Barbara Dennerlein

Last updated

Barbara Dennerlein
Barbara Dennerlein (2011).jpg
Barbara Dennerlein performing in 2011
Background information
Born (1964-09-25) 25 September 1964 (age 60)
Munich, Germany
Genres Jazz
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s) Electronic organ, synthesizer, organ
Years active1980s–present
Website barbaradennerlein.com

Barbara Dennerlein (born 25 September 1964 in Munich) [1] is a German jazz organist. She has achieved critical acclaim for using the bass pedalboard on a Hammond organ and for integrating synthesizer sounds onto the instrument, and was described by critic Ron Wynn as "the most interesting jazz organist to emerge during the 1980s". [2]

Contents

Career

Barbara Dennerlein in Vienna, November 2005 BarbaraDennerlein.jpg
Barbara Dennerlein in Vienna, November 2005

Early years

Dennerlein was born and grew up in Munich, Germany. [1] She began playing the organ aged 11 [1] after receiving a small Hohner instrument for Christmas. She was encouraged by her grandfather to learn a musical instrument, and her parents were both jazz enthusiasts. [3] She took formal lessons for two years under the instruction of Paul Greisl, who had a Hammond B-3. She immediately became interested in the instrument and that it contained a bass pedalboard, unlike her Hohner. After some searching, since the instrument was then out of production, she acquired her own Hammond aged 13 from her parents. [3]

She began to play concerts aged 14, [4] and the following year, she played in a jazz club for the first time. [2] When leading her own bands, Dennerlein was often the youngest musician in the group, and she learned to co-operate with more experienced musicians. Her local reputation as the "Organ Tornado from Munich" spread after her first television appearances in 1982. [5]

Recordings

When her third LP Bebab was issued, Dennerlein established her own record label in 1985 [2] [ failed verification ] and assumed her own management duties, because she felt she did not have enough support from her existing label or from Hammond, who wanted to promote later digital models rather than the B-3 she used. [6] She received two German Record Critics' awards for self-produced albums. [2] Later, she made three recordings for Enja Records [1] and three for Verve Records. On these recordings she worked with Ray Anderson, Randy Brecker, Dennis Chambers, Roy Hargrove, Mitch Watkins, and Jeff "Tain" Watts. [2]

Instruments

Dennerlein modified a Hammond's pedalboard to trigger samples of an acoustic bass and, impressed with results, decided to modify the manuals to play samplers too. [7] Her performances include solo performances, as well as quintets (e.g. her "Bebab" band). In both, she uses MIDI technology [1] and triggers built into pedals and manuals to trigger synthesizers and samples. [7]

After a variety of projects and after playing with unconventional musicians, such as Friedrich Gulda, [5] Dennerlein started playing the pipe organ in 1994. Since 2003, she has also developed jazz projects with symphonic orchestras, including a collaboration with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on the Karl Schuke organ. [8]

Compositions

Dennerlein claims to have been primarily influenced by jazz and was not initially interested in classical or church music, although it was and is popular in Germany. [4] She has never been enthusiastic about formal music theory, preferring to learn things through improvisation. [9] However, she has further said that her main influence from jazz is the ability to mix other musical styles as desired, saying "To me, jazz is a synonym for freedom. Freedom from prejudice and discrimination". [8]

Dennerlein's first album included four of her own pieces. Her compositions vary from traditional blues schemes, romantic, melancholic ballads to tempo-driven compositions with elements of swing, bebop, funk and Latin rhythms. [10] The fast tempos and rhythmic figures she uses in her interpretations of well-known standards, and in many of her own compositions, require fast bass pedalboard footwork, though she has used bass players for recordings in order to feature techniques such as slap bass, which cannot be played on pedals. [11] Dennerlein often uses changing meter (e.g., 3/4 to 4/4), as well as unconventional harmonic changes to add expression to her compositions. [10]

Awards

Discography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammond organ</span> Electric organ

The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated sound by creating an electric current from rotating a metal tonewheel near an electromagnetic pickup, and then strengthening the signal with an amplifier to drive a speaker cabinet. The organ is commonly used with the Leslie speaker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harmonica</span> Free reed wind musical instrument

The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica include diatonic, chromatic, tremolo, octave, orchestral, and bass versions. A harmonica is played by using the mouth to direct air into or out of one holes along a mouthpiece. Behind each hole is a chamber containing at least one reed. The most common is the diatonic Richter-tuned with ten air passages and twenty reeds, often called the blues harp. A harmonica reed is a flat, elongated spring typically made of brass, stainless steel, or bronze, which is secured at one end over a slot that serves as an airway. When the free end is made to vibrate by the player's air, it alternately blocks and unblocks the airway to produce sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melodica</span> Free-reed instrument

The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usually covers two or three octaves. Melodicas are small, lightweight, and portable, and many are designed for children to play. They are popular in music education programs, especially in Asia. The modern form of the instrument was invented by Hohner in the late 1950s, though similar instruments have been known in Italy since the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organ (music)</span> Keyboard Instrument

In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more pipe divisions or other means for producing tones. The organs have usually two or three, up to five, manuals for playing with the hands and a pedalboard for playing with the feet. With the use of registers, several groups of pipes can be connected to one manual.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedrich Gulda</span> Austrian pianist and composer (1930–2000)

Friedrich Gulda was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bassline</span> Low-pitched instrumental part

Bassline is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, dub and electronic, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, cello, tuba or keyboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric organ</span> Electronic keyboard instrument

An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed into several types of instruments:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedal keyboard</span> Musical keyboard played with the feet, usually used for low-pitched notes

A pedalboard is a keyboard played with the feet that is usually used to produce the low-pitched bass line of a piece of music. A pedalboard has long, narrow lever-style keys laid out in the same semitone scalar pattern as a manual keyboard, with longer keys for C, D, E, F, G, A, and B, and shorter, raised keys for C, D, F, G and A. Training in pedal technique is part of standard organ pedagogy in church music and art music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multi-instrumentalist</span> Musician who plays multiple musical instruments

A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments, often but not exclusively at a professional level of proficiency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manual (music)</span> Musical keyboard played with the hands

The word "manual" is used instead of the word "keyboard" when referring to any hand-operated keyboard on a keyboard instrument that has a pedalboard, such as an organ; or when referring to one of the keyboards on an instrument that has more than one hand-operated keyboard, such as a two- or three-manual harpsichord.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass pedals</span> Foot-operated musical instrument

Bass pedals are an electronic musical instrument with a foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a pedalboard and analog synthesizer tone generation circuitry packaged together as a unit. The bass pedals are plugged into a bass amplifier or PA system so that their sound can be heard. Since the 1990s, bass pedals are usually MIDI controllers, which have to be connected to a MIDI-compatible computer, electronic synthesizer keyboard, or synth module to produce musical tones. Some 2010s-era bass pedals have both an onboard synth module and a MIDI output.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clonewheel organ</span> Electronic musical instrument

A clonewheel organ is an electronic musical instrument that emulates the sound of the electromechanical tonewheel-based organs formerly manufactured by Hammond from the 1930s to the 1970s. Clonewheel organs generate sounds using solid-state circuitry or computer chips, rather than with heavy mechanical tonewheels, making clonewheel organs much lighter-weight and smaller than vintage Hammonds, and easier to transport to live performances and recording sessions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Banton</span> British musician

Hugh Robert Banton is a British musician and electronic organ builder, most widely known for playing organ and keyboards with the group Van der Graaf Generator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organ trio</span> Form of jazz ensemble

An organ trio is a form of jazz ensemble consisting of three musicians; a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and either a jazz guitarist or a saxophone player. In some cases the saxophonist will join a trio which consists of an organist, guitarist, and drummer, making it a quartet. Organ trios were a popular type of jazz ensemble for club and bar settings in the 1950s and 1960s, performing a blues-based style of jazz that incorporated elements of R&B. The organ trio format was characterized by long improvised solos and an exploration of different musical "moods".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of jazz and popular music</span> List of definitions of terms and jargon used in jazz and popular music

This is a glossary of jazz and popular music terms that are likely to be encountered in printed popular music songbooks, fake books and vocal scores, big band scores, jazz, and rock concert reviews, and album liner notes. This glossary includes terms for musical instruments, playing or singing techniques, amplifiers, effects units, sound reinforcement equipment, and recording gear and techniques which are widely used in jazz and popular music. Most of the terms are in English, but in some cases, terms from other languages are encountered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Lehel</span> German jazz saxophonist and composer (born 1965)

Peter Lehel is a German jazz saxophonist and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Davis</span> American jazz singer, organist and bandleader

Jackie Davis was an American soul jazz singer, organist and bandleader. He is notable for his contributions in bringing the Hammond organ to the forefront of jazz and pop, preceding the better-known Jimmy Smith by several years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magda Piskorczyk</span> Musical artist

Magda Piskorczyk is a Polish singer and multi-instrumentalist, composer and musical arranger. Piskorczyk has twice been a semi-finalist at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. She has been selected seven times in 10 years s 'Vocalist of the Year' by readers of the "Twój Blues" magazine.

<i>Spring Tour</i> 1995 live album by Marilyn Crispell, Anders Jormin, and Raymond Strid

Spring Tour is a live album by pianist Marilyn Crispell, bassist Anders Jormin, and drummer Raymond Strid. It was recorded at Club Village in Västerås, Sweden and Club Fasching in Stockholm, Sweden in March 1994, and was released in 1995 by Alice Musik Produktion.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Yanow, Scott. "Barbara Dennerlein". allmusic. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Wynn, Ron (1994). Ron Wynn (ed.). All Music Guide to Jazz . M. Erlewine, V. Bogdanov. San Francisco: Miller Freeman. p.  203. ISBN   0-87930-308-5.
  3. 1 2 Enstice & Stockhouse 2004, p. 98.
  4. 1 2 Enstice & Stockhouse 2004, p. 100.
  5. 1 2 "Barbara Dennerlein". All About Jazz. Archived from the original on 18 January 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  6. Enstice & Stockhouse 2004, p. 108.
  7. 1 2 Enstice & Stockhouse 2004, p. 97.
  8. 1 2 "Barbara Dennerlein (organ) – Jazz Meets Pipe Organ – Spiritual Movements". Berliner Philharmoniker. 4 November 2012. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012.
  9. Enstice & Stockhouse 2004, p. 101.
  10. 1 2 Doerschuk, Robert L. (May 1991). "Jazz organ like you've never heard it". Keyboard. 17 (#181): 28–38.
  11. Enstice & Stockhouse 2004, pp. 104–105.

Cited sources