of Mödling in the Austrian state of Lower Austria.
Robert 'Bob' Hall, is an English boogie-woogie pianist. A long-time collaborator of Alexis Korner, he also performed regularly with bottleneck bluesman Dave Kelly and his sister, Jo Ann Kelly.
Estelle "Mama" Yancey was an American blues singer. She was nominated four times for Blues Music Awards as Traditional Blues Female Artist.
Richard MacQueen Wellstood was an American jazz pianist.
Stanley Mackay Greig was a Scottish pianist, drummer, and bandleader.
Christian Dozzler is an Austrian blues, boogie woogie and zydeco multi-instrumentalist and singer, now based in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. He plays piano, harmonica, accordion and organ, and writes most of his recorded material. He has been nicknamed "Vienna Slim".
Vince Weber was a German blues and boogie-woogie pianist.
Silvan Zingg is a Swiss boogie woogie, blues, and jazz pianist and, in 2002, the founder of the International Boogie Woogie festival in Lugano, Switzerland.
David John Green is an English jazz bassist.
Luca Sestak is a German boogie-woogie, blues and jazz pianist and composer.
Ladyva is a Swiss musician, boogie woogie, blues and jazz pianist, singer and composer.
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
| Biographical dictionaries | |
| Other | |
