When Jazz Queen meets Blues Award Winners

The audience at the Kraichgau Jazzfestival experienced a thrilling concert a week ago by Barbara Dennerlein and the duo Ignaz Netzer / Thomas Scheytt. The Badische Neusten Nachrichten reported on the concert evening in the completely sold out Old Winepress House in Bahnbrücken with the motto: "Jazz Queen Meets German Blues Award Winner".

"Ignaz Netzer, a blues guitarist with a distinctive, smoky voice that conveyed a bluesy feeling, and a confident, fine blues-harp playing, was accompanied by his congenial partner Thomas Scheytt on the piano fine hands for fast boogie melodies ...

After that the Queen of the Hammond B3, Barbara Dennerlein, came on stage as a soloist and enthused from the beginning. She surprised again and again with unconventional harmony changes and fast demanding bass pedal play. Dennerlein: "My daily fitness program." Ignaz Netzer acknowledged: "She plays with her left foot faster than most bassists with their fingers." Stylistically, she moved extremely confidently between blues and swing. But even with her self-composed first "Organ Boogie" she hit the nerve of the audience. In the ballads the princess showed a fine and filigree play on the majestic Hammond B3.

In the second part of the concert, the three musicians presented themselves as well-rehearsed team and gave the best blues and boogie. Titles like "Let The Good Time Roll", "Stormy Weather Blues" and "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" were fun for the audience. The protagonists' play had so much drive, rhythm and groove that a drum kit was not missed. The enthusiastic audience in Bahnbrücken occasionally took over, by clapping the percussion, so Ignaz Netzer commented: "With this we can take Montreux."
https://jazztage-kraichtal.jimdo.com/archiv/2019/barbara-dennerlein/

Jimmy's Walk - Barbara Dennerlein on Hammond B3

Barbara Dennerlein videos have now passed the 1,000,000 views mark on YouTube. This video is a thank you to all jazz, organ, and Barbara Dennerlein fans who have helped to spread the word. As many of you know, this title was written by Barbara and dedicated to the late great Jimmy Smith. Although her playing was not influenced by Jimmy Smith, like all jazz lovers she is grateful to him for his contribution to organ jazz - his approach to soloing made modern jazz organ possible - during her concerts she often mentions this fact and praises Jimmy Smith. Barbara and Jimmy first met when she was only 15 years old. She took part in an organ competition and Jimmy Smith was one of the judges. In an interview she described their first meeting: BD: "I sat down and played something different, "On the Sunny Side of the Street" and suddenly I noticed someone came from behind me and he took my hair, I had very long hair, much longer than now, and he put it to the side, and then he sat down and he played with me. [laughs] So really, it was great. AAJ: And you weren't expecting it at all? BD: No, it was incredible of course, wonderful. And then people were so shocked about their decision—he played with me, the second place finalist. The third place finalist didn't even play again after that! [laughs] It was really funny, and afterwards we stayed in contact. And it was really nice, until he started to see me as a competitor." Barbara still has great respect for Jimmy Smith's contribution to jazz and the Hammond organ as this composition demonstrates.

Interview with #BarbaraDennerlein

Barbara Dennerlein was back again in Bühl after her last concerts in 2011 and 2014. On occasion of the "Jazztival Bühl" Klaus-Peter Maier, journalist from the "Bühler Neueste Nachrichten" newspaper, talked to the organist from Munich about her music and he instrument, with which she restored new popularity to jazz: the Hammond organ.

"Stirring dialogue between organ and saxophone" entitled our newspaper six years ago the article about your performance with Peter Lehel. What does the audience can expect for this time?

Dennerlein: Honestly, I haven't written the set list yet. In this regard I am very spontaneous. I mainly play my originals, and this is - as I hope - an exciting bunch of different styles. Like in a movie, it should not become boring, and there should be something for everyone. I like to provide a broad bandwidth in my concerts. Blues, swing, funk, but also Latin and sometimes uneven bars or spherical sounds - most probably a bit of all these things.

Jazz is freedom, you once said in an interview. Does playing solo mean even more freedom for you as musician?

Dennerlein: Yes, playing solo means much more freedom, because you act completely independent. Playing together has the advantage that you get mutual inspiration. But solos are very special. You are free to act spontaneous in a way that is impossible in a band. On one hand, the organ has much power but on the other hand it is very filigree, with beautiful soft and colourful sounds, if you know how to work with the registration. A second instrument covers quite a lot, of course. Playing solo with the sounds and creating these impressions is fascinating me. 

You are familiar with the pipe or church organ as well as with the legendary Hammond B3, you fell in love with that sound at young age. Why does this electro-mechanic instrument, that was a must for rock bands especially in the 60ties and 70ties, captivates you?

Dennerlein: In rock music the Hammond organ plays rather a role as keyboard. Most of the rock and jazz organists don't play the pedal at all. The distinctive tube sound is one thing, but the organ can much more. You can accompany, you can play the bass, you can play solo or with several voices - it's just like a whole band. My dear gone colleague Oscar Klein used to say: the organ is the smallest big band of the world. You have a point there, also with the nice term of the "Queen of instruments". To play ambidextrous with all four extremities is a challenge. The sound possibilities are fascinating, and you can groove particularly with the Hammond. You can play everything, from soft to screams, from soulful ballads to heavy funk tunes. And I am fascinated by this unmistakeable sound of these old electro-magnetic instruments. 

But you combine this sound with modern means…

Dennerlein: I have learnt from the start to play with pedals and I always loved the bass sound. When the midi technique came up I let built in additional pins in all keyboards. With this I can combine synthesizers and samplers with my Hammond. I have a sampled double bass sound which I play on the pedals and some self-programmed synthesizer sounds for the manuals. Meanwhile you might say this is vintage. I came to this sound somehow, and I still love it. The additional synthesizer sounds are in the long run a bit soulless but the Hammond isn't, because each tone sounds different and this is much more vivid. 

The concert evening in the Bürgerhaus has the motto "Women in Jazz". Is jazz still preserved for men or is this stereotype overcome?  

Dennerlein: I would not say that it is overcome. When I began, I was one of very few women. This has thankfully changed in favour of female musicians. Nowadays there are many fantastic female musicians, but of course the majority are still men. This process will go on.  Generally I think, one should put the focus on the music. Back then it was often said that a woman must play twice as good, and this is still true in a certain sense. I think especially young female musicians make certain experiences. But it always depends on the people.

What about newcomers in jazz anyway?

Dennerlein: There are a lot of well educated young musicians. But the problem which is not easy to change is, that there are not enough opportunities to perform. It's a lack of money for culture and art purposes today. It is sad: the first savings are made in the culture budgets, and for jazz in any way. If there weren't people and clubs who are much committed to promote concerts and festivals the situation would be horrible.

Regarding this, which meaning have especially smaller jazz festivals like this one in Bühl?

Dennerlein: Especially the smaller festivals are very important, because they give musicians a chance who are good but are not established yet. At big festivals you find always the same names. These people are in and are promoted by their record company with much money. They are touring from one big festival to the next. For the other, also very good musicians - and we have a good jazz scene in Germany - it is more difficult. But this has been so all the time. I know it from my first years of profession: there was lot of money for American acts and almost nothing left for German musicians. This is a drawback insofar as it is very difficult for all non-Americans to play in the USA, today more than in earlier years. It needs an enormous effort and costs, and the administration makes it almost impossible. On the other hand Americans have no problems co come to Europe and play here.

Does a jazz musician can live from the music today in Germany?

Dennerlein: That is possible, but you have to play and work a lot for it. Nowadays, promoters get hundreds of e-mails and requests from musicians. To stand out of the crowd requires something special.

What significance have live performances for you today?

Dennerlein: They are still the most important thing. Jazz musicians were never able to live from their CD sales, and the download and streaming services the musicians have almost no revenues - homoeopathic doses so to say, absolutely ridiculous. It is sad that those who deliver the base for music business with their art earn the least. The more important it is for us musicians to perform.

from Barbara Dennerlein ....

Jazz concert in Bad Dürkheim

Last weekend, Barbara played a jazz concert at St. Ludwig Church in Bad Dürkheim and elated her audience. The newspaper "Die Rheinpfalz" wrote: "The new pipe organ had been consecrated almost exactly seven years ago. Thanks to jazz organist Barbara Dennerlein one could experience very unusual sounds from the instrument. For those who not regularly go to church or to organ concerts might think that the organ was constructed especially for this.

The concert on Saturday turned out to be a multi media event. A large screen had been assembled in the altar room. Thus, the visitors could watch the artist playing and changing the stops. This fascinated the audience in the folly occupied church.

Barbara Dennerlein intended to elate with music instead of Palatinate wine. "It is always great to explore a new organ", she said, who already knows many organs world-wide. She began with a low organ point, the camera focused on her excellent play with the legs on the bass pedal, wearing special shoes for this. She changed from g-minor to as-minor and created tension and dynamics with the chromatic shift, as it is known from light music. She wove  in jazzy sixth chords and created sound clusters by using the palm of her hands and her under arm to move the keyboard up and down in waves. After these cluster chords she appeased the fan of classical music with quotes of Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fuge, and one involuntarily wondered if Bach would be a jazz musician today.

She chose "Spiritual Movement Nr. 1" as opening piece. It provided everything: rhythm, the breathe of the organ is noticeable. The church as a concert and rest room. Inner deceleration, in reverence for the constructors of this unadorned church and the artists of organ construction and the musician who made all this visible and audible. ...

After Dennerlein's exploration of the organ's tonal range followed "Waltzing Pipes", a blues.
A solo on the bass pedal, similar sounds changed a bit and were enriched by additional courses. And it turned out that the organ is "fast", Dennerlein set the pipe work easily in movement.

She had composed "Sensitivity" after a stay in Brazil. A hidden switch, and the instrument released jungle sounds that no one would have expected. "Korean Smile" arouse by a trip to Seoul, the organ sounded like a Glockenspiel, meditative with slow soothing waves that she hid in her mystic billowing chords."

Barbara Dennerlein - Stormy Weather Blues

Published on Jul 26, 2017
Barbara Dennerlein performs her original "Stormy Weather Blues" on a church organ, 25 June 2017, Tamm, Germany

#BarbaraDennerlein - A Summer Day

Published on May 22, 2017
Barbara Dennerlein anlässlich Musig am Zürisee 2017

Barbara Dennerlein

A Russian bootleg CD of Barbara's "Take Off!" album is probably one of the top rarities for her fans. The original album, that had been released by Verve in 1995, was copied for the Russian market a couple of years later by a label called "Limited Edition" with the Galactic Company in the background. On the album back cover is printed an alleged license agreement No. 058/M3-98 from 24.08.98 for distribution in Russia. This hint - as the music data base discogs.com says -  can be found on many "Limited Edition" or "Galactic" CD's, but is obviously not true.


All Verve logos have been removed on the papers and the CD, and replaced by a new text layout. Instead of a 12 page booklet the CD only comes with a single fold sheet. And: the copyists made the mistake to write Barbara's name wrong as "barbara dennerlei."

It will remain a secret how many CD copies have been produced. We only know about one item that is listed on the Barbara Dennerlein Discography website bebab-jazz.de. Here you can find much information about more albums of and with Barbara Dennerlein inclusive an overall title catalogue and a list of all her originals that have been released yet.

http://bebab-jazz.de -> own releases

Moments like these - from #BarbaraDennerlein

FIDELITY online, the online HiFi magazine of FIDELITY Media, regularly takes a look on jazz in it's section "Jazzidelity". In the 30th issue (02/2017) Winfried Dulisch wrote about Barbara Dennerlein and her latest album "My Moments". Looking back he asks: "What became of the small Munich girl that eked out her pocket money in a jazz cellar?

When Babsi was 11, the Christ Child gave her a small organ. Two years later she upstaged full-grown males on a jazz club stage. With 15, she jobbed as band leader during her school holidays. Her debut album appeared quite late, in 1983 the then 19 years old Barbara Dennerlein released the LP "Jazz Live".

The organist has played on every continent and recorded more than three dozen albums. 2016 she presented "My Moments" - her first solo album where Barbara Dennerlein performs on both favourite instruments. "I deeply wanted to record this album at the concert hall of the university of music in Piteå in Northern Sweden. The ceiling can be lowered to gain optimal recording conditions. I don't know a better place for a comparison between electric amplified Hammond and pipe organ."

Piteå's concert organ with 203 registers and more than 9000 pipes is one of the biggest in the world. For the concert recording, a Swedish Hammond collector provided a Hammond C3 for Barbara Dennerlein. Moreover, the organist used her own custom-built bass pedal, that is equipped with MIDI. Barbara Dennerlein: "A solo concert with such a huge technical effort is a big challenge for me every time. I must be concentrated in every second. All organists that play on a pipe organ must be ambidextrous with all four extremities. We play the bass with the feet and the solos and accompaniment with the hands. At the same time the organist varies the registration for a diversified sound. But exactly this is why a solo concert gives me the most possible artistic freedom."

Because of these musical and technical requirements are solo concerts of jazz organists rare. "But soloistic work gives me the best possibilities to act as composer, arranger and sound engineer at the same time." This is why she calls "My Moments" her most personal album, because it sounds unmistakeably Dennerlein.

Likelihood of confusion can occur during listening to the CD. This is because her virtuosity on both instruments makes it difficult for the listener to find out between which CD tracks Barbara Dennerlein changes from the Hammond to the built-in pipe organ.

This moment is not concealed for the DVD connoisseur. The cameras follow the organist's play with hands and feet from several angles. Besides this, the DVD delivers the whole solo performance. The CD contains the highlights of the concert in Piteå."

The printed version of the magazine is available at selected high end Hifi shops and through the magazine's website.

https://www.fidelity-magazin.de/tag/jazzidelity/

My Moments - new album reviewed, #BarbaraDennerlein

Several German jazz and music magazines reviewed recently Barbara Dennerlein's new album "My Moments":

Melodiva

Barbara Dennerlein released a new CD, and this nothing that needs any explanation. Because this page would not be enough for what could be written about this Grand Dame of the Hammond organ. ...

The organ is her big love and thus she presents the Queen of the instruments and her sister, the Hammond organ, on her new album "My Moments" with nine self-written solo pieces. ... Barbara Dennerlein has not only developed an incredible speed on the keys but is also able to act ambidextrous. This means that her left foot acts independent, taking over the task of playing the bass lines from the left hand, which can then play irrespective of the right hand. A sound sample that proves this incredible ability is "Black And White" that has the "Dennerlein-Sound" par excellence. With "Blues In The Pipeline" she sweeps any prejudice about the pipe organ as being "melancholic", "dull" and "too ecclesiastical" away with her perceptible enthusiasm and continuously changing facets. She writes about the CD that is was one of her most intimate recordings, and the result is extraordinary. She showcases her perfection with ease and plays as if she was playing only for herself and shares her passion with us listeners." (Anja Klein)

http://www.melodiva.de/melodiva/melodiva-cd-reviews.php?t114=detail,45968

Barbara Dennerlein

Before her first concert in Ascona Barbara Dennerlein was interviewed for a newspaper article that we depict here:

"Barbara Dennerlein's dance" on her instrument

Barbara Dennerlein's love for the Hammond organ awoke at young age, and this was the beginning of her unexampled career. She counts to the big events of JazzAscona 2016 and stays for two nights, today, Friday 24 (9.30, Jazz Club Casino) for the "Hammond Night", with young talented Simon Oslander among others, and on the same stage tomorrow, Saturday 25, 7.45 in a duo performance.

Besides jazz improvisations and experiments - that she also performs on pipe organs and integrates in the jazz ambiance, or sometimes joins with synthesizers - she is at home also in group situations (she replaces the bass by her organ pedals, her speciality), symphonic orchestras, but also solo or, better said, in intimate togetherness with her Hammond.

JazzAscona 2016, almost a debut...

Even if I have been here several years ago "irregularly" (smiles) - I replaced a colleague last-minute - we can talk of an official debut this year. I will play with an excellent Swiss drummer, Pius Baschnagel. It is a wonderful collaboration for me, a matching feeling. I am excited to play with him...

You did not start as a pianist but are organist straight from the beginning...

At age  11 I began to play organ. The encounter with this instrument was a kind of positive shock that touched my soul. I love the piano, the bass, the synthesizer, I love many instruments, but if I cannot use my feet for playing I miss inspiration for the rest of my body.

A fascinating definition of yours is "The Hammond organ is a band"...

That's right. The pedals are my bass, the keyboards are right for accompaniment as well as for solo tunes and provide an endless scale of sounds. If I play solo I feel completely independent.

You compare the performance with jazz dance.

Yes, because it includes hands and feet and runs through the whole body. It is a feeling of free expression, which is typical for jazz as well as for free movement that let us forget about what our feet exactly do. You let yourself being led somewhere without an exact plan. 

A unique dance, at least in terms of jazz on the pipe organ.

It is a moment of a personal and compositional challenge. The pipe organs differ a lot in their mechanics and particularly in their sounds. Concert halls often have a dry sound whereas cathedrals have a long lasting echo, like in the Cathedral of Ulm where I played recently. This motivates to create new sounds and to arrange them. 

Did anybody have a problem with "sacral" and "profane"?

No, I was never confronted by resistance. Churches open their doors more and more. Now I play approximately the half of my concerts on pipe organs. Sometimes I like to play both Hammond and pipe organ in the same concert which creates a special sound combination. 

Who ever had put his hands on a pipe organ's manuals wonders how you can make it swing.

It's true, there can be a delay between the key press and witnessing the tone. This means that I sometimes have to press the key a bit earlier. It's funny, sometimes I disturb my co-musicians because my movements don't seem to match to what they are hearing. I have learned to cope with these mechanical peculiarity. This is also a part of the dance I talked about. 

Your definition of jazz is "freedom from prejudices and discrimination".

This has to do with the reason why jazz came up at all, which is hard to understand for us Europeans. Freedom is the spiritual receptiveness that comes along with playing jazz, but it is also my personal access to music. If I was greedy for money I certainly would not have chosen jazz - I have rejected important contracts in my career for my musical freedom. Today, often business goes first, but art and improvisation are at home in the freedom of expression and not in the question "how much can I sell?"

Barbara Dennerlein - Upcoming Concerts

For connoisseurs a "must": the Jazz Initiative Bad Kreuznach invited jazz virtuoso Barbara Dennerlein to the town on the Nahe river. On Friday, June 3, she plays the Oberlinger organ at St. Nicolas Church in Bad Kreuznach at 8 p.m. - a musical highlight in the celebration year of this lord's house and at the same time part of the 25th International Organ Festival Weeks of Rhineland-Palatinate during the culture summer season. The organ play will be shown on movie screens and monitors. 

The 32nd Jazz Festival Ascona lasts from June 23 to July 2 in the town on the banks of Lago Maggiore. Jazz Ascona provides a unique musical mix with about 20 concerts per day. From New Orleans Jazz to Swing, from Blues to R&B, from Gospel to Soul - all genres in the tradition of jazz and Afro-American music are represented. “The New Orleans Experience - Original Music & Food from Louisiana” is the festival's signature feature. It celebrates New Orleans with its musical representatives, takes a look at the current music scene of the delta city and invites to Louisiana's cuisine. The festival is first of all an open aiir event that begins every evening at 6 in front of the spectacular scenery of the Lago Maggiore. The four main stages and the big tent of the Jazz Club Casino (up to 800 seats) are located at the seaside promenade of Ascona. The Barbara Dennerlein duo with Pius Baschnagel on drums plays twice at the Jazz Club Casino, on June 24.at 9.30 and on June 25 at 7.45.

The Minster gets the Blues

"Is it possible to play jazz and blues on the Minster organ? Will it swing?" This is what the Südwestpresse asked, so as to answer immediately: "Barbara Dennerlein can. And how. "Spiritual Movements" was a very special organ concert.

Easygoing. Tricksy. Whimsical. These adjectives do not exactly come to one's mind while thinking about the sound of the church organ in the Minster of Ulm. Except, Barbara Dennerlein plays her "Blues In The Pipeline" on that instrument. Her left hand pushes the piece forwards with funny comping, her right hand creates a melody that playfully peers around the corner, and the feet perform a solo of the soles.

Barbara Dennerlein's movements go from head to toe, and the listeners - more than 500 -  can witness this also visually during this organ concert on a Sunday morning in the Minster, due to video transmission and movie screen. "In the best case the music goes to the legs, and not only to mine", the 51-yeared organist from Munich had announced. She did not exaggerate.

Of course she is the jazz world star on the Hammond organ - but meanwhile she also deals with pipe organs since two decades. She has played in Moscow and Budapest, in the Arctic Sea Cathedral of Tromsø and in the Trinity Church in New Yorker. Now she did not "miss the great chance to play a concert with her own music on this unique venue"  - Minster of Ulm. It was "a feeling of augustness to be the mistress over all these pipes."

With more than 100 stops she is spoilt for choice. But Barbara Dennerlein does not want to "stick to the conventional sounds of the organ", and thus she had rehearsed to get familiar with the specific characteristics of the Walcker organ and the echoing acoustic in the Minster. In her opinion, "each organ is a Queen with peculiarities on positive as well as negative sides," she explains.

In "Change Of Pace" she shows how much is possible. Originally composed for orchestra, this piece will challenge the audience, she says and asks "to engage with the organ's breathing, the living, human sound." Then she creates from a musical germ cell of eight notes is a complex play of colours and forms, founded on a stable tonal basis, here structured, there improvised, here with filigree softness, there packed to clusters. The musical tempo changes are increasing and swinging along until it sparkles and wooshes, buzzes and jangles. A very impressive piece.

The title tune of her programme "Spiritual Movements" is wonderful as well. It summarises everything that is important for Barbara Dennerlein. It is a moved and moving painting process with sound colours, a welfare flow of elements from church music, jazz, baroque, classic and minimal that over and over again commingle to delightful sounds, and: yes, this organ play is swinging. In her technical perfection Barbara Dennerlein avoids any trace of braggy virtuosity or furious fortissimo affectation.

The keys of the five manuals are black and white, but the jazzer also finds blue notes. Neal Hefti's ballade "Li'l Darlin'" comes along charming and nostalgic - Dennerlein transmitted Count Basie's Big Band arrangement on the organ, and one really  supposes to hear the brass section of a swing band. The final piece is "New York Impressions", dedicated to the melting pot of arts. A winning composition with an enthralling groove and a sudden greeting from Bach's Toccata in d minor: Barbara Dennerlein lets even Bach have the blues. If the Walcker organ could smile, it would have done during this extraordinary concert. Huge  applause after the gorgeous final major key chord."

http://www.swp.de/ulm/lokales/ulm_neu_ulm/Das-Muenster-kriegt-den-Blues;art4329,3779527

Barbara Dennerlein .....

My Moments - new DVD and CD in progress

There were only a few concerts for Barbara Dennerlein fans in the most recent quarter. But, meanwhile the artist has not been deedless at all. She worked on her new CD and DVD: "My Moments" where Barbara performs solo on the Hammond-B3 and the pipe organ. The recordings have been made at the "Studio Acusticum" in Sweden, where an excellent Woehl organ is built in and where Barbara found ideal conditions for the recordings.

Producing a DVD together with a CD is much more complex than previous productions. In March, Barbara cut the material which took one week. After that she went to Augsburg to the Artmode-Studio of Hartmut Welz. For true fans and frequent concert visitors the organist's long-time companion is well known as Barbara's former tour sound engineer. 

He also did the mastering of several Dennerlein albums, and it was no question for Barbara to confide this difficult and responsible task to him again. If co-workers know each other for many years and the individual sound expectations are conversant to each other the work is much easier to do.  
in the studio"My fans can look forward to pure organ with a great sound," Barbara says. But: "The DVD production is really laborious." So, there is still a lot do to. And we hope you do not believe that all this will be done by some media company and the musician is only required for promotional photos... No, it is essential for Barbara Dennerlein to control every single step of the production to get a result that exactly hits her expectations. 

Women in Jazz - Barbara Dennerlein

A lot of female jazz musicians are united in a project that admittedly focuses on watching them rather than listening to them. Photographer Rüdiger Schestag and Ulf Herden, promoter of the Jazz Festival "Women in Jazz" in Halle (Saale), Germany, had the idea to publish a large formatted photo book "Women in Jazz" (30x30 cm) and about 250 pages strong. It contains big artist portraits and band photos in the live concert situation of the festival from the past ten years. Big Portraits (close ups) that are rarely to be seen.

"Beautiful photos!" Barbara Dennerlein spontaneously said when she has was requested to release the selected photos of her that had been taken during her festival participation in 2008.

The initiators say about their project: "We want to release this big photographical work with more than hundred portraits of well known female jazz musicians and her band members in a picture book to provide access to the female side of jazz for a larger scale of publicity. It is a project for both jazz and photography fans. The big goal is to get extraordinary book project started."

In April, when the next festival "Women in Jazz" will take place, would be the perfect time to release the book. But the production of such a high quality photo book is quite expensive. Thus, Ulf Herden and Rüdiger Schestag started a crowd funding campaign to finance the book production. Everybody can support this project financially, make a reservation of his own copy and help to support jazz culture in Germany. Sponsors who are interested in a bunch of copies are very welcome, too and can be mentioned in the book as premium supporters.

So, this project is perfectly suited for everyone who loves women and jazz!

https://www.startnext.com/women-in-jazz-buch

Talkin' Blues with Barbara Dennerlein

If there were a Guinness World Records prize for jazz artist with the biggest organ, it could very well go to Barbara Dennerlein. No doubt, her Hammond B3 was a disc-crushing bane for countless roadies over the past three decades, but a B3 pales in comparison to what she's been playing lately. Imagine five organs with nearly 18,000 metal pipes, linked to one keyboard with over 200 registers—that's some seriously heavy metal. Welcome to the world of pipe organs.

Since our extensive career retrospective interview in 2007, Dennerlein's been traveling the world, bringing jazz and blues to pipe organ audiences. With the release of her third pipe organ album in the Spiritual Movement (Bebab Records) series that began in 2007, now seemed like a good time to check in with her.

Geography generally works against me with respect to my Talkin' Blues column. I live in the German Alps, so the "talkin'" is usually done over the phone or via Skype, but this time location worked in my favor. Because Dennerlein lives less than an hour from me, I was determined to come up with something special for All About Jazz fans. Thankfully, Michael Ricci, our publisher, agreed to a video interview for the site.

Now, truth be told, I'm not equipped for such a thing, but I figured a basic camcorder without any professional lighting was still better than a transcription of my conversation with Barbara Dennerlein. Her YouTube channel already has over two-and-a-half-million views, so clearly the world outside of Europe is catching up; but I've seen her play up close, and a two dimensional screen just doesn't capture the magic of what she does. Well, it just so happens that I bought an entry level 3D camcorder this year, and YouTube now supports 3D videos, so I have a real treat in store for you.

In addition to the interview, she also agreed to play her Hammond B3 for you in her studio and record the audio, so I was able to replace the crappy camcorder sound with high quality audio. While she was waiting for me to arrive, she came up with a blues piece she affectionately entitled "Talkin' Blues," that, thanks to a studio glitch, I watched her perform three times. She did a 2D version for those of you without 3D glasses, and also a 3D version—believe me, you need to get a hold of some 3D glasses.

It also turns out that she recently had an organ maker build a virtual pipe organ for her, so she performed on it to give you a taste of what she is doing on pipe organs. That video is only in 3D, but you can fiddle with the 3D controls on YouTube to get some interesting effects for viewing without 3D glasses (not 3D, but interesting.)

We are both very pleased with the musical clips, but the audio and video on the interview portion is a far from professional. The lighting in the studio was bad, so we opted to do the interview under the gazebo in the garden. Accustomed as I am to Murphy's Law, I used both of my camcorders for the interview, and it's good that I did.

Halfway through, one quit working, so the final half of the interview is from the backup camcorder which was overexposed and plagued by a light breeze we hardly noticed. It was especially frustrating because this is the segment where we talked about her association with Friedrich Gulda, the world famous Austrian pianist. Despite the recording quality, this is great stuff.

I didn't have the camcorder on when we were catching up, but we also spoke about Ben Webster, Jimmy Herring and Allen Stone, and even fantasized about what it would have sounded like if guitarist Lenny Breau and bassist Jaco Pastorius had played together.

From: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=42986#.UHA-_bQlYhQ

Barbara Dennerlein - Stormy Weather Blues

Barbara Dennerlein Hammond B3
Christoph Widmoser, Guitar
Andreas Witte. Drums

From Barbara Dennerlein....jul 2011

Hammond firework for 20th anniversary

The International Jazz Festival in Mülheim an der Ruhr celebrated itself with a musical firework. The opening "Night of Jazz" was dedicated to the Hammond organ with three bands on stage. Barbara Dennerlein and her Bebab band - now enlarged to a quintet - set the final point of this night and elated the audience with grooving and bluesy organ jazz. The windy and rainy weather prevented people from visiting the open air event at the Broich Castle courtyard but those who came there saw a firework of music.
The newspaper "Der Westen" wrote (translated): "Even the castle ghost swings! Great music at the 20th international jazz festival in the courtyard of Brioch Castle.
Unfortunately also the rain god loves wonderful sound of the old Hammond B3. The visitors of the festival's opening night covered under their umbrellas. But this was more than outweighed by the mighty grooves of an organ inferno of hard bop and fusion jazz that can rarely be heard elsewhere at so-called jazz festivals that are weakened with any sort of world music. (...) In the highly expected concert of Barbara Dennerlein and her "Bebab" band alert arrangements like "Go for it" or "Cleo" proved that the Hammond organ sounds timeless and fresh even though the instrument appears like a dinosaur in the era of computer music. Huge applause for the congenial band from Munich that would have deserved a much larger audience. "

About Barbara Dennerlein....

Doodlin' Lounge

Pete Fallico who had invited Barbara Dennerlein to California to perform for her many Bay Area fans is well known for his exquisite Hammond website with podcasts, the "Doodlin' Lounge". A brand new podcast featuring Barbara is now online. "We sat and talked about her career before going back to the airport. Barbara has played an important role over the years in the revitalization of the Hammond sound and jazz organ in general." Pete explains. Listen, enjoy and download the almost one hour podcast presenting a delightful conversation and a lot of diverse music from Barbara’s recordings.

http://doodlinlounge.podomatic.com/entry/2011-04-24T14_14_25-07_00

Tube Channel

The Barbara Dennerlein YouTube Channel from member "hans1970" has almost reached the 2 million mark. Only less than 50.000 clicks and the mark is there. The most recent clip features the Barbara Dennerlein trio with "Stormy Weather Blues", dated 1989. As you can see, Barbara's Hammond had not been MIDI-fied at that time because she used a separate keyboard on top of the organ.

http://www.youtube.com/user/hans1970


Tourdates Barbara Dennerlein 2011/12

Date / time / venue (concert type)

06.05.2011 19.30  München/D - 81825, Kulturzentrum Trudering (Duo)
07.05.2011 20.00  Aschach an der Donau/A - 4082, Aschacher Veranstaltungszentrum AVZ (Duo)
12.05.2011 15.30  Trondheim/NO - 7010, Trondheim Jazzfestival, Broen Bar, Rica Nidelven Hotel (Solo & guest)
26.05.2011 20.30  Klagenfurt/A - 9020, Eboardmuseum (Duo)

Barbara Dennerlein is starting the engines of her Bebabaloo Airplane....

California Concerts

Barbara Dennerlein is starting the engines of her Bebabaloo Airplane and will soon take off towards California. Santa Cruz and San Francisco will be the Jazz organist's venues in April.

She returns to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz where she had played in 2007. Now, she plays in trio line-up with two musicians from thy Bay Area on April 14th.

"Hammond B3 player Barbara Dennerlein, a.k.a. “the organ tornado from Munich”, got her start on the professional scene in the early 1980’s. Barely 20 years old, she made a number of appearances on German television; this quickly led to studio time with a series of international labels. In the intervening time, she was has recorded over 20 dates as bandleader and crafted an envelope-pushing sound that incorporates everything from sweet ballads to MIDI and sampler-driven funk. Bay Area native Barry Finnerty, an alumnus of the Brecker Brothers, Miles Davis and the Crusaders, ably handles the guitar chair. Akira Tana’s deeply musical percussion work (featured by the likes of Sonny Rollins, Jim Hall and Paquito D’Rivera) rounds out Dennerlein’s powerhouse trio."

“…crackling with the concentrated power and focus of a laser beam…” - Jazz Observer

On the next day Barbara continues at the San Francisco Jazz Festival. She has been there in 2000: "As part of the weeks festivities, the 5th Annual Hammond B-3 Organ Summit supplied a lineup of acclaimed all-female jazz organists. The lineup included the hot licks of Germany's Barbara Dennerlein, France's Rhoda Scott, and Philadelphia's Trudy Pitts. The talented, yet diverse styling between each of these fine ladies was an education in itself and a thrill to behold."

Now, a "B3 Bash" is announced with Dr. Lonnie Smith and the Barbara Dennerlein Trio at the
Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco.

"Alert the fire department! With two incendiary Hammond B-3 masters, the wily veteran Dr. Lonnie Smith and the astounding German organist Barbara Dennerlein, this double dose of soul threatens to ignite a greasy conflagration. Awarded his doctoral honorific by his peers, Smith is a seminal figure in the soul-jazz movement who put the groove into Lou Donaldson’s classic 1967 Blue Note record Alligator Boogaloo. ... More recently, he’s released a series of acclaimed albums on Palmetto, leading the Jazz Journalists Association to vote him “Organ/Keyboardist of the Year” six times since 2003.

Representing the rising B-3 tide, Dennerlein quickly ascended to jazz’s top ranks in the mid-1980s, gaining attention in the US with a series of torrid sessions on Enja and Verve featuring extroverted improvisers like Randy Brecker, Ray Anderson, Roy Hargrove, and Jeff “Tain” Watts. With her dexterous footwork and love of fleet tempos, she’s a dynamo who leaves audiences with jaws agape."

“A phenomenal B3 burner who can light up a room with visceral intensity or lay down some of the nastiest funk ever played on an organ.” - JazzTimes


Out of the tube

YouTube is expanding quickly. New Barbara Dennerlein video clips have been posted.

The 2008 Jazz Festival in Sigean, France, is being showcased by to more clips, one from the Trio Concert and one from the Summit with Rhoda Scott.

The trio concert clip starts while Barbara is playing a solo in "Farewell To Old Friends". Then Jean Michel Cabrol on tenor sax takes over:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJYbkyHvpZ8

The second clip is "Yes Or No". Barbara Dennerlein and Rhoda Scott are playing their parts in different styles what is interesting to compare. Again André Charlier plays the drums.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F147JBFy7f8

Like Rhoda Scott who is tickled pink about the funny title "Funkish" concert manager and organist Eddie Delhaye likes Barbara's composition and plays his own interpretation here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za0p9CDS5-8

In 2005, Barbara played a trio concert in Wiesen/Austria with Chico Freeman (sax) and Daniel Messina (dr). This is "Jimmy's Walk":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwvjoJOcDf4

Friends of Big Band sound may want to check out the follwing clips with Barbara and the Thilo Wolf Big Band perforning Barbara's originals "Just Play", "Take Off" and "Victory Blues":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VHeSnrwfAA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AeGbjfyHX4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzeH0TceEWk


Concerts in April

As mentioned above, Barbara comes to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz on April 14th and to the San Francisco Jazz Festival, Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco on April 15th.

From Barbara Dennerlein....

Spirituals to Swing

After her Concert in Baku, Azerbaijan, Barbara has been interviewed by Neil Watson, Editor and Press Officer of The European Azerbaijan Society, London, UK.

He says, "Barbara Dennerlein ranks amongst the foremost contemporary jazz organists, coming in the wake of Hammond B3 exponents Jimmy Smith and Brother Jack McDuff, who brought the organ to the foreground in the late 1950s. Having begun organ studies aged 11 years, she first performed in a jazz club four years later, and during the 1980s perfected her approach, combining elements of bop, swing, Latin and funk into an intoxicating and exciting mix. Equally at home in a trio format, with a big band or - most surprisingly - on church pipe organ, Barbara’s recordings and appearances have garnered numerous awards, and she has performed across the world in such as venues as the Blue Note Club in New York and Ronnie Scott’s Club in London. In February, she travelled to Baku to perform on the pipe organ in the Church of the Saviour. TEAS caught up with Barbara at home in Germany to find out more.

What prompted your visit to Azerbaijan?

This was actually my second visit to the country, as I played there 15 years ago. I was brought to Baku by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Rauf Aliyev, President, A+A Group to play on a new pipe organ that has been installed in the Church of the Saviour, and this represented a very special opportunity for me. I was only the second person to perform a concert on this instrument, as it had been played the previous night by classical organist Martin Haselböck. This also gave me chance to collaborate with the great Azerbaijani saxophonist Rain Sultanov and a local drummer.

You performed in the Church of the Saviour in Baku, built by German Lutheran settlers in the 19th century. Did the organ and the ambience remind you of churches in Germany?

The new organ forms part of the church restoration project, which has taken place over the course of a decade. Now used more as a concert hall than a church, the building has a new floor and stage. I wish more churches looked liked this – it was a very interesting and beautiful place in which to play a concert. The console was situated immediately in front of the audience, which was excellent.

You performed with saxophonist Rain Sultanov, who has been a leading figure in Azerbaijani jazz for many years. Did you feel that his approach to improvisation complemented your own?

Rain is a brilliant player and a very pleasant person. It was the first time I met and played with him. I have since heard his compositions, with which I am impressed, and it is interesting to see the way in which he combines jazz with Azerbaijani traditional music.

Did you focus on compositions from the Spiritual Movement CDs, which you wrote for pipe organ?

Yes, and it was great to hear these on such a new organ.

Were you inspired by the recordings by Fats Waller on church organ?

Not really – I was already playing church organ when I discovered the recordings that Fats Waller made in the 1920s. He was certainly the first person to play jazz on the instrument, and I sometimes perform his composition Ain’t Misbehavin’ in recognition of this. As you know, I play both Hammond B3 and pipe organ, and the technique is very different. There is a delay from pressing the key and the sound being heard, whereas the Hammond immediately responds. Also, the bass pedals on the pipe organ require the use of two feet. These are the main reasons why so many jazz players do not perform on the instrument.

The Azerbaijani jazz scene has been buoyant for several decades, and the Baku Jazz Festival is held every year. Did you have opportunity to experience any Azerbaijani bands during your time in Baku?

Unfortunately not – I had limited time in which to prepare the concert, and the new organ incorporated some electronics that required programming. I arrived on the night of the concert by Martin Haselböck. I was most impressed by Baku – it has changed a great deal during the past 15 years. I found everyone to be very friendly and hospitable. I received many presents, and found the food to be very tasty!

I believe that jazz-mugham is very effective, and that Azerbaijani jazz musicians are of an international standard. Rain’s music contains many moods, including Azerbaijani harmonies and rhythms. I also appreciate the music of pianist Aziza Mustafa Zadeh.

Do you have any plans to perform on Hammond organ in Azerbaijan in the future? 

I would very much like to perform at the Baku Jazz Festival. However, travelling with an immensely heavy Hammond B3 Organ is a logistical nightmare, and I could not source an instrument in Baku. My previous visit was partially sponsored by Lufthansa, which made it viable. However, computerised organs are constantly improving, so I am optimistic. All those years ago, my concert on the Hammond was a tremendous success, and I would like to play for such an audience again."


Concerts in March

Two concerts in Germany are scheduled in March. On Sunday, 19th, Barbara plays a solo church organ concert in Grünstadt which is located on the Rhineland Wine Road. Two days later she meets the blues and boogie duo Ignaz Netzer and Thomas Scheytt for a concert evening in Schwalbach/Ts. near Frankfurt.

On Friday, 25th Barbara will be in Switzerland at the "Orgelsurium" in Unterengstringen near Zurich. The location is a famous Hammond Museum where not only Barbara, accompanied by drummer Marcel Gustke, will play on the Hammond but also there is also a dinner before the concert for which reservations should be taken soon. The concert is almost sold out - so you should hurry up if you want to see Barbara in Switzerland.