Alex Riel (born 13 September 1940) is a Danish

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and rock drummer.''Jeg skal sgu sidde ved trommerne'' Af Bine Madsen. Dagbladenes Bureau, 9 February 2010. Same interview in Flensborg Avis, 17 February 2010, Side 18''Alex Riel'' Horsens Folkeblad, 16 February 2010, 2. sektion, Side 12 His first group Alex Riel/

Palle Mikkelborg Palle Mikkelborg (born 6 March 1941) is a Danish jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger and record producer. He is self-taught on the trumpet, although he studied conducting at the Royal Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He became a professio ...

Quintet A quintet is a group containing five members. It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single ...

won

Montreux Montreux (, , ; frp, Montrolx) is a Swiss municipality and town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Alps. It belongs to the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, and has a population of approxi ...

Grand Prix Award at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

in 1968 and it was published in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

's'' June 1968 edition. He is married to the writer Ane Riel.

Biography

Riel has recorded with, among others,

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five. Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler ( ...

Kenny Werner Kenny Werner (born November 19, 1951) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and author. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 19, 1951 and then growing up in Oceanside, Long Island, Werner began playing and performing at a young ...

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of ...

, Thomas Clausen,

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Edward F. Davis (March 2, 1922 – November 3, 1986), known professionally as Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. It is unclear how he acquired the moniker "Lockjaw" (later shortened in "Jaws"): it is either said that ...

Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their dea ...

, and

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

. He has also worked with a wide range of important jazz musicians, including Ray Brown,

Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

Art Farmer Arthur Stewart Farmer (August 21, 1928 – October 4, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, doubl ...

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the fir ...

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored ...

Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Biography Thad Jones was born in Pontiac, Michigan, ...

, and

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

. He formed a renowned jazz ensemble with bass player

Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (, 27 May 1946 – 19 April 2005), also known by his abbreviated nickname NHØP, was a Danish jazz double bassist. Biography Pedersen was born in Osted, near Roskilde, on the Danish island of Zealand, the son of ...

and Kenny Drew. He was also a founding member in 1968 of the Danish rock group

The Savage Rose The Savage Rose is a Danish psychedelic rock group, formed in 1967. Career The band was founded in 1967 by Thomas Koppel, Anders Koppel, Alex Riel, Jens Rugsted, Flemming Ostermann, and singer Annisette Koppel. Ilse Marie Koppel was also p ...

.''Riel og rytmen. Portræt: Alex Riel'' Af Tove Skytte Erngaard. Jyllands-Posten, 27 July 1997, Kultur og tv, Side 1 His album ''The Riel Deal'' won a Danish Grammy Award Jazz in 1996. In September 2010, Riel reached seventy years of an age and it was celebrated at the famed Jazzhus Montmartre. The event was broadcast live with the title ''Celebration of a Living Jazz Legend'' by the Danish national television station TV2 which was also showing rare photos depicting Riel with

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

, Ben Webster, Bill Evans and The Savage Rose.

Personal life

Alex Riel married Ane Riel in 2002, an awarded author of crime fiction. They have lived in Liseleje in

North Zealand North Zealand, also North Sealand ( da, Nordsjælland), refers to the northern part of the Danish island of Zealand which is not clearly defined but generally covers the area north of Copenhagen. The Danish tourist authorities have recently in ...

since 2005.

Awards

*''Danish Jazz Musician Award'' 1965 presented by

and

Sam Woodyard Sam Woodyard (January 7, 1925 – September 20, 1988) was an American jazz drummer. He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States. Woodyard was largely an autodidact on drums and played locally in the Newark, New Jersey area in the 1940 ...

(Photo) *Ben Webster 90 Years Honorary Prize 1999 (shared with

and

Olivier Antunes Olivier is the French form of the given name Oliver. It may refer to: * Olivier (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Olivier (surname), a list of people * Château Olivier, a Bordeaux winery *Olivier, Louisiana, a rural popul ...

) *''Danish Grammy Award Jazz'' in 1996 for Riel's album ''The Riel Deal'' *''Life Time Achievement Award'' from

IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

2007 (Photo)

Discography

As leader

* ''Alex Riel Trio'' with Kenny Drew, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (Fona, 1965) * ''Emergence'' with Jesper Lundgaard,

Jerry Bergonzi Jerry Bergonzi (born October 21, 1947) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and educator. Early life and education Bergonzi received a B.A. in Music Education from the University of Massachusetts Lowell in 1971 and is the founde ...

(

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

, 1994) * ''The Riel Deal'' with

, Jerry Bergonzi (

Stunt A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery sp ...

, 1996) * ''Unriel'' with Jerry Bergonzi,

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of ...

, Eddie Gómez,

Mike Stern Mike Stern (born January 10, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist. After playing with Blood, Sweat & Tears, he worked with drummer Billy Cobham, then with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1981 to 1983 and again in 1985. He then began a solo career, ...

Niels Lan Doky Niels Lan Doky (born 3 October 1963) is a Danish jazz pianist, composer and producer. He is the older brother of jazz bassist Chris Minh Doky. Biography He was born in Copenhagen of a Danish mother and Vietnamese father. His father worked as a ...

(Stunt, 1997) * ''DSB Kino'' with Harry Sweets Edison,

Roger Kellaway Roger Kellaway (born November 1, 1939) is an American composer, arranger and jazz pianist. Life and career Kellaway was born in Waban, Massachusetts, United States. He is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory. Kellaway has composed commissi ...

(Stunt, 1998) * ''Rielatin'' with Jerry Bergonzi, Mike Stern, Kenny Werner (Stunt, 1999) * ''Celebration'' (Stunt, 2000) * ''Live at Jive'' Alex Riel/

Luts Büchner Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) refer to a group of clinical symptoms involving the bladder, urinary sphincter, urethra and, in men, the prostate. The term is more commonly applied to men—over 40% of older men are afected—but lower ur ...

Quartet (Stunt, 2001) * ''What Happened?'' Alex Riel Trio (Cowbell, 2004) * ''The High & The Mighty'' Alex Riel Trio (Cowbell, 2007) * ''Live at Stars'' Alex Riel Quartet feat.

Charlie Mariano Carmine Ugo Mariano (November 12, 1923 – June 16, 2009) was an American jazz saxophonist who focused on the alto and soprano saxophone. He occasionally performed and recorded on flute and nadaswaram as well. Biography Mariano was born in ...

(Cowbell, 2008) * ''Riel Time'' Alex Riel Quartet (Cowbell, 2008) * ''Get Riel'' (Cowbell, 2008)

As sideman

With

* ''

Swingin' Till the Girls Come Home ''Swingin' Till the Girls Come Home'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis recorded in Copenhagen in 1976 and released on the Danish SteepleChase label. The album was also released in the U.S. on Inner City Records ...

'' (SteepleChase, 1976) With

* ''

Cheese Cake Cheesecake is a sweet dessert consisting of one or more layers. The main, and thickest, layer consists of a mixture of a soft, fresh cheese (typically cottage cheese, cream cheese or ricotta), Egg as food, eggs, and sugar. If there is a Crust ...

'' ( SteepleChase, 1964

979 Year 979 ( CMLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 24 – Second Battle of Pankaleia: An Ibero-Byzantine expeditionary ...

* '' King Neptune'' (SteepleChase, 1964

* '' Love for Sale'' (SteepleChase, 1964 982 * ''

It's You or No One ''It's You or No One'' is an album by American singer Bobby Darin, released in 1963. Darin had left Atco for Capitol records, but left this album unreleased since 1960. The first side was arranged by Torrie Zito, with the second arranged by ...

'' (SteepleChase, 1964 983 * ''

Billie's Bounce "Billie's Bounce" (also known as "Bill's Bounce") is a jazz composition written in 1945 by Charlie Parker in the form of a 12 bar F blues. Some sources claim that the song was dedicated to Dizzy Gillespie's agent, Billy Shaw, although according ...

'' (SteepleChase, 1964 983 * ''

Loose Walk ''Loose Walk'' is a 1972 album by Count Basie and Roy Eldridge. Reception Scott Yanow, writing for AllMusic, said that " onically, the earliest recording by Count Basie for Norman Granz's Pablo label was one of the most recent to be released." ...

'' (SteepleChase 1965

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...

* ''

Misty Misty may refer to: Music * ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" Holmes featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" ...

'' (SteepleChase, 1965

004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to: * 004, fictional British 00 Agent * 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California) * O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation * Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004 * Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine * Lauda ...

* '' Heartaches'' (SteepleChase, 1965

* ''

Ladybird Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles ranging in size from . They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Some entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as the ...

'' (SteepleChase, 1965

005 ''005'' is a 1981 arcade game by Sega. They advertised it as the first of their RasterScan Convert-a-Game series, designed so that it could be changed into another game in minutes "at a substantial savings". It is one of the first examples of ...

* '' More Than You Know'' (SteepleChase, 1975) * ''

Swiss Nights Vol. 1 ''Swiss Nights Vol. 1'' is a live album led by saxophonist Dexter Gordon recorded in Zürich in 1975 and released on the Danish SteepleChase label.976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after re ...

* '' Swiss Nights Vol. 2'' (SteepleChase, 1975 978 * '' Swiss Nights Vol. 3'' (SteepleChase, 1975

* '' Lullaby for a Monster'' (SteepleChase, 1976 981 With

* ''Holiday'' (Challenge, 1981) With Ken McIntyre * '' Hindsight'' (SteepleChase, 1974) With

* '' Live at Montmartre'' (SteepleChase, 1972) * '' Ode to Super'' (SteepleChase, 1973) with

Gary Bartz Gary Bartz (born September 26, 1940) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has won two Grammy Awards. Biography Bartz studied at the Juilliard School. In the early 1960s, he performed with Eric Dolphy and McCoy Tyner in Charles Mingus' Jazz Works ...

* '' A Ghetto Lullaby'' (SteepleChase, 1974) * '' The Meeting'' (SteepleChase, 1974) with Dexter Gordon * ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the maga ...

'' (SteepleChase, 1974) with Dexter Gordon With

Archie Shepp Archie Shepp (born May 24, 1937) is an American jazz saxophonist, educator and playwright who since the 1960s has played a central part in the development of avant-garde jazz. Biography Early life Shepp was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but ...

and

Lars Gullin Lars Gunnar Victor Gullin (4 May 1928 – 17 May 1976) was a Swedish jazz saxophonist. Career Lars Gullin was born in Visby, Sweden. He was a child prodigy on the accordion. At age thirteen, he played clarinet in a military band and later ...

* '' The House I Live In'' (SteepleChase, 1963 980 With

Sahib Shihab Sahib Shihab (born Edmund Gregory; June 23, 1925 – October 24, 1989) was an American jazz and hard bop saxophonist (baritone, alto, and soprano) and flautist. He variously worked with Luther Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Fletcher Henderson, Tad ...

* '' Sahib's Jazz Party'' (

Debut Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The De ...

, 1963) With

Thorgeir Stubø Thorgeir Stubø (12 November 1943 – 22 October 1986) was a Norwegian jazz musician (guitar) and composer. He was the father of Jazz guitarist Håvard, jazz singer Kjersti and theater director Eirik Stubø, and grandfather of electronica musi ...

* ''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can b ...

'' (

Hot Club Gypsy jazz (also known as gypsy swing, jazz manouche or hot club-style jazz) is a style of small-group jazz originating from the Romani guitarist Jean "Django" Reinhardt (1910–53), in conjunction with the French swing violinist Stéphane G ...

, 1985) With

Radka Toneff Ellen Radka Toneff (25 June 1952 – 21 October 1982) was a Norwegian jazz singer, daughter of the Bulgarian folk singer, pilot and radio technician Toni Toneff, she was born in Oslo and grew up in Lambertseter and Kolbotn. She is still consid ...

* Live in Hamburg (Odin, 1981) * Butterfly, track 4-6 (Curling Legs, 2008) With

* '' My Man: Live at Montmartre 1973'' (SteepleChase, 1973)

Gallery

Image:alex-riel01.jpg Image:alex-riel02.jpg Image:alex-riel03.jpg Image:alex-riel04.jpg

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riel, Alex 1940 births Living people Hard bop drummers Danish rock drummers Danish jazz drummers Musicians from Copenhagen People from Halsnæs Municipality