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Composer & Multi-Instrumentalist :Vibraphone,Bassclarinet,Flute,Saxophone,
Bandleader, Arranger,Producer.
Born, August 31 st, 1937 in Göttingen,Germany.
Piano-lessons at the age of 4, recorder and accordeon at 6,clarinet at 8.Saxophon at 13,vibes at16
PHASE 1: 1937-1958 GERMANY
First encounter with Jazz at the age of 8 : at the end of WORLD WAR II ,1945, the first black GI's and with them the afro-american Jazz moved into town (Göttingen) accompanied by the AFN (American Forces Network ) and later Willis Conover's Voice of America. „The first Jazz I heard, was LOUIS ARMSTRONG, I did not understand a word of english, but Louis was <talking> to me."
Hampel grew up under the pivotal influences of the european classical music, the german folklore and the american Jazz. Privat lessons on vibraphone, c larinet ,soprano and baritonsaxophone. As a young musician first national performances. As a teen he wins many first prices at Jazzcompeti-tions and plays already with many professional Jazzmusicians. At the age of 16 he founds his own Bands.Oldtime and Swing, then Bebop,Cool,Hardbop,Modern Jazz. Plays vibraphone,clarinet,tenor-,sopran and baritonsaxophone. First original compositions for his Quartet and Quintet-groups.
At the age of 19 he was drafted to do his Military Service with the german Bundeswehr in Hann.Münden.After that he studied Architecture at the University of Braunschweig. In order to study vibraphone at the conservatory he took up the classical drum faculty .Always performing with his bands at concerts,clubs,dances,weddings etc...("When I later talked with Marion Brown about his upbringing, we discovered we played the same tunes on Jazzgigs,weddings etc."
PHASE 2 1958-1964 EUROPE
1958:Hampel starts his professional carriere as a jazzmusician;Germany and Europe. Recognition by musicians ,critics and audiences as Vibraphonist,saxophonist and composer.Monthly engage-ments in international jazzclubs in Berlin,Hamburg, Lübeck,Köln,Düsseldorf, Wuppertal, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe,München,Aachen,Göttingen, Rotterdam,(Netherlands, Madrid (Spain),Paris(France), Zürich (Switzerland) ,Vienna (Austria) etc.playing the Jazzrepertoire from Ellington to Monk,Parker to Mulligan,Shearing to Rollins,what you call Standards today, +own compositions
Bandmembers included BENNY WATERS,LONG JOHN BALDRY,FREDERIC NOREN,BUSCHI NIEBERGALL,JACKIE LIEBEZEIT,HERMAN BREUER,OLAF KÜBLER, CECILY FORDE, UDO LINDENBERG(yes,him),REINHARD GIEBEL, a.o.
1964:Hampel establishes the legendary GUNTER HAMPEL „Heartplants"QUINTET with MANFRED SCHOOF,ALEXANDER v.SCHLIPPENBACH,BUSCHIE NIEBERGALL, PIERRE COURBOIS. His first LP:HEARTPLANTS (on MPS/SABA )gets recognized as the first awakening of a new european Jazz-music (down beat *****).Hampel meets SONNY ROLLINS,KENNY CLARKE,DON CHERRY, THELONIUS MONK(and NELLY),CHARLY ROUSE,MILES DAVIS,RON CARTER,CHARLES MINGUS,ERIC DOLPHY,JOHN COLTRANE,McCOY TYNER, and plays with BENNY BAILEY,ED THIGPEN,ALBERT HEATH,JOHNNY GRIFFIN,KENNY CLARKE,JIMMY WOODE,MILT JACKSON, DIZZY GILLESPIE,GERRY MULLIGAN,PHILLY JOE JONES;TONY SCOTT,DON ELLIS etc.
The HAMPEL QUINTET makes it's breakthrough at the FRANKFURT JAZZ FESTIVAL, 1964,plays all major JazzFestivals in Europe,appears on TV, and gets worldwide attention because of its original new music. In Jazzpolls Hampel is chosen to be Nr.1 vibraphonist in Germany,then No.1 in Europe.......
PHASE 3 1965-1969
Tours to GREECE ,AFRICA (Goethe Institut),concert-tours in Germany and Europe.Like the MODERN JAZZ QUARTET the HAMPEL QUINTET establishes the fact, that JAZZ is allowed to be played in classical concert halls,and treated like classical music.They perform in tuxedos in concert halls
1966:GUNTERHAMPEL GROUP with WILLEM BREUKER,ARJEN GORTER,PIERRE COURBOIS. Tours in Europe and Africa (Tunesia).Guests :JOHN TCHICAI,
BENNY GOODMAN hears this Quartet, when Hampel and Breuker perform with 2 Baßclarinets at the COMBLAIN la TOUR-JAZZFESTIVAL in Belgium and gets the NBC-TELEVISION staff to film the performance and presents the GUNTER HAMPEL GROUP on his nation-wide NBC-TV-show in the USA. ESP-RECORDS in New York publizises 1966 Hampels first release in the USA : MUSIC FROM EUROPE (down beat ****) International ,worldwide breakthrew. Hampel plays on the international JazzFestival circuit.
1966 Hampel meets and performs with the LIVING THEATRE (Julian Beck)
1967 Hampel meets JEANNE LEE.
1968 the LP GUNTER HAMPEL GROUP and JEANNE LEE for the german label WERGO.Hampel lives now in AMSTERDAM, later in ANTWERP. later in PARIS
The MARION BROWN-GUNTER HAMPEL QUARTET with BARRE PHILLIPS bass and STEVE McCALL dm (co-founder of the AACM,Chicago,) establishes first contacts with important afro-american musicians. 3 LPs with MARION BROWN.
Han Bennink and Steve McCall join the GUNTER HAMPEL GROUP. Hampel establishes a 3rd working unit : TIME IS NOW, with a then young and unknown JOHN McLAUGHLIN guitar,ARJEN GORTER bass and LAURIE ALLAN dm..With this Band Hampel performs with PHARAO SANDERS and SUNNY SHARROCK a memorable, incredible performance at the first FMP Festival 1968 at Quasimodo in Berlin. Hampel lives now in Paris. STEVE McCALL introduces Hampel to the Chicagoan AACM -ensembles such as
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