| Karel Krautgartner | |
|---|---|
Czech clarinetist and saxophonist Karel Krautgartner |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Karel Krautgartner |
| Born | July 20, 1922 |
| Origin | Mikulov, Czechoslovakia |
| Died | September 20, 1982 (aged 60) |
| Genres | Jazz Classical music |
| Occupations | Clarinetist Composer Bandleader |
| Instruments | Clarinet, Saxophone |
Karel Krautgartner (July 20, 1922 - September 20, 1982) was a Czech jazz and classical clarinetist, saxophonist, arranger, composer, conductor and teacher.
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He was born in Mikulov, Moravia in the family of a postmaster. In 1930 he began to play piano, but after moving to Brno in 1935 he found interest mainly in the radio broadcasting and specially in jazz. He began to study clarinet on private basis with Stanislav Krtička. (Krtička, a notable Czech clarinetist of the first half of 20th century, performed demanding part of Concertino by Leoš Janáček at composer's request at the festival of contemporary music in Frankfurt am Main in 1926).[1] Krautgartner acquired necessary skills of clarinet playing, and also inherited "fanatic passion" for clarinet construction and components (reeds, mouthpieces, barrels). He later used his knowledge of wind instruments as a lecturer at German universities in Cologne and Düsseldorf.[1] Krautgartner founded the student orchestra Quick band in 1936. In 1942 he signed his first professional contract as a saxophonist in the Gustav Brom orchestra in the hotel Passage in Brno. In 1943 he gradually created Dixie Club and started to arrange in the Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller style. The core of the Dixie Club moved gradually to Prague during 1945 - 1955 and became part of Karel Vlach orchestra. Krautgartner achieved a privileged position as a leader of saxophone section here and started to contribute with his own compositions. In 1956 he founded Karel Krautgartner Quintet, together with Karel Velebný. The group played in various line-ups modern jazz, swing, dixieland and accompanied popular singers as well. During 1958 - 1960 he performed with All star band, the orchestra playing in west-coast style, with Studio 5, (dixieland band, won the 1st place in the category of small orchestras at 7ht Youth Festival in Wienna, 1959). Between 1960 - 1968 he became the head of Taneční orchestr Československého rozhlasu (Dance Orchestra of Czechoslovakia Radio), in 1967 the orchestra was renamed to Karel Krautgartner Orchestra. He emigrated to Vienna, Austria in 1968, right after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, and became the chief conductor of 0RF Bigband. Later he moved to Cologne, Germany. He died in 1982 in Germany.
Jazz
Classical
Karel Krautgartner: Případ ještě nekončí CD (Sleeve note) Praha, RADIOSERVIS. FR 0131-2