Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
It certainly isn’t difficult to understand why Roy Young has so many fans in Thunder Bay. Young became a local celebrity after last year’s festival and the rock ‘n’ roll trail blazer returned with another large helping of his infectious boogie-woogie keyboards. Young injects plenty of warm personality into his music and there’s not one note of pretension in anything that he plays. The vision of hundreds of people arms raised high over their heads as they sang the Beatles classic, Hey Jude, is indicative of the effect that Young has on an audience. - Ken Wright
"... The audience are obviously astounded at the dexterity, taste and skill of this fabulous German pianist, the undoubted King of Boogie-Woogie alive today. Nine of these tracks are his own compositions and they are immaculate.Axel is not just the Boogiemeister of the world but also loves slow thoughtful late-night blues.... His boogies are also masterworks. The delightful "Boogie In The Weeds" displays an ease and lightness of touch that the proliferating number of European boogie players haven't yet dreamed of. He gets this lightness on the faster "Madhattan Boogie" as well, demonstrating his total mastery of both the instrument and the idiom.... Axel's inventiveness has developed a beautifully tuneful way of improvising and his right hand can do anything above that Left Hand from God. The pieces he performs from the classic repertoire are of course obviously marvellous.... "Cow Cow Blues" is the best, though, played with wonderful verve by a man who is as good as any boogie player that has ever lived!!!" - Pete Bowen
"... By the end of the 70s he had established a reputation throughout Europe and was featured at concerts and festivals, sometimes as a single and also with visiting jazz luminaries such as Lionel Hampton. In the 80s he continued his touring and recording, working with Sippie Wallace, Mama Yancey, Joe Newman and others. Although rightly praised for his remarkable technique, Zwingenberger has shown himself to be a sensitive accompanist to the blues singers with whom he has performed: this, allied to his mastery of his instrument, suggests that he has even more to offer the jazz world." - The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Roy Young
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee Eric Burdon has called Roy Young, The greatest Little Richard styled vocalist on the planet! Recognognized as one of the worlds greatest Rock n Roll/Blues/Soul singers, Roys voice shares the Rock n Roll fire of Little Richard, his unique style also incorporates the soul of Ray Charles and the gritty passion of Joe Cocker. Fire, Soul, and Gritty Passion. His pounding Rock n Roll piano makes him one of the worlds incredible entertainers! A dynamic friendship began between Roy and The Beatles when they enlisted him to play keyboard and sing back-up vocals with them at the Star-Club, Hamburg, Germany. Roy later formed The Roy Young Band and recorded and toured with such names as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Klause Voorman, Chuck Berry, The Who, David Bowie, Ian Hunter and many more.
Axel Zwingenberger
A stage. A man at the piano. The music: boogie woogie. Rolling bass fingers, the dynamics of a roaring steam train. Passionate blues sounds that seem to evoke memories of long ago. His boogie woogie reflects the style of Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson respectively. In 1975, Axel got his recording contract producing Solo albums such as "Boogie Woogie Breakdown", "Power House Boogie" or "Boogie Woogie-live". He went on to record with American music stars like Big Joe Turner, Lionel Hampton, Mama Yancey, Sippie Wallace, Champion Jack Dupree, Jay McShann and many others. When Axel Zwingenberger hits the stage today, he scoops from skills gained in thousands of performances all over the world, from Hamburg to New York, from Vienna to Ouagadougou, performing with the same fire in his playing as twenty years ago.
Vince Weber
Vince started to learn Blues and Boogie Woogie from records of Lightnin' Hopkins, champion Jack Dupree, Taj Mahal and many others. He met Hans George Möller, which completely opened his ears for Piano Blues and Boogie. The music became his life. He later met Otto Waalkes, who took him into the big world. In 1976 I became a nationally recognized Boogiefreak and released his first album The Boogie one - on Otto's label Rumpf Records. In 1978 his second album Blues'n Boogie with Inga Rumpf his first Back to the Roots - journey into the USA. He toured the club and festival circuit together with other international artists such as Big Joe Williams, Abi Wallenstein, Henry Heggen, Axel Zwingenberger, Jay Mc Shann, James Booker, Chuck Berry and Champion Jack Dupree. On the releases of his 1987 album, Boogie on A Blue Song he toured the USA appearing in Chicago, L.A. and San Francisco. In 1991 he released album No. 5: Octoroon and 1995, the best pieces on
2 CD's The Best Yet.
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