CURRICULUM VITAE
Reiner Witzel An Sankt Swidbert 7, 40489 Düsseldorf. Germany Tel . +49-211/20 08 871 Fax +49-211/20 08 872 Mobil +49-172/65 61 757 E-Mail: [email protected]
www.reiner-witzel.de
Date and Place of Birth: June 21, 1967 in Mannheim, Germany Civil State: married, two children (born in 2000 and 2002) Nationality: German
Musical Education
1973-76 Musical Pre-School Education, Clara Schumann Music School, Düsseldorf
1976-1981 Lessons in French Horn, Clara Schumann Music School, Düsseldorf
1978-86 Member of the Youth Wind Orchestra and Big Band, Clara Schumann Music School, Düsseldorf, (1st alto saxophone) as well as member of the Jazz-Workshop of the same school
Since 1980 Autodidactic Studies of the Piano
1981-82 Clarinet Lessons, Clara Schumann Music School, Düsseldorf
1982-86 Saxophone lessons, Clara Schumann Music School, Düsseldorf
1988-90 Cologne University of Music, Studies in Saxophone (Prof. W. Engstfeld)
1990-92 Manhattan School of Music, New York, Studies in Saxophone Degree awarded: Bachelor of Music (1992)
Musical Lessons with the following teachers:
Saxophone Bob Mintzer, John Purcell, Dave Liebman, Bill Evans, Dick Oats, Steve Slagle, Gary Smulyan and Wolfgang Engstfeld Flute Norbert Rodenkirchen, Linda Chesis Clarinet Claudio Puntin Piano Garry Dial
General Education
1973-77 Elementary School Rolandstraße, Düsseldorf
1977-86 Middle- and High School: Clara Schumann Gymnasium (later re-named Georg Büchner Gymnasium), Düsseldorf, German Baccalaureat (1986)
1986-88 Social Year, School for Students with Impaired Eye-Sight, Düsseldorf-Hassels. as well as other social work
1 PROFESSIONAL CAREER
Artistic Career
Since 1988 Free-lance Musician and Composer for Jazz, Pop, Rock and World Music
Concerts with Rahid Ali, Amaruvision, ARD-Showband, Bantu, Till Brönner, Federal Jazz Orchestra, Big Band Convention, Jeff Cascaro, Roger Cicero, Cologne Saxophone Quintett, Dariush, Defunkt, Leon Delray, Garry Dial, John Eardley, Philipp van Endert, Gil Evans Orchestra, Xaver Fischer, Funk Alliance, Fred Kellner, Giant Step, Marla Glen, Interjazz, Fela Kuti, Femi Kuti, State Jazz Orchestra of North-Rhine Westphalia, Udo Lindenberg, Simon Nabatov, Naked Sun, Lessa Naumann, Oriental Connection, Charlie Persip Big Band, Lonnie Plaxico, Point Blanc, Stefan Raab, Katja Riemann, Harald Schmidt Show, Etta Scollo, SES, Arkady Shilklopper, Alex Sipiagin, Lew Soloff, Kristi Stassinopoulou, Talking Horns,Torch, Trovaci, Turlitawa Shutka, Bill Ware, and many others
Since 1988 Concerts with "Reiner Witzel Group" and "Witzel’s Venue"
Concert Tours to Japan , Africa , North and Latin-America , the Middle East , Russia , Dubai , Bahrain, and most European Countries
Numerous Performances in Festivals, including the Montreux-Jazz Festival, Black Sea- Festival, Leverkusen Jazz Days, Viersen Jazz Days, BAM Festival Barcelona
Compositions
Composition of the Title Music for the WDR TV-Series “Westart“, “Auf Ihrer Seite“, “Rundum gesund“, “Tag Sieben“ and “Wunderschöne Regionen“
Title Music for the TV-Broadcast of the World Youth Day and Visit of Pope Benedikt XVI to Cologne, 2005
Complete Audio design for the TV Station „1Festival“ Title Song for “Club of Budapest“and “Cirque Bouffon“ Approx. 50 Compositions, published on various CDs
Discography (Extract)
Reiner Witzel Group Infinite Voyage (JAZZ/LC8301) Reiner Witzel Group Passage to the Ear (JAZZ/LC7849) Witzel`s Venue Perceptions (JAZZ/LC6533) Interjazz From Moscow to Paris (JAZZ/LC08166) Point Blanc Point Blanc (JAZZ/LC7005) Hipsters in the Zone Into the Afro-Latin Bag (JAZZ/LC7849) Philipp van Endert Group Urban Lyrical (JAZZ/LC01705) Philipp van Endert Philipp van Endert (JAZZ/LC1998) Alexandra Naumann Missa (JAZZ/LC04780)
2 Alexandra Naumann Engel auf Feldern (JAZZ/LC08765) Regina Litvinova German Body (JAZZ/LC09076) Regina Litvinova Grizzlies (JAZZ/LC11171) Bonobo Club Bonobo Club (JAZZ/LC8166) Christian Scheuber Clara`s Smile (JAZZ/LC01221) Bundesjazzorchester Vol.2 (JAZZ/LC0761) SES Helecan (WORLD MUSIC/LC5955) TAN Yar Diye Diye (WORLD MUSIC/LC03592) Kristi Stassinopoulou Taxidoscopio (WORLD MUSIC/LC01623) Bantu Fuji Satisfaction (WORLD MUSIC/LC07717) Bantu Bantu (WORLD MUSIC/LC00475) Fresh Familee Wir sind da (POP/LC0268) Sasha You (POP/LC04281) Heinz Rudolf Kunze Halt (POP/LC04281) E-Zee Band Swingin’ (POP/LC1155) The Sookie Allstars Soul is the preacher (SOUL/LC7667) Fury in the Slaughterhouse Nowhere..Fast (POP/LC???) Defunkt Live at the Knitting Factory ( FUNK/LC8144) Zur Schule... aber sicher (KINDERLIEDER/LC2034) As well as various Compilations, including Blue Moves, Brazilektro
Instruments (in order of relevance in my artistic career)
Saxophones: Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Soprano, Sopranino, c-melody Flute, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet Piano
Theatre
Since 1998 Stage Musician: Gigs at the „Theater an der Ruhr“, Cologne Music Theatre and musicals such as Starlight Express, Saturday Night Fever, Miami Nights, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Kiss me Kate
1998-1999 Main Character in the Musical „Der Zauberwald“
1994-2001 Musical Adaptation and Performance of Texts by Georg Trakl and Valere Novarina with the „Theatre Impossible“
2004 Cologne Musical Theatre: Musical Director and Improvisation Coach for „Die Kammer der Andacht“
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Awards
1984/85 2nd Place in “Jugend Jazzt“ (“Youth plays Jazz”)
1988 Award Winner „WDR Stadtmusik“ (WDR City Music) with the band „Backyard Moon“
1990 Scholarship awarded by the State Ministry of Education and Culture of North- Rhine-Westphalia for Musical Studies in New York
2000 2nd Place, “Hennessy Jazz Search“ with “Witzel`s Venue“ Nomination for the Theatre Award of the City of Cologne Award for the Promotion of Music and Art (Förderpreis) of the City of Düsseldorf
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
1997/1999 Workshops on Improvisation at the Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre, Leipzig
Since 2002 Lecturer for Saxophone at the Frankfurt College of Music and Performing Arts in the Post-Graduate Course for Jazz and Popular Music as well as Music Education
Since 2002 Regular Workshops on Reeds and Mouthpieces in Cooperation with the French Mouthpiece and Reed Manufacturer Vandoren at various Colleges of Music such as Cologne, Dresden, Leipzig and Weimar
2005 Improvisation Coach for Musical Theatre Cologne (Musiktheater Köln)
2006 Visiting Professor for the State Youth Jazz Orchestra, Brandenburg
2007 Visiting Professor, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz ongoing Private Tutor for Saxophone, Flute and Piano
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