Barbara Dennerlein
| Barbara Dennerlein | |
|---|---|
Barbara Dennerlein in Vienna, November 2005
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| Background information | |
| Born |
25 September 1964 Munich, Germany |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Electronic organ, synthesizer, organ |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Website | barbaradennerlein |
Barbara Dennerlein (born 25 September 1964) is a German jazz organist. She has achieved particular critical acclaim for using the bass pedalboard on a Hammond organ, and for integrating synthesizer sounds onto the instrument, and was described by critic Ron Wynn as "the most interesting jazz organist to emerge during the 1980s."
Dennerlein was born and grew up in Munich, Germany. She began playing the organ aged 11 after receiving a small Hohner instrument for Christmas. She was encouraged by her grandfather to learn a musical instrument, and her parents were both jazz enthusiasts. She took formal lessons for two years under the instruction of Paul Greisl, who had a Hammond B-3. She immediately became interested in the instrument, and the fact it contained a bass pedalboard unlike her Hohner. After some searching, since the instrument was then out of production, she acquired her own Hammond aged 13 from her parents. She began to play concerts aged 14, and the following year, she played in a jazz club for the first time. When leading her own bands, Dennerlein was often the youngest musician in the group, and she learned to cooperate with more experienced musicians. Her local reputation as the "Organ tornado from Munich" spread after her first TV appearances in 1982.
When her third LP Bebab was issued, Dennerlein established her own record label in 1985, and assumed her own management duties, because she felt she was not getting enough support from either her existing label or from Hammond, who wanted to promote later digital models rather than the B-3 she used. She received two German Record Critics' awards for self-produced albums. Later, she made three recordings for Enja Records and three for Verve Records. On these recordings she worked with Ray Anderson, Randy Brecker, Dennis Chambers, Roy Hargrove, Mitch Watkins, and Jeff 'Tain' Watts.
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