George Gruntz

George Gruntz
George Gruntz
Background information
Born	24 June 1932; Basel, Switzerland
Died	10 January 2013 (aged 80); Basel, Switzerland
Genres	Jazz
Occupation	Musician
Instrument(s)	Piano, keyboards
Years active	1950s–2000s
Labels	Enja, TCB

George Gruntz (24 June 1932^[1] – 10 January 2013)^[2] was a Swiss jazz pianist, organist, harpsichordist, keyboardist, and composer known for the George Gruntz Concert Big Band and his work with Phil Woods, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Dexter Gordon, Johnny Griffin, and Mel Lewis.^[3]

Gruntz, who was born in Basel, Switzerland,^[1] was also an accomplished arranger and composer, having been commissioned by many orchestras and symphonies. From 1972 to 1994, he served as artistic director of JazzFest Berlin.^[1]

He died at the age of 80 in January 2013.^[2]

Discography

As leader/co-leader

Year recorded	Title	Label	Personnel/Notes
1960	Mental Cruelty: The 1960 Jazz soundtrack	Decca Records Atavistic Records	released 1960, almost immediately withdrawn by the record company due to unresolved legal issues. Finally reissued in 2003 by Atavistic.
1964	Bach Humbug! Or Jazz Goes Baroque		Quintet
1964	Jazz Goes Baroque
1965	Jazz Goes Baroque 2 – The Music of Italy
1967	Noon in Tunisia
1967	Drums and Folklore: From Sticksland with Love
1968	Saint Peter Power
1972?	The Band – The Alpine Power Plant
1973?	2001 Keys – Piano Conclave
1974?	Monster Sticksland Meeting Two – Monster Jazz
1974?	Eternal Baroque
1976?	The Band (Recorded Live at the Zürich Schauspielhaus)
1977?	For Flying out Proud
1977?	Percussion Profiles
1978?	The George Gruntz Concert Big Band with Elvin Jones
1980?	Live at the "Quartier Latin" Berlin
1983	Theatre	ECM	With big band
1986?	Living Transition. With Radio Big Band Leipzig
1987	Happening Now	HatHut
1989	First Prize	Enja	With big band
1989	Serious Fun	Enja	Most tracks trio, with Mike Richmond (bass), Adam Nussbaum (drums); one track quartet, with Franco Ambrosetti (flugelhorn) added
1991?	Blues 'n Dues Et Cetera	Enja
1992	Beyond Another Wall	TCB	With big band; in concert
1992?	Cosmopolitan Greetings		composition for big band, libretto by Allen Ginsberg
1994	Big Band Record	Gramavision	Co-led with Ray Anderson (trombone); with big band
1995	Mock-Lo-Motion	TCB	Some tracks trio, with Mike Richmond (bass), Adam Nussbaum (drums); some tracks quartet, with Franco Ambrosetti (flugelhorn) added; in concert
1998	Liebermann	TCB	With big band
1998	Merryteria	TCB	With big band
1999?	Live at JazzFest Berlin
2000?	Expo Triangle
2001	Global Excellence	TCB	With big band
2004	Ringing the Luminator	ACT	Solo piano
2003?	The Magic of a Flute		With big band, eight singers^[4]
2005	Tiger by the Tail	TCB	With big band
2007	Pourquoi pas? Why Not?		With big band^[5]
2010?	Matterhorn Matters
2012?	Dig My Trane – Coltrane's Vanguard Years (1961–1962)		with the NDR Bigband and Tom Rainey

Main sources:^[6]^[7]

Compilations

Sins'n Wins'n Funs – Left-cores and Hard-core En-cores, 1981–1990 (Compilation, released 1996)
The MPS Years, 1972–1981 (Compilation, released 1996)
Renaissance Man a.k.a. 30 + 70: The One Hundred Years of George Gruntz, 1961–2000 (Compilation, released 2002)

As sideman

With Franco Ambrosetti

Close Encounter (Enja, 1979)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 175/6. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.
^ ^a ^b "George Gruntz obituary". The Guardian. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
^ "George Gruntz ist tot – Jazz – Musik – Kultur – Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen". Srf.ch (in German). 12 January 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-12.
^ Yanow, Scott. "George Gruntz: Grunt, Chotjewitz – The Magic of a Flute". AllMusic. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
^ Henderson, Alex. "George Gruntz: Pourquoi Pas? Why Not?". AllMusic. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2004). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (7th ed.). Penguin. p. 677. ISBN 978-0-14-101416-6.
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. pp. 612–613. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

External links

Homepage with biography and extensive discography. Retrieved November 12, 2012
George Gruntz page at Enja Records site
George Gruntz Phonography at Swiss National Sound Archives
Media related to George Gruntz at Wikimedia Commons

[LarkinJazz-1] Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 175/6. ISBN 0-85112-580-8.

[Guardian-2] "George Gruntz obituary". The Guardian. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2021.

[3] "George Gruntz ist tot – Jazz – Musik – Kultur – Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen". Srf.ch (in German). 12 January 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-12.

[4] Yanow, Scott. "George Gruntz: Grunt, Chotjewitz – The Magic of a Flute". AllMusic. Retrieved November 23, 2018.

[5] Henderson, Alex. "George Gruntz: Pourquoi Pas? Why Not?". AllMusic. Retrieved November 23, 2018.

[Penguin7-6] Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2004). The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD (7th ed.). Penguin. p. 677. ISBN 978-0-14-101416-6.

[Penguin9-7] Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. pp. 612–613. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

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