Axel Zwingenberger (; born 7 May 1955) is a German blues and boogie-woogie pianist and songwriter.
Biography Zwingenberger was born in Hamburg, West Germany, and enjoyed 11 years of classical piano training. After listening to recordings by pianists Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons, Meade "Lux" Lewis, he became a boogie-woogie musician. In 1974 he performed with pianists Hans-Georg Moeller, Vince Weber and Martin Pyrker at the First International Blues and Boogie Woogie Festival in Cologne, West Germany. They also played at the Stars of Boogie Woogie and the Hans Maitner festival.
A year later he signed with a record label, which released his solo albums Boogie Woogie Breakdown, Power House Boogie, and Boogie Woogie Live. He has worked with Ray Bryant, Champion Jack Dupree, Lloyd Glenn, Lionel Hampton, Jay McShann, Cili Marsall, Joe Newman, Sammy Price, Big Joe Turner, Sippie Wallace, Charlie Watts, Vince Weber, Bill Wyman, and Mama Yancey. His publications include Boogie Woogie: Piano Solo, a book of twelve of his compositions transcribed.Axel Zwingenberger: Boogie Woogie: Piano Solo (1997) -
A railfan since early childhood, he published photographs of steam locomotives in The Magic of TrainsAxel Zwingenberger, Vom Zauber der Züge - The Magic of Trains photo book - and established a non-profit group with the German Foundation for the Protection of Historical Monuments which works for the preservation of trains, such as the steam-powered DR 18 201.
In early 2009, with the English pianist Ben Waters, Zwingenberger renewed his relationship with Charlie Watts, the drummer of the Rolling Stones. With bassist Dave Green, they played concerts under the name The ABC&D of Boogie Woogie. In June 2012 they released their first album, Live in Paris (Eagle 2012), and performed in New York City at Lincoln Center and the Iridium Jazz Club.
Selective discography YearTitleSolo albumsLabel1996Boogie Back to New York CitysoloVagabond1992Boogie Woogie Classics soloPolyGram1985Boogie Woogie LivesoloAxel Zwingenberger: Boogie Woogie Piano Solo: transcription of the CD VRCD 8.85007 - Vagabond (also issued on Calligraph)1980Power House BoogiesoloVagabond1978Boogie Woogie BreakdownsoloTelefunkenYearTitleCombinationsLabel2012The ABC&D of Boogie Woogie – Live in Parisw/Ben Waters, Charlie Watts, Dave GreenEagle2012The Joy of Boogie Woogiew/Keito SaitoQuatre Mains2010The Magic of Boogie Woogiew/Charlie Watts, Dave GreenVagabond2009Lady sings the Boogie Woogiew/Lila AmmonsVagabond2008Saxy Boogie Woogiew/Big Jay McNeely & The Bad BoysVagabond2004Groovologyw/Gottfried BoettgerVagabond1999Brothers in Boogie w/Torsten ZwingenbergerVagabond1999The Boogiemeistersw/Vince WeberVagabond1996Swing the Boogie!w/Jay McShannVagabond1982The Boogie Woogie Albumw/Lionel Hampton OrchestraVagabond1978Let's Boogie Woogie All Night Longw/Big Joe TurnerVagabond1976 2015Boogie Woogie Session '76 live in Vienna – The Complete Recordingsw/Hans-Georg Möller, Martin Pyrker, Torsten Zwingenberger, Vince WeberEMI/Vagabond (re-release of 2 CDs + DVD)YearTitleAxel Zwingenberger & The Friends of Boogie Woogie – SeriesLabel2000Vol. 10: Kansas City Boogie Jamw/Big Joe Duskin, Sammy Price, Jay McShannVagabond1999Vol. 9: Red Hot Boogie Woogie Partyw/Red Holloway, Mojo Blues BandVagabond1993Vol. 8: Heat It Upw/Red Holloway, Mojo Blues BandVagabond1992Vol. 7: Champion Jack Dupree sings Blues Classicsw/Champion Jack Dupree, Mogens "Basse" Seidelin, Michael StrasserVagabond1990Vol. 6: On Stage with Champion Jack Dupreew/Champion Jack Dupree, Torsten ZwingenbergerVagabond1988Vol. 5: Champ's Housewarmingw/Champion Jack Dupree, Mojo Blues BandVagabond1987Vol. 4: The Blues of Mama Yanceyw/Estella "Mama" YanceyVagabond1986Vol. 3: An Evening with Sippie Wallacew/Sippie WallaceVagabond1985Vol. 2: Between Hamburg & Hollywoodw/Big Joe Turner, Joe Newman, Lloyd Glenn, Torsten ZwingenbergerVagabond1984Vol. 1: Sippie Wallacew/Sippie WallaceVagabond
References
Further reading Cook, Richard and Morton, Brian. Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings, 8th edition. Penguin Books, 2006 Kernfeld, Barry. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd edition, Vol 2. London: Grove, 2002, Larkin, Colin. The Guinness Who's Who of Jazz. Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Books, 1992 Silvester, Peter J. The Story of Boogie Woogie – A Left Hand Like God. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2009
External links Axel Zwingenberger's homepage Interview with Axel Zwingenberger