Barbara Dennerlein (b. 1964)
German jazz organist, born 25 September 1964 in Munich. Critic Ron Wynn called her "the most interesting jazz organist to emerge during the 1980s."^[raw/articles/wikipedia-barbara-dennerlein.md]
Career
- Started organ at 11 on a small Hohner; took two years of lessons from Paul Greisl, who owned a Hammond B-3 — the pedalboard (missing from the Hohner) was what hooked her. Found her own Hammond at 13; gigging at 14.^[raw/articles/wikipedia-barbara-dennerlein.md]
- First TV appearances 1982 earned her the nickname "Organ Tornado from Munich".^[raw/articles/wikipedia-barbara-dennerlein.md]
- Founded her own label (Bebab, 1985) and managed herself, partly because Hammond wanted to promote new digital models rather than the B-3 she played. Two German Record Critics' Awards (Tribute to Charlie, 1987; Take Off!, 1995).^[raw/articles/wikipedia-barbara-dennerlein.md]
- Later recordings for Enja and Verve with Ray Anderson, Randy Brecker, Dennis Chambers, Roy Hargrove, Jeff "Tain" Watts.^[raw/articles/wikipedia-barbara-dennerlein.md]
- From 1994 also plays the pipe organ; since 2003 develops jazz projects with symphony orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic on a Karl Schuke organ.^[raw/articles/wikipedia-barbara-dennerlein.md]
Gear-modifier as well as player
Dennerlein is notable for modifying the instrument itself: she fitted her Hammond's pedalboard to trigger samples of an acoustic bass, then extended the same idea to the manuals — MIDI triggers in pedals and manuals driving synthesizers and samplers (hybrid electro-acoustic rig predating the clonewheel wave).^[raw/articles/wikipedia-barbara-dennerlein.md] Her fast bass-pedal footwork is a signature of both her standards and her own compositions.^[raw/articles/wikipedia-barbara-dennerlein.md]
Related
- hammond-b3 — her core instrument
- drawbars — the tonal vocabulary she pushes with sampler layers
- clonewheel-organ — the digital era she anticipated