- Herb Geller
Herb Geller (born
2 November 1928 inLos Angeles ), is an Americanjazz saxophonist ,composer andarranger .His musical abilities could have been inherited from his mother, Francis. She worked at the
Hollywood neighbourhoodcinemas playingpiano , accompanyingsilent movies . At the age of 8 he was presented with analto saxophone , purchased from a local music store owner and music teacher who was also a friend of the family and had a used instrument for sale. Two years later he startedclarinet . Herb attended Dorsey High School in the southwestern part ofLos Angeles and joined the school band which among others included the musiciansEric Dolphy ,Vi Redd andBobby White .At the age of 14 he heard
Benny Carter perform at the Orpheum Theatre inLos Angeles and was so impressed that he decided to pursue a career in music, specializing on thealto saxophone . Two years later during a summer vacation he had his first professional engagement in the band of the great jazz violinistJoe Venuti .A short time later he discovered the music of
Charlie Parker , who became an important idol along withBenny Carter andJohnny Hodges .In 1949 Herb went to
New York City for the first time, where he performed in the bands ofJack Fina , (withPaul Desmond also in the sax section),Claude Thornhill ,Jerry Wald andLucky Millinder . During this time he met the pianistLorraine Walsh inLos Angeles , who later inNew York became his wife and also an important musical partner. After three years inNew York Herb joined theBilly May orchestra in 1952 and following an engagement in Los Angeles the Gellers returned there to live. The development of theLong Playing Record created more work opportunities for jazz musicians using many different ensembles and the so-calledWest Coast Jazz style became popular. Among the groups Herb worked and recorded with wereShorty Rogers ,Maynard Ferguson ,Bill Holman ,Shelly Manne ,Marty Paich ,Barney Kessel ,Andre Previn ,Quincy Jones ,Wardel Grey ,Jack Sheldon andChet Baker . Lorraine worked as the house pianist at theLighthouse Jazz Club , and played withMiles Davis ,Dizzy Gillespie ,Charlie Parker ,Stan Getz ,Zoot Sims ,Jack Teagarden ,Bill Holman and was the accompanist for the singerKay Starr . Herb recorded three LPs as a leader forEmarcy plus some withDinah Washington ,Max Roach ,Clifford Brown ,Clark Terry ,Maynard Ferguson andKenny Drew .In 1955 he won the “New Star Award” from
Down Beat Magazine and achieved worldwide recognition through his recordings withClifford Brown . Later Herb worked in the bands ofLouie Bellson andBenny Goodman .Lorraine Geller unexpectedly died in 1958.During a tour through
Brazil with theBenny Goodman Orchestra Herb decided not to return to theUnited States but instead stayed inSao Paulo for six weeks playingBossa Nova music at a local club until he departed taking a ship toEurope .Arriving in
Paris he played withKenny Clarke ,Kenny Drew , the French pianistMartial Solal , andBelgian guitaristRene Thomas among others, and also toured with a French radio show, Musique Aux Champs-Elysées.1962 he was offered a job with the
big band of the Radio Free Berlin(SFB) station inBerlin . He accepted this engagement and performed there along with other “Americans In Europe” such asBenny Bailey ,Joe Harris ,Nat Peck as well as outstanding European Musicians like Ack andJerry van Rooyen ,Ake Persson andFrancy Boland . In Berlin he met his second wife Christine Rabsch. Herb stayed there for three years and then accepted a contract to play lead alto and also arrange for the big band of the (NDR) inHamburg . Here he was engaged for 28 years and made Hamburg his home. During this time the NDR bigband developed from a post war dance orchestra into a top modern jazz band. The endless list of participating musicians ranged fromDon Byas ,Joe Pass ,Slide Hampton ,Bill Evans ,Red Mitchell ,Art Farmer ,Georgie Fame andChet Baker to avant garde musicians and rock/fusion and included nearly all the big names of European Jazz.During his work at the NDR Herb Geller was also busy in other directions including his own productions and tours. During this time he also participated in recordings and worked with such famed artists as
Ray Charles ,The Supremes ,Ella Fitzgerald ,Shirley MacLaine ,Jerry Lewis ,Peter Herbolzheimer R,C&B,Craig Russell ,Liberace ,Udo Lindenberg ,Marius Müller-Westernhagen ,Paul Anka ,George Gruntz ,Bert Kaempfert ,Billy Vaughn and many more.During his tenure at NDR he also learned and performed on other
woodwind instruments besidesclarinet ,flute ,alto flute ,bass flute ,piccolo flute ,oboe andEnglish horn . On flute he played and recorded withBill Evans and Brazilian guitaristBaden Powell . He also composed the music and lyrics to two musicals: PLAYING JAZZ (a musical autobiography) and JAZZY JOSIE B. (based on the life ofJosephine Baker ).1996 the Senat of the Hamburg Government gave him the title of “Professor”. He taught at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg until his retirement. Currently Herb Geller continues teaching jazz improvisation and composition and occasionally doing seminars at various national and international institutes and wrote a method of
improvisation for Schott And Sons-- “CROSSOVER”.He is still active, performing regularly in Germany and abroad as a soloist at festivals and clubs in various formations including some big bands as well as with such diverse artists as
Knut Kiesewetter ,Lennie Niehaus ,Jiggs Whigham ,Rolf Kühn ,Slide Hampton ,Buddy de Franco ,Lew Solof ,Charlie Mariano andJan Lundgren to name a few.He is very proud of his friendship with the late
Benny Carter , with whom he had recorded and performed with and participated at the Hollywood Bowl celebration for Benny´s ninetieth birthday.On 26 November 2005 Herb Geller was knighted for his achievements in Jazz with the title “Ritter der Ronneburg” by Fürst Johann-Georg zu Ysenburg und Büdingen. Modest as always, his comment about this event was “my friends still call me Herb”.
It has to be mentioned, that Herb Geller -despite the influence of Charlie Parker and Benny Carter- developed his own form of expression and individuality, maintaining an always recognizable personal style.
elected Discography
He has recorded as a leader10 CDs over the last few years, the latest THE ARTHUR SCHWARTZ SONGBOOK has received excellent reviews.
References
*http://www.herbgeller.com/index.htm
External links
* [http://www.herbgeller.com/index.htm Official site]
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