Events, Updates, New Releases
Herb Geller (02.12.1928 – 19.12.2013)
Herb Geller was born in Los Angeles and at the tender age of just fourteen he decided to learn to play the alto saxophone. A mere two years later he had his first professional engagement. He played with countless jazz greats and his talent was recognised around the globe. His career took him to Brazil, Portugal and France before he came to Germany in 1962.
Here he spent three years playing in the RIAS big band and then he moved to Hamburg. For 28 years he was one of the outstanding musicians who helped make the NDR dance orchestra into the avant-garde big band that it is today From 1968 onwards he was also a soloist in Bert Kaempfert’s orchestra on all studio recordings and tours. In addition to his own projects, from 1986 onwards he was a professor for saxophone at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg.
“When ten major concerts were given across Germany in 2006 and 2008, Herb Geller was one of the special guest soloists. This was the time when I really got to know Herb well. He was quite a reserved man with exemplary discipline when it came to work. He was always the first to arrive for rehearsals or sound checks. When it came to matters of musical taste, he made constructive suggestions in his own understated way. He was a gentleman and precisely because of this he often surprised me with his highly sophisticated sense of humour. I still have many fine memories of him and his outstanding musical creations!”
Doris Kaempfert
Soothing the Tiger – The Gentle Sound
of Herbert Rehbein & His Orchestra
Release: November 22, 2013
Silver Spot Records # 1036003SSR
Order now: www.amazon.de
Herbert Rehbein (1922-1979) was a music producer and conductor, who wrote a variety of internationally known melodies and arrangements as well as being a virtuoso on his instrument, the violin.
The double CD “SOOTHING THE TIGER” consists of all three albums recorded by Herbert Rehbein in the sixties. The sounds produced by Herbert Rehbein and his orchestra represented the very best of musical escapism at the time they were released, but it is amazing how fresh they still sound today.
More information on the double CD can be found here
An Unassuming Citizen of the World – In memoriam Bert Kaempfert
Bert Kaempfert’s 90th Anniversary was celebrated on 16 October 2013 with reminiscences and a wealth of music.
Associates from the world of music, friends and relations commemorated the composer and bandleader Bert Kaempfert at a ceremony held on 16 October 2013. To celebrate this event Kaempfert’s daughter Doris had invited guests to gather at the casino at Hamburg’s Stephansplatz, where Bert Kaempfert’s career began after the Second War War.
Caro Emerald – The Shocking Miss Emerald
Release Date: May 3, 2013
Polydor/Universal: #373 342-6
Order now: www.amazon.de
The Dutch jazz-pop queen, Caro Emerald, appears on this album for the first time with large orchestra. For close on two years Caro and her team worked on their new material, which, recorded at London’s Abbey Road studios, resulted in truly great midnight cinema.
A successful encounter between Caro Emerald and Bert Kaempfert
The fourteen songs on the album include a sampling: I Belong To You is based on the composition by Bert Kaempfert and Herbert Rehbein entitled My Way Of Life. Through the use of the original recording by Kaempfert and his orchestra, this dramatic love song retains its original character.
Just two weeks after its release, Caro’s “The Shocking Miss Emerald” hit the number one spot in the British charts, the third spot in Germany, and on 7 June also topped the Jazz Top 30.
DVD: Strangers in the Night – The Music of Bert Kaempfert
The Berlin Jazz Orchestra & Special Guests
Released: September 21, 2012
DVD-Video (2), PAL 16:9
Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS 5.1/PCM-Stereo
Playing time: 65 Min.
Universal # 370 739-8
A live recording from Frankfurt’s Alte Oper on 12 February 2008. Augmented by the Frankfurt Strings and the Berlin Voices, the Berlin Jazz Orchestra performed under the direction of Jiggs Whigham. Soloists included Ack van Rooyen (flugelhorn, trumpet), Herb Geller (saxophone, flute), Jiggs Whigham (trombone) and Ladi Geisler (bass) together with several of Bert Kaempfert’s fellow musicians. This concert was rounded off by, as special guests, jazz singer Sylvia Vrethammar, singer Marc Secara as well as pianist and entertainer Joja Wendt.
For more information about the CD, click here
Order now
Let’s Go Bowling –
Bert Kaempfert & His Orchestra
Re-Release: December 16, 2011
Polydor # 278 648-2
This CD release is sure to get the hearts of all Bert Kaempfert fans and collectors beating faster. First brought out on vinyl by Polydor in 1964, this album is a coupling featuring Kaempfert’s early recordings made between 1959 and 1964, four tracks of which have never before appeared on CD in Germany.
For more information about the CD, click here
Ladi Geisler (27.11.1927 – 19.11.2011)
Ladi Geisler performed alongside international stars and brought his considerable skills to bear as a studio musician at productions beyond number. He made his career as a soloist, was the recipient of many an award and gave of his time to several institutions. And, above all, it was his unforgettable “Knack-Bass”, that percussive bass sound, which played such a significant role in characterizing the Bert Kaempfert sound.
Until his passing, Ladi enjoyed life both offstage as well as onstage with his guitar – making music was, without a doubt, his very lifeblood!