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About
Jazz guitarist, composer, arranger and Jazz club owner
I work as a Jazz guitarist, composer, arranger and bandleader.
A big Wes Montgomery and George Benson fan, I studied jazz guitar in Arnhem, Holland. Over the years I played in many bands and projects: Zwiebop, Tribehouse and Doña Guarapita, to mention a few.
I have a beloved collection of vintage Gibson guitars, creating a distinct sound with a 1969 ES-150, my own special stoptail conversion with an interesting combination of pickups.
Among other activities I provide a vintage guitar YouTube channel
with guitar and effect demos and run an informal jazz club "Klub der Töne" in Germany.
CD "For Minors Only"
My new cd "For Minors Only" is a collection of various live recordings from the Premium Lounge and Klub der Töne (Cologne, Germany).
All Tracks were recorded with my 1967 Gibson L5 - warm, smooth Jazz guitar sound at its best!
The title song "For Minors Only" has always been one of my all time favorites, now we recorded a really nice version of it.
There are also some other classics like "There Is No Greater Love" or "Song For My Father" - all energetic live recordings with
great solos, a very special atmosphere and ... a lot of jazz guitar.
All tracks are from different nights, played with these great musicians:
Drums: Ulf Stricker / Hardy Fischötter
Bass: Fritz Roppel / Wally Böcker
Piano: Walter Fischbacher / Andreas Schnermann / Ernie Griffin
Sax: Lothar van Staa / Anton Fialko
Photos by Joanne Greenhalgh
Activities
Orange Sunday
The Orange Sunday is a monthly show - often with spontaneous guests - that takes place at the club Klub der Töne in an old warehouse space in Cologne, Germany. I created it as an informal Jazz club, especially for that show. For every Orange Sunday (the first Sunday of every month), I combine a new, high quality session band. Join us for spontaneous musical adventures from Soul to Jazz at our funky little venue with a unique atmosphere.
Art Olive
Two industrial warehouse spaces converted to rehearsal rooms for more than 250 bands: art olive (Cologne, Germany) is a music rehearsal room center that I built over many years. I now run it with my wife Dana who joined the company in 2003. I started the first building in 1993 when I couldn't find a rehearsal space after moving back to Cologne at the end of my music studies in Holland. There was an overwhelming demand for well-insulated, professionally built rehearsal rooms, as it turned out. Over 20 years, art olive slowly grew from a small basement with eight rooms into a huge rehearsal center for musicians of all kinds and styles.
Vintage Guitars & Gear
I love my vintage Gibson guitars and created a vintage guitar YouTube channel with live demos. At Vintage Guitars & Gear, I introduce and explain many great guitars from the 60s. Over the years, a small guitarist community with a lot of interesting guitar talk has formed. In my videos, I combine high quality live recordings with information about everything that was involved in the chain. From the guitar over the PUs and strings to the FXs, the amp and the speakers - you'll learn exactly what was used.
Guitars
I love my vintage Gibsons!
I have been playing vintage Gibsons since many years. No new (or somewhat newer) guitar can compare with the
vibe and sound of a 50+ year old instrument that is broken in like you favorite leather jacket.
For many years I wanted a vintage L5 (Wes' guitar) which was not easy to find:
The good ones that sound great, have been treated well, are unmodified and - when you're lucky -
also look beautiful are hardly ever for sale. I you want a wide nut and not too skinny neck, these are a rare find...
My 1967 L5 C-ES had everything I ever dreamed of: Atypical for that year, it has a round cutaway, 1" 11/16th nut and medium neck.
When I first played it at a store in London it was love at first sight. From there, it got better. Playing hundreds of gigs with it,
I learned how versatile and powerful it is. It has every beautilful jazz guitar sound you could possibly want for.
I by now have a collection of fine vintage Gibsons, some of them shown here for you to enjoy.
If you are interested check out my Youtube channel Vintage Guitars & Gear.
Looking for a vintage guitar to buy? Feel free to email me.!
