Miloslav Ladislav "Ladi" Geisler (November 27, 1927 – November 19, 2011) was a German musician who established a high profile in the post-war German music scene. Best known for his work with pop musicians

Bert Kaempfert Bert Kaempfert (born Berthold Heinrich Kämpfert; 16 October 1923 – 21 June 1980) was a German orchestra leader, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, arranger, and composer. He made easy listening and jazz-oriented records and wrote the mu ...

James Last James Last (, ; born Hans Last; 17 April 1929 – 9 June 2015), also known as Hansi, was a German composer and big band leader of the James Last Orchestra. Initially a jazz bassist (Last won the award for "best bassist" in Germany in each of ...

and

Freddy Quinn Freddy Quinn (born Franz Eugen Helmut Manfred Nidl; 27 September 1931) is an Austrian singer and actor whose popularity in the German-speaking world soared in the late 1950s and 1960s. As Hans Albers had done two generations before him, Quinn ...

, Geisler developed the distinctive "Knack-Bass" percussive bass sound that helped popularize the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra. He later released numerous records under his own name.

Life and work

As a child, Geisler received violin lessons and soon learned the trumpet. He first worked as an engineer in the electric company where his father was as a director. In the last phase of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Geisler was drafted into the German Air Force, where he worked on the combat aircraft

Heinkel He 162 The Heinkel He 162 ''Volksjäger'' (German, "People's Fighter") was a German single-engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe in World War II. Developed under the Emergency Fighter Program, it was designed and built quickl ...

. While on a mission, he was captured by the British and was interned in a Danish POW camp. With the help of a fellow prisoner, Geisler built an electric guitar and learned as a

self-taught Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individu ...

player. His role model was

Oscar Moore Oscar Frederic Moore (December 25, 1916 – October 8, 1981) was an American jazz guitarist with the Nat King Cole Trio. Career The son of a blacksmith, Moore was born in Austin, Texas, United States. The Moore family moved to Phoenix, Ariz ...

, guitarist of singer

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

. In the camp he also made the acquaintance of the German musician

Horst Wende Horst Wende (5 November 1919 – 23 January 1996) was a German bandleader, arranger and composer. He made easy-listening records under his own name as well as under the name Roberto Delgado. He was part of the wave of German-based easy-listening art ...

, who brought him after discharge to Germany and made him a guitarist of his "Horst Wende Trio." Geisler did some work for the

NWDR Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk (NWDR; ''Northwest German Broadcasting'') was the organization responsible for public broadcasting in the German Länder of Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia from 22 September 1945 to ...

, and after the spin-off of the

NDR NDR may refer to: Computing * Non delivery report, a return email message to a sender indicating failed message delivery * Network Data Representation, an implementation of the OSI model presentation layer Science and technology * Negative differ ...

in 1955, he received a permanent position as a guitarist in the NDR Dance Orchestra under the direction of

Franz Thon Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

. Continuing to play with Wende, he signed a contract with the record company

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. In addition, while appearing with the Wende band in the Hamburg night club "Tarantella," Geisler met

, with whom he developed a long-term recording relationship. Until the early 1960s Geisler participated in numerous recordings with Quinn. By this time, Geisler had already become a known guitarist. At NDR he was used in many ways, such as with the NDR Symphony Orchestra and at the premiere of a work by

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mon ...

at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

. In addition to Polydor, he also worked for other record companies and accompanied other singers like

Evelyn Künneke Evelyn Künneke (15 December 1921 – 28 April 2001) was a German singer and stage, television and film actress. She was the daughter of the famous composer Eduard Künneke. Selected filmography * '' Goodbye, Franziska'' (1941) * '' Third from ...

Greetje Kauffeld Greetje Kauffeld (born 26 November 1939) is a Dutch jazz singer and Schlager musician. Biography Greetje Kauffeld was born in Rotterdam. As a child she sang hits by popular American singers and participated in school choir. When she was thirt ...

Friedel Hensch Friedel or Friedl is a Southern German diminutive variation of the surname Fried - or alternately, a diminutive of Elfriede - and may refer to: Four French scientists with the same Friedel family name are in direct lineage, Charles, Georges, Edmo ...

Esther and Abi Ofarim Esther & Abi Ofarim were an Israeli musical duo active during the 1960s, consisting of husband and wife Abi Ofarim and Esther Ofarim. They enjoyed particular success in Germany. They had hits in Europe with their songs " One More Dance," " Morni ...

and

Hildegard Knef Hildegard Frieda Albertine Knef (; 28 December 19251 February 2002) was a German actress, voice actress, singer, and writer. She was billed in some English-language films as Hildegard Neff or Hildegarde Neff. Early years Hildegard Knef was born ...

. From composer and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

leader

, he bought a late 50s Gibson EB bass guitar, with which he developed his legendary "Knack bass" sound that would become an integral feature in the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

orchestra of

. Later, he used a

Fender Jazz Bass The Fender Jazz Bass (often shortened to ''J-Bass'') is the second model of electric bass created by Leo Fender. It is distinct from the Precision Bass in that its tone is brighter and richer in the midrange and treble with less emphasis on th ...

model. Most recently, he used a

Fender Precision Bass The Fender Precision Bass (often shortened to "P-Bass") is a model of electric bass guitar manufactured by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In its standard, post-1957 configuration, the Precision Bass is a solid body, four-stringed instru ...

when he was invited to live or recording sessions. Geisler's knack bass sound was a treble staccato bass guitar sound in which the bass string was plucked with a

pick Pick may refer to: Places * Pick City, North Dakota, a town in the United States * Pick Lake (Cochrane District, Ontario), a lake in Canada * Pick Lake (Thunder Bay District), a lake in Canada * Pick Mere, a lake in Pickmere, England People wit ...

and immediately suppressed to cancel out any sustain. In 1958, he recorded ''Happy Guitar / Samba estrella'', his first solo record with the record company

Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television apparatus company, founded in Berlin in 1903, as a joint venture of Siemens & Halske and the ''Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ('General electricity company'). The name "Telefunken" app ...

. Geisler lent his guitar amplifier to

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

for their 1961 recording session with

Tony Sheridan Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity (21 May 1940 – 16 February 2013), known professionally as Tony Sheridan, was an English rock and roll guitarist who spent much of his adult life in Germany. He was best known as an early collaborator of th ...

(produced by Kaempfert), after the band's own equipment proved to be inadequate for recording purposes.Lounge Legends, The Original Masters of Lounge, zaterdag 26 November 2011, In Memoriam-Ladi Geisler - (27 November 1927 – 19 November 2011) http://loungelegends.blogspot.com/2011/11/in-memoriam-ladi-geisler-27-november.html. For

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters is ...

and

Ariola Ariola (also known as Ariola Records, Ariola-Eurodisc and BMG Ariola) is a German record label. In the late 1980s, it was a subsidiary label of the Bertelsmann Music Group, which in turn has become a part of the international media conglomerat ...

, but mainly with

, he recorded until 1965 several more solo albums, partly with the Polydor band "The Playboys". Under their label, he reached in 1961 No. 19 in the German charts with the cover of world hit Wheels. As a freelance musician, he was sought after by all the leading German record companies and worked, in some years, up to 1500 gigs. In 1988 and 1990 he went on tour in Japan, with the Alfred Hause Orchestra. In the 1990s, he founded his own music studio, "Studio 17," and increasingly turned to jazz. He founded his own jazz band, worked together with

Günter Fuhlisch Gunter or Günter may refer to: * Gunter rig, a type of rig used in sailing, especially in small boats * Gunter Annex, Alabama, a United States Air Force installation * Gunter, Texas, city in the United States People Surname * Chris Gunter ...

and was last heard with the "same" Quintet. For several years Geisler served as Chairman of the German Composers' Association and the executive board of GEMA. In 2008 he was featured on the Berlin Jazz Orchestra, music DVD ( Polydor/Universal) ''Strangers in the Night'' – The Music of

which was eventually released in 2012 after his death. In the spring of 2010, he was shown on the liner for Helen Schneider Swing CD – a tribute to

– where he participated as bassist. In his later years, Geisler used a compact and lightweight guitar amplifier, specially selected for its sonic characteristics. With this amp, and the sound of his Gibson L-4 CES guitar, and his unique sense of rhythm and soloing, he produced his distinctive guitar sound for enthusiastic audiences at numerous live performances. Ladi Geisler died on November 19, 2011, shortly before his 84th Birthday in Hamburg.

Prizes and awards

In 2003, Geisler was awarded the Louis Armstrong Memorial Prize for ''Swinging Hamburg''.

Discography

Solo-Singles

*''Happy Guitar / Samba estrella'', Telefunken, 1958 *''

Red River Rock "Red River Valley" is a folk song and cowboy music standard of uncertain origins that has gone by different names (such as "Cowboy Love Song", "Bright Sherman Valley", "Bright Laurel Valley", "In the Bright Mohawk Valley", and "Bright Little Va ...

/ Dreaming Guitar'', Polydor, 1960 *''Navajo / Lonely Guitar'', Philips, 1961 *''Auf einem persischen Markt / Immer nur lächeln (In a Persian Market / Always Just Smile)'', Polydor, 1961 *''Amazon Paddleboat / Tomahawk'', Polydor, 1962 *''Guitar Tango / Zwei Gitarren'', Polydor, 1962 *''Little Geisha / Helena'', Polydor, 1963 *'' Alte Kameraden / Einzug der Gladiatoren (Old Comrades / Entry of the Gladiators)'', Ariola, 1965

LPs and CDs

*''Mr. Guitar'', LP, Polydor, 1962 *''Girls, Girls, Girls'', LP, BASF, 1964 *''Memories of Spain'', LP, Ex Libris, 1968 *''Guitar a la Carte Vol. 1'', LP, AMG, 1968 *''Guitar a la Carte Vol. 2'', LP, AMG, 1969 *''Guitar mit Disco 74'', LP, Columbia, 1973 *''Swinging Guitar'', LP, Intercord, 1977 *''Gitarrenträume unter Palmen (Guitar dreams under palm trees)'', Intercord, LP, 1978 *''Classics'' with the guitar, LP, EMI *''Die Rock-Gitarre von Ladi Geisler (The Rock guitar Ladi Geisler)'', LP, Bear Family, 2000 *''Minor Swing'', CD, Bear Family, 2000 *''Mr. Guitar'', CD, BearFamily, 2000 *''Those Were The Days'', CD, BearFamily, 2003 *''Günter Märtens trifft Ladi Geisler. Anekdoten eines Gitarrenspielers (Günter Maertens meets Ladi Geisler. Anecdotes of a guitar player)'', CD, Bear Family, 2007 (Audio Book)

References

* :de:Ladi Geisler
ActMusicAnswers.comLADI GEISLER – inventor/creator of the "Knackbass"The Bass Walks – Ladi Geisler (video photo-montage)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geisler, Ladi 1927 births 2011 deaths Czech guitarists Male guitarists Musicians from Prague