Monday 12 November 2018

A few from Attila Zoller





















From wikipedia:

Zoller was born in Visegrád, Hungary in 1927. As a child, he learned violin from his father, a professional violinist. While in school, he played flugelhorn and bass before choosing guitar. He dropped out of school and played in jazz clubs in Budapest while Russia occupied Hungary. He fled Hungary in 1948 as the Soviet Union was establishing communist military rule. He escaped on foot, carrying his guitar through the mountains into Austria. He settled in Vienna, became an Austrian citizen, and started a jazz group with accordionist Vera Auer.

In the 1950s, Zoller moved to Germany and played with German musicians Jutta Hipp and Hans Koller. When American jazz musicians passed through, such as Oscar Pettiford and Lee Konitz, they persuaded him to move to the United States. He moved to the U.S. after receiving a scholarship to the Lenox School of Jazz. One of his teachers was guitarist Jim Hall and his roommate was Ornette Coleman, who got him interested in free jazz.

From 1962–1965, Zoller performed in a group with flautist Herbie Mann, then Lee Konitz and Albert Mangelsdorff. Over the years, he played and recorded with Benny Goodman, Stan Getz, Red Norvo, Jimmy Raney, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Shirley Scott, Cal Tjader, and Jimi Hendrix.[2]

In 1974, he started the Attila Zoller Jazz Clinics in Vermont, later named the Vermont Jazz Center, where he taught until 1998. He invented a bi-directional pickup, designed strings and a signature guitar series. He performed with Tommy Flanagan and George Mraz in New York City three weeks before his death in 1998 in Townshend, Vermont.

I mentioned him in connection with the last Lajos Dudas (literally) and his Association P.C. like style of angular riffing.  He has a huge output and I selected a few from the late sixties all the way to the early 80s when it becomes highly reasonable to cease and desist the investigation.

From the OST Katz & Maus (1966), Seascape:





From Dreambells (1976), Sudden Romance:





From Common Cause (1979), Meet:





As usual, his early riffs remind me a lot of the Association P.C. albums, whose guitarist of course was Toto the great.  (The also great Sigi Bussch wrote some of their songs too.)
The 1981 album is solo electric guitar and purely improvised and not to my liking..



6 comments:

  1. Thanks for this super post. I always loved the playing of Attila, one of the most underrated guitarists in jazz.

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  2. Thank you so much! I know only the first one Katz !

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  3. Good Morning - This is Holy Grail - could you please re-up this collection of Attila's music. I thank you in advance - !

    Dave "Radio Free" Wohlman

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    Replies
    1. new reup, all the albums in one file here again:
      https://www.sendspace.com/file/hvhc9j

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  4. Thank you very much. Osti Jarej

    ReplyDelete