When the Darmstadt teenager Volker Kriegel (1943-2003) officially debuted his first chords in the late 1950s, the guitar was still an outsider instrument in jazz. It could boast a few luminaries, but actually everything was still open when, in 1963 and 1964, the autodidact from Hessen won first prizes as guitarist and soloist at the amateur jazz festival in DÃ¼sseldorf. The debut recordings in 1963, which SÃ¼dwestfunk (SWF) recorded with the nineteen-year-old guitarist in trio at the Deutschhaus in Mainz, and the 1969 studio sessions in the Kammersaal Studio, are worlds apart. For one thing, the guitar itself had carved out a career. On top of this, Kriegel had gained in self-confidence. But above all, he had found a counterpart in Claudio Szenkar, who opened up perspectives not only in terms of communication and composition but also through Kriegel's own instrument. The combination of vibraphone and guitar was then still fairly new. In 1968, Kriegel decided to make music his main profession. Thanks to "With A Little Help from My Friends" and an appearance at the German Jazz Festival in Frankfurt, he achieved the breakthrough into public recognition. Together with the vibraphonist Dave Pike, the bassist Hans Rettenbacher and the drummer Peter Baumeister, he founded the Dave Pike Set, which became for four years his artistic center and a beacon combo of European jazz rock. And for the SWF (SÃ¼dwestfunk, today SWR) he went twice into the sound studio. With the exceptions of The Beatles's anthem "Norwegian Wood" and "Mother People" by the young guitar berserker Frank Zappa, hardly any pieces by other musicians are still to be heard in these recordings.

Tracklist:

Django
Tabu
Israel
St. Louis Blues
Rhythm-A-Ning
Les Enfants &Scaron;'ennuient Le Dimanche
Autumn Leaves
Three Seconds
Tea And Rum
Morandi
Don't Wait
Na Na Imboro
Nyleve
Connie's Blues
Viande
Traffic Jam
Little Pear
Norwegian Wood
Five By Four
Royal Harp
Cry It Out
Soul Eggs
Noisy Silence, Gentle Noise
Somewhat, Somewhere, Somehow
Sitting On My Knees
Slums On Wheels
I'm On My Way
Pluns
Mother People

UPC: 730099042659
Label: Swrmusic
Release Date: 5.14.21
Format: CD

Mainz Studio Recordings 1963 / Various - Mainz Studio Recordings 1963 / Various (2 CD)