Press archive
What was written and broadcast about Harry Pepl: reviews, portraits, interviews and obituaries, with summary and source. The originals are protected by copyright and kept in the archive; we provide them to researchers and the press on request.
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26 March 1975 · Other · DE
Burgenländische Freiheit (p. 42, ANNO-Seite): Jazzkonzert des Erich-Kleinschuster-Sextetts in Eisenstadt
Photo caption to the announcement of a jazz concert on 7 April 1975 at the Pädagogische Akademie Eisenstadt, organised by the Musical Youth of Austria and ORF Studio Burgenland (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster). The Erich Kleinschuster Sextet plays with Harald Pepl on guitar; the ORF records the concert for the Ö3 (the ORF's pop radio channel) series “Jazz mit Erich Kleinschuster”. The form “Harald Pepl” matches his baptismal name.
Harald Pepl (guitar)
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1 December 1976 · Other · DE
Burgenländische Freiheit (gedruckte p. 44, ANNO-p. 36): „Damaskus: Neue Besetzung ab Jänner“ (Beat und Pop)
Note from the “Beat und Pop” page about a Burgenland band with a new line-up. Pepl appears only as a teacher: the guitarist Otto Artner is described as his student.
Großpetersdorf guitarist and Harry Pepl student Otto Artner
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5 January 1977 · Other · DE
Burgenländische Freiheit (gedruckte p. 32, ANNO-p. 24): Konzertankündigung Erich-Kleinschuster-Sextett (Beat und Pop)
Announcement of a jazz concert by the Erich Kleinschuster Sextet in Burgenland, starting at 8 pm. The line-up is given as Erich Kleinschuster, Christof Lauer, Harry Pepl (guitar), Fritz Pauer, Heinz Jäger and Fritz Ozmec; the text adds that the group was completed by Fritz Pauer (piano) and Harry Pepl.
The group is completed by Fritz Pauer (p) and Harry Pepl (g).
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2 March 1977 · Other · DE
Burgenländische Freiheit (gedruckte p. 42, ANNO-p. 34): „5. März: Erich-Kleinschuster-Sextett in der Jazzgalerie“
Announcement of a concert by the Erich Kleinschuster Sextet on 5 March 1977 at Hans Falb’s Jazzgalerie in Nickelsdorf. The line-up names Kleinschuster (trombone), Christof Lauer, Harry Pepl (guitar), Fritz Pauer, Heinz Jäger and Fritz Ozmec.
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9 March 1977 · Other · DE
Burgenländische Freiheit (gedruckte p. 42, ANNO-p. 34): „Dick Sells mit neuer Gruppe“ (Beat und Pop)
News item about a new group of the guitarist and harmonica player Dick Sells, a new Burgenlander, who was formerly with Milestone and Hedgehodge. Peter Ponger, Harry Pepl and the drummer Janis Dudli play with him; Pepl, it says, is already known to visitors of the jazz pub.
also no stranger to the visitors of the jazz pub
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10 August 1977 · Other · DE
Burgenländische Freiheit (gedruckte p. 35, ANNO-p. 27): „Neues kurz“ (Beat und Pop)
Contemporary note from August 1977: Pepl, it says, is leaving the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster) and moving to Graz, where he is to receive a teaching appointment at the jazz department of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. The guitarist Olaf Weitzer is being discussed as his successor in the band; most recently Pepl could be heard with his jazz-rock group “Hedgehog” at the three-day festival in Kohfidisch.
will leave the ORF Big Band and move to Graz, where he will get a teaching appointment at the jazz department of the MHS
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14 February 1979 · Other · DE
Burgenländische Freiheit (gedruckte p. 36, ANNO-p. 28): „Konzerttermine“ (Beat und Pop)
Concert notice for an evening on 14 February 1979 in Vienna with the Dutch guitarist Harry Sacksioni. The opening act is provided by Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner; the text recalls Pirchner’s album “Ein halbes Doppelalbum” and the fact that Pepl had already been a guest in Wiesen.
The opening act is provided by two well-known Austrians
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3 May 1979 · Other · DE
Burgenländische Freiheit (gedruckte p. 44, ANNO-p. 36): Ankündigung eines Konzerts mit Friedrich Gulda (Beat und Pop)
Short news item about a „Konzert der Superlative“ [“concert of superlatives”] with Friedrich Gulda on piano and the two former ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster) musicians Wayne Darling (bass) and Harry Pepl (guitar). It is announced for early May 1979 at the Münzgrabenheim in Graz.
A concert of superlatives, with Friedrich Gulda on piano
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27 June 1979 · Other · DE
Burgenländische Freiheit (gedruckte p. 48, ANNO-p. 40): „Art Orchester“ in Nickelsdorf
Announcement of the appearance of the “Wiener Art Orchester” (Vienna Art Orchestra) on Saturday, 30 June 1979, at the Jazz-Galerie Nickelsdorf. Werner Pirchner (vibraphone) and Harry Pepl (guitar) appear as guest soloists; the text describes the orchestra, founded in 1977, and its participants.
Werner Pirchner (vibes) and Harry Pepl (gtr) appear as guest soloists.
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18 July 1979 · Other · DE
Burgenländische Freiheit (gedruckte p. 35, ANNO-p. 27): „Jazz International: Am Wochenende Superfestival in Wiesen!“
Programme preview of the jazz festival in Wiesen, Burgenland, in July 1979. Among the bands announced is the Erich Kleinschuster Sextet with Kleinschuster, Karl Drewo, Harry Pepl (guitar), Harald Neuwirth and Heinz Jäger.
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30 April 1980 · Report · DE
Burgenländische Freiheit (gedruckte p. 52, ANNO-p. 44): „Jazz aktuell“ bei Jeunesses Musicales
Short report on the “Jazz aktuell” concert of the Musical Youth on 21 April 1980 in the assembly hall of the Pädagogische Akademie Eisenstadt. The quintet “5 Neighbours”, led by the pianist Dieter Glawischnig, was joined as soloists by Werner Pirchner on vibraphone and Harry Pepl on guitar.
Vibraphone and Harry Pepl on guitar demonstrated convincingly
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20 May 1982 · Report · DE
Steirerkrone (Neue Kronen Zeitung, Styria edition): „Star mit Witz: Larry Coryell“
Ronnie Herbolzheimer
Report on the concert of the American guitarist Larry Coryell with the Polish violinist Michal Urbaniak at the Münzl in Graz. The afternoon before, Coryell visited the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, showed the students some new tricks and played a jam session with Harry Pepl, who, according to the report, greatly impressed him.
to play a jam session with Harry Pepl, by whom he was very impressed.
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1 October 1982 · Programme booklet · DE
Ars Electronica 1982, Programmbuch: „Jazz und Elektronik“ mit dem Ars-Electronica-Workshop-Ensemble
Programme of the concert on Friday, 1 October 1982, 8 p.m., in the Large Hall of the Brucknerhaus in Linz: the workshop ensemble with François Jeanneau, Wolfgang Dauner, Jasper van't Hof, Harry Pepl, Adelhard Roidinger and Daniel Humair, conceived by Robert Urmann, together with the quartet of Alphonse Mouzon. The workshop in the afternoon was open to the public. The photograph of Pepl in the programme is by Rainer Rygalyk.
recognised as one of Europe's leading jazz guitarists
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17 January 1984 · Review · FR
Le Monde: „Berio, Aperghis et Portal: les anges et les démons“
Concert report in Le Monde on a programme with works by Luciano Berio and Georges Aperghis and a performance by Michel Portal. Pepl played in Portal’s group during these years; the full text is behind a paywall in the Le Monde archive and has not yet been accessible.
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1985 · Portrait · DE
Sterz, Zeitschrift für Literatur, Kunst und Kulturpolitik (Graz), no. 32: „Der Riese aus dem Fuchsloch. Eine Anbiederung an Werner Pirchner, hingehudelt“
Heimo Steps
Portrait of Werner Pirchner by Heimo Steps, founder of gamsbART (Graz concert promoter), in the Graz magazine “Sterz”. Steps calls Harry Pepl Pirchner’s “musical alter ego”, quotes Le Monde (“a giant of improvisation”), praises the Jazzzwio’s Montreux record and “Air, Love & Vitamins”, and reports that Steve Swallow toured Europe with Pirchner and Pepl in the summer of 1984. He recalls a night after a concert at the Graz jazz club M 59 around 1977, when he philosophised with the two in the empty hall until dawn. Online on the website of the Edition Werner Pirchner.
Harry Pepl: the giant from Hernstein in Lower Austria, “a giant of improvisation” (Le Monde), W.P.’s musical alter ego.
The Pirchner-Pepl JazzZwio has long had a permanent place in the apocryphal pantheon of music.
“Live in Montreux”, a hammer for heart and brain, if you let heart and brain be the anvil.
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20 March 1985 · Review · FR
Le Monde: „Au Théâtre de la Ville, Michel Portal double jeu“
Concert report in Le Monde on Michel Portal at the Théâtre de la Ville (Paris, France), where Pepl played with Portal in March 1985. The full text is behind a paywall in the Le Monde archive and has not yet been accessible; the much-quoted description of Pepl as a “giant of improvisation” may come from this article.
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18 May 1985 · Review
The New York Times (Section 1, p. 10): „MUSIC: AUSTRIAN AVANT-GARDE“
John Rockwell
Review of the opening night of the festival “Beyond the Sound of Music: New Austria/New York” at the Ohio Theater in SoHo, at which the Jazzzwio with Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner performed together with the drummer Don Moye. Rockwell heard the first set, 40 minutes long, and found the music pleasant but not significant enough for the opening of a festival series; the evening began about an hour late. The Wednesday of the festival week was 15 May 1985.
relaxed and cool, in the ECM Records manner
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15 April 1986 · Other · FR
Tempo (Paris), no. 3: „En concert: tous les programmes jusqu’à fin juin“
Issue 3 of the free Paris concert paper “Tempo” (concerts and records) with listings up to the end of June 1986. Under the jazz club New Morning, the “Harry Pepl quartet” is announced for 14 May 1986, with Wolfgang Puschnig (soprano saxophone), Mike Richmond (bass) and Wolfgang Reisinger (drums), i.e. the Air Mail line-up. Digitised by the “Archives du punk en France” of the University of Tours, p. 7.
On the 14th: Harry Pepl quartet: Wolfgang Puschnig, soprano sax; Mike Richmond, bass; Wolfgang Reisinger, drums.
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1988 · Other · DE
press review (Collage, compiler not named): „Cracked Mirrors“: Kritiken aus Deutschland, Österreich, Frankreich, Großbritannien und Japan
various (incl. Ken Hyder, Christa Wörner, Robert Urman)
Collage of reviews of “Cracked Mirrors” arranged around a concert photo of Harry Pepl: the review „Ausdrucksstark“ [“Expressive”] with the note on the quarterly list of the German Record Critics’ Award (German award for outstanding recordings, chosen by a jury of critics), concert reviews from Esslingen and Linz, a French review, an English one by Ken Hyder (“a marvellous feel of understatement”) and a Japanese CD review. This collection is the source of the often-quoted verdict on Pepl as one of the most innovative guitarists in Europe.
Harry PEPL’s natural and attractive playing on his MIDI guitar creates constant “aha” moments and marks him out as one of the most innovative guitarists in the whole of Europe.
The jazz guitarist Harry Pepl proves to be a master of sound painting with his new album “Cracked Mirrors”
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10 January 1988 · Portrait · DE
Kleine Zeitung: „Feldzug mit der Gitarre“
Otmar Klammer
Portrait on page 18 of the Graz guitar professor who, according to the newspaper Le Monde, was called a „Gigant der Improvisation“ [“giant of improvisation”]. It traces his path from the Austrian Aces through commercial bands, the Fledermaus bar and the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster) to the professorship, and mentions recordings with DeJohnette, Holland, Saluzzi and Portal. Remarks by Scofield and Abercrombie about Pepl are also on record.
The guitar professor in Graz is regarded internationally as one of the best in his field.
He's great, he's like a machine gun
John Abercrombie
Giant of improvisation
Le Monde
internationally sought-after master of improvisation
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April 1988 · Review · DE
daily newspaper (title not preserved): „Versierte Gefährten“ (Musikantendreieck der Extraklasse im Posthof)
-a-
Concert review of the appearance of Harry Pepl with Jon Christensen and Herbert Joos at the Posthof in Linz on 20 April 1988. The author praises the intensity, sensuality and sharpness of the compositions, the compellingly played solos and the astonishing use of electronics, and announces the trio’s forthcoming ECM (the renowned European jazz label) record. With a photo by Nöbauer.
Austrian jazz’s guitar great, of a standing that helps to set the tone not only in Europe
Harry Pepl brings electronics into play in an astonishing way.
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22 April 1988 · Review · DE
daily newspaper (title not preserved): „Glanzvolle Dreieinigkeit“
Robert Urman
Review of the concert at the Posthof in Linz: the new trinity around Harry Pepl with Herbert Joos and Jon Christensen. Urman describes breathtaking string artistry, birdsong and synthetic flute sounds, lovingly coloured poetry down to a hint of Gil Evans, and an electronically generated fullness of sound on an orchestral scale. On the day of publication, a Friday, the trio was still playing at the Hotel Mader in Katsdorf.
Gems of contemporary jazz, wittily crafted by a top-class trio
The three offered breathtaking string artistry, virtuosically realised visions of wilful electronic mobilisation
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May 1988 · Press release · DE
ECM Records, Munich (press release): Harry Pepl / Herbert Joos / Jon Christensen: „Cracked Mirrors“
ECM Records
Two-page press information from the label on the album (ECM 1356, CD 833 472-2, LP 833 472-1), with the line-up: Pepl on guitar, Roland MIDI guitar system and piano, Joos on flugelhorn, Christensen on drums. The text describes the album as a sequence of broken genres, from parodied pianistic bliss and alienated Alpine folk music to free jazz in the spirit of Ornette Coleman, and emphasises the evidently meaningful use of electronics.
three musicians meet who are able to improvise with a great deal of sensuality and warmth even in advanced playing techniques.
This album certainly runs completely against the wind of the zeitgeist.
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8 September 1988 · Portrait · DE
Die Steirische: „Vitaler Klangmaler“ (Das Künstlerporträt: Harry Pepl)
Heimo Steps
Portrait on page 12 by the manager of gamsbART (Graz concert promoter), written on the occasion of the German Record Critics’ Award (German award for outstanding recordings, chosen by a jury of critics) for “Cracked Mirrors”. Among other things, it tells of the time with DeJohnette in Paris, the film music with Benny Goodman and planned projects in Graz.
His musical paintings are a pleasure to listen to, not least because sensuality and warmth are inherent in them.
He is one of my favourites
Having grown up with the accordion, he does not deny our own musical tradition and lets it flow into his music.
The great stylistic diversity and his unmistakably idiosyncratic playing, not to mention his perfect command of the instrument, make even the most prominent fellow musicians rave.
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9 December 1988 · Interview · DE
Wochenpresse (no. 49): „Saitensprünge“
Wolfgang Kralicek
Two-page portrait with an interview around Pepl’s Austrian tour in December 1988. It describes how “Cracked Mirrors” came about in the Wachau studio, with the drums added afterwards in Oslo, the Montreux and ECM (the renowned European jazz label) period with Pirchner and DeJohnette, and Pepl’s work in his home studio in Hernstein. The albums of 1988 are named.
I couldn’t care less that it’s called jazz.
Harry Pepl
The Austrian musician Harry Pepl is a man in demand internationally.
They were all thrilled. A sensation, really.
Harry Pepl
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15 December 1988 · Review · DE
Stuttgarter Zeitung: „Jazz im Zauberspiegel“ (Dieselstraße: Joos-Pepl-Oxley)
lind
Concert review of the trio of Herbert Joos, Harry Pepl and Tony Oxley at the Dieselstraße culture and communication centre in Esslingen. The author begins with critical questions about volume, the playback tape and hidden themes and then describes a bewildering game of free jazz and balladic romanticism, in which the audience accepted Pepl’s guitar synthesiser as an enrichment; he refers to the record “Cracked Mirrors”.
accepted Harry Pepl’s guitar synthesiser as an imaginative enrichment of the sound
in a piece like “Schikaneders Delight” there was also quite definitely a Mozartean cheerfulness at play.
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17 December 1988 · Review · DE
Eßlinger Zeitung (weekend edition): „Perkussives“ (Joos, Pepl und Oxley)
Christa Wörner
Review of the year-end concert of the series “Jazz in der Dieselstraße” with Herbert Joos, Harry Pepl and Tony Oxley: catchy melodies and folk-song-like passages frame abstract structures, played with and against the electronics. By way of his guitar, Pepl also plays trumpet and piano and manages a drum solo on the guitar; Joos recalls Chet Baker, and Oxley shapes the European character of the music.
European jazz? The trio of Herbert Joos, Harry Pepl and Tony Oxley provided an example of it.
In this way Pepl managed to play a dazzling drum solo on the guitar.
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16 March 1989 · Programme booklet · DE
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien, programme booklet, Brahms-Saal (series „Freude an Musik“, concert 3): Ensemble Wien, Donnerstag, 16. März 1989, 18.30 Uhr
editor: Teresa Reichenberger
Programme booklet of the concert in which the Ensemble Wien plays Pepl’s “Ballade for Mr. Dinozo” for two violins, viola and double bass. The note on Pepl summarises critics’ comments and mentions his jazz trio with Herbert Joos and Jon Christensen as well as the Jazzzwio in Montreux. Pepl is wrongly described there as a Tyrolean guitarist.
one of the most innovative guitarists across the whole of Europe
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February 1990 · Report · DE
Tschin Bumm (music magazine, technology column, p. 52): „Harry Pepl im Studio: Das Bösendorfer-Projekt“
Studio report on the recordings for “Schönberg Improvations” (PolyGram) at the SingSang studio in Vienna: six studio days, pieces averaging 15 minutes with borrowings from Arnold Schoenberg, entirely without guitar tone, on the Bösendorfer (Vienna piano maker) computer grand piano, with David Liebman, Mino Cinelu and Wolfgang Reisinger. Pepl had played in the parts at home on the Roland MIDI guitar; the studio head Richie Österreicher jr. explains the technology. Only page 52 has survived; the continuation is missing from the scan.
Harry Pepl is a man like Albert Einstein, a genius whom probably only a handful of people can still follow in his work.
Richie Österreicher jr.
The latest LP by the guitarist, acclaimed worldwide, is: a piano record.
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27 February 1990 · Programme booklet · DE
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien, programme booklet, Brahms-Saal (special society concert): Komponistenportrait Harry Pepl, Dienstag, 27. Februar 1990, 19.30 Uhr
editor: Teresa Hrdlicka
Programme booklet for the composer portrait with the Ensemble Kontrapunkte under Peter Keuschnig, with Christine Whittlesey, Pepl on guitar and guitar-to-MIDI system, Josef Pitzek and Rainer Keuschnig; the piano sound comes from the Bösendorfer (Vienna piano maker) computer grand piano. Fifteen pieces were played. The note on the work explains “Instant composing” and names “Grogos” as a commission from the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (the Vienna Musikverein, historic concert hall of the Society of Friends of Music).
free process of composition, in which the work is already fixed in writing at the very moment in which it is invented
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1991 · Portrait · DE
Kulturpreis des Landes Niederösterreich (Broschüre 1991, Preisträgerdatenbank): „Spontane Klangerlebnisse“ (Anerkennungspreis 1991, Sparte Musik)
Tribute text from the 1991 culture prize brochure on the Lower Austrian Recognition Prize in the music category, now online in the state's database of prizewinners. It presents Pepl as a professor in Graz and a composer in demand: a piece for the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet is about to be premiered in Graz in the autumn of 1991, another for the Artis Quartet is planned. For two years he has been composing with his “instant” or “real-time composing”. Pepl admires Mozart, Schoenberg's piano works and Giacinto Scelsi, and has analysed the rhythmic precision of a Bach recording by Glenn Gould on his computer. The text also mentions his two years at Gerhard Bronner's “Fledermaus” bar, the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster), several wins in the Jazz Live readers' poll and Le Monde calling him a “giant of improvisation”.
It is hard to place Harry Pepl anywhere musically, and strictly speaking it is not even necessary.
Pepl, and he leaves no doubt about this in this conversation either, is a musician of the moment.
the leading French newspaper Le Monde crowned him, without further ado, a “giant of improvisation”
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2 April 1992 · Other
Knitting Factory Works, New York (letter): Einladung an das Harry Pepl Quartet für den 2. Juni 1992
Michael Dorf, Director
Letter from the Knitting Factory to Harry Pepl in Hernstein: on behalf of the club management, Michael Dorf invites the Harry Pepl Quartet to perform on 2 June 1992 at 11 p.m. at the club, which he describes as the first venue for avant-garde jazz in New York. Shortly afterwards the album “N.Y.C. Impressure” was made in New York.
We think this will be an invaluable opportunity to expose your music to a New York audience.
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December 1992 · Report · DE
Jazzlive (vol. 10, no. 99/1992): Titelbild Harry Pepl; „Soundknitting. Die farbenfrohen Klangmuster der New Yorker Knitting Factory“
Hannes Schweiger (article); Rainer Rygalyk (cover photo)
The Viennese jazz magazine shows Harry Pepl on its cover, photographed by the publisher Rainer Rygalyk. In the issue, Hannes Schweiger describes the history and programme of the New York club Knitting Factory (New York music club for jazz and the avant-garde) and reports that in summer 1992 Pepl played there for an evening with his quartet (Klaus Stötter, Paul Nowinski, JoJo Mayer). Pepl describes how the pace of New York changed the way he plays.
I noticed myself that I play completely differently there than at home.
Harry Pepl
The ambience of the club is rather plain. Playing there was really an experience.
Harry Pepl
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6 May 1993 · Programme booklet · DE
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien, programme booklet, Brahms-Saal (Vienna Spring Festival 1993, Artis Quartet, concert 3): Artis-Quartett mit Stefan Vladar, Donnerstag, 6. Mai 1993, 19.30 Uhr
editor: Joachim Reiber
Programme booklet for the evening with Beethoven (Op. 18/4), the world premiere of Pepl’s string quartet “Über kurz oder lang, von der Weite und der Enge” and Brahms’s Piano Quintet. The discussion of the work lists commissions, festivals and awards and describes the quartet, written in February 1993, in three parts. The ORF (Austria's public broadcaster) broadcast the concert on Ö1 (the ORF's cultural radio channel) on 12 May.
from Pepl one may only expect the unexpected
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9 May 1993 · Review · DE
Kurier (p. 22): „Pepl-Uraufführung beim Artis-Quartett-Zyklus“
Werner Schuster
Concert review of the Artis-Quartett evening in the Brahms Hall, with Brahms’s Piano Quintet and the world premiere of Pepl’s string quartet between Beethoven and Brahms. The critic praises the Artis-Quartett and considers the fragile work too good to serve as an interlude between the great pieces.
his work, hesitantly starting again and again, fragile, conveying grief, is too good for use as a sandwich filler
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1994 · Review · DE
magazine (title not preserved), record review: Harry Pepl Quartet: „N.Y.C. Impressure“
Record review of “N.Y.C. Impressure” (Extraplatte (Vienna independent label) EX 203-2, recorded 6/92 at the Active Recording Studio, New York): according to the review, Pepl, a native of Lower Austria, has been experimenting with the MIDI guitar for years, and his new hobbyhorse is real-time composing. The album is said to reflect the mood, colours and rhythmic density of New York, realised with Claus Stötter, Paul Nowinski and Jojo Mayer. Rating (8).
The Lower Austrian Harry Pepl loves the battle with “Bits and Bytes”.
His latest hobby-horse goes by the name of “real-time-composing”.
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May 1994 · Review · DE
Salzburger Nachrichten: Kurzkritik zu „N.Y.C. ImPressure“
Short review of the new album: the reviewer writes that Pepl, one of the continent’s most individual guitarists, is stepping out of his seclusion with his quartet recorded in New York (Claus Stöttner, Paul Nowinski, Jojo Mayer). Thanks to cleverly pre-planned pieces and compelling solos, the author counts the record among the most exciting things produced in Austria in recent years.
The Viennese Harry Pepl, who counts among the most distinctive guitarists on the continent
is among the most exciting things produced in this country in recent years.
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27 May 1994 · Review · DE
Der Standard: „Der Groove-Professor gibt sich recht unberechenbar“
Ljubiša Tošić
Record review of “N.Y.C. Impressure”: the funky rhythm section plays flat out, and after years dominated by play with sound, Pepl’s guitar is again recognisable as a guitar sound, with the MIDI guitar serving only as an atmospheric addition. Tošić hears a groovy affair with a rock-style distorted tone and highly individual phrasing; sound quality very good.
On N.Y.C. Impressure his guitar sound is once again recognisable as such.
Of course his phrasing is once again highly individual, which means: appealing and pleasantly unpredictable.
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28 July 1994 · Portrait · DE
Neue Kronen-Zeitung (Styria edition, p. 22): „Rastloser Grenzgänger“
Bernd Schmidt
Short portrait on the CD “N.Y.C. Im-Pressure” with Claus Stötter, Paul Nowinski and Jojo Mayer. Pepl explains his Real-time Composing, mentions projects with Günter Meinhart and STUDIO PERCUSSION and talks about his studio in Hernstein.
Versatility is as much a part of Pepl as his turn to different (compositional) techniques.
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24 December 1994 · Report · DE
Salzburger Nachrichten (p. 7): „Österreichs Jazz hält seine Freunde auf Trab“
Wolfgang Lamprecht
Annual review of Austrian jazz in 1994, covering Porgy & Bess (Vienna jazz club), labels and CD productions. Pepl appears only in a subordinate clause: the author names “N.Y.C. impressure” his jazz album of the year.
the (for the author of these lines) Austrian jazz album of the year, “N.Y.C. impressure”, by and with Harry Pepl
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1996 · Press release · DE
information sheet (press kit, 5 pages): Infos Harry PEPL
Undated biographical information sheet, produced in 1996 at the earliest. It contains a short biography, collaborations, festivals and a discography, the method of Real-time Composing and a list of works with premieres for Ensemble Wien, Ensemble Kontrapunkte, Kronos Quartet, STUDIO PERCUSSION and Artis-Quartett.
has come to the fore since 1984 as a composer of European contemporary art music
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1998 · Encyclopaedia · DE
Kulturpreis Niederösterreich (Preisträgerdatenbank des Landes): „Bewusster Grenzgänger“ (Harry Pepl, Würdigungspreis 1998 Musik)
Tribute text for the 1998 prize of honour for music. It traces Pepl as a boundary-crosser between jazz and New Music, from the Austrian Evergreens via the Fledermaus bar and the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster) and the professorship in Graz to composing in real time.
Exploring the limits was obviously always his endeavour.
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April 1998 · Interview · DE
Concerto (music magazine), issue 2/1998: „Man könnte Klavierspielen müssen“
Martin Schuster
Interview in the Café Museum in Vienna, conducted in connection with the solo piano CD “Flow”. Pepl talks about his beginnings, the Jazzzwio, the brief engagement with Benny Goodman, Real-time Composing and MIDI technology, and announces reissues of “Gegenwind” and “Montreux 81”. The file name in the archive gives the year 1996; Kohler refers to Concerto 2/1998.
I wanted you to be able to hear the room on the CD as well.
Harry Pepl
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3 November 1998 · Report · DE
Kurier (p. 10, local news section, column „Landsleute“): „Auszeichnung für den musikalischen Jazz-Grenzgänger Harry Pepl“
initials „flo“
Brief news item about the 53-year-old guitarist and pianist from Hernstein, listing companions such as Toni Stricker, André Heller and the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster). It also mentions the Le Monde phrase about the „Giganten der Improvisation“ [“giants of improvisation”] and the German Record Critics’ Awards. The text does not say which award the headline refers to.
What matters is finding your own individual line, and for that it is practise, practise, practise
Harry Pepl
The 53-year-old guitarist and pianist of world renown from Hernstein captivates jazz lovers with extraordinary, spontaneous and innovative sounds.
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December 1998 · Report · DE
Das Waldviertel, Jahrgang 47, Heft 4 (p. 408): Kulturpreise des Landes Niederösterreich 1998 (nach NÖ Landeskorrespondenz, 22.10.1998)
List of the prizewinners of the 1998 culture prizes of the state of Lower Austria (award of the State of Lower Austria for the arts and culture), based on a release from the NÖ Landeskorrespondenz of 22 October 1998. In the music category Harry Pepl receives the prize of honour, while Friedrich Keil and Elisabeth Schimana receive recognition prizes.
Music: Harry Pepl (prize of honour), Friedrich Keil and Elisabeth Schimana (recognition prizes)
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1 April 2000 · Programme booklet · DE
Sammlung Essl, programme Schömer-Haus: Studio Percussion graz: Xenakis, Pepl, Hölszky
Programme of the concert by Studio Percussion graz under Günter Meinhart at the Schömer-Haus of the Essl Collection in Klosterneuburg on 1 April 2000, with works by Iannis Xenakis and Adriana Hölszky and the world premiere of Pepl's “Zeitraffer”. With a note on the work by Pepl and a short biography covering his teaching in Graz, the International Jazz Academy in St. Pölten and the Lower Austrian Jazz Academy in Zeillern. The biography also mentions seminars at the Hamburg music university, the promotion prize (1991) and the honorary prize (1998) of the State of Lower Austria, the quarterly list of the German Record Critics’ Award for the ECM albums of 1983 and 1988, awards from French record critics for “Turbulence” and “Men’s Land” with Michel Portal, festivals in Leverkusen, Ancona and Le Mans, and the Royal Festival Hall in London.
“Le Monde” called Pepl a giant of improvisation.
Art has the task not merely to negate the tendencies of the time, but also to sharpen them.
Harry Pepl
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2002 · Report · DE
treibhaus Innsbruck (programme note): „DuoDue: Muthspiel & Muthspiel spielen die Musik von Pirchner & Pepl“
Andreas Felber
Programme text by Andreas Felber for the concert of the brothers Wolfgang and Christian Muthspiel with their programme “Muthspiel & Muthspiel play Pepl-Pirchner” at the treibhaus Innsbruck (cultural centre in Innsbruck, Tyrol, Austria). Wolfgang Muthspiel recalls a concert by Pirchner and Pepl in Graz in 1982 as a formative experience; from 1983 to 1986 Pepl was his teacher at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. Christian Muthspiel describes what the Jazzzwio showed him. Werner Pirchner congratulated the brothers on their first duo record “Schneetanz” with a postcard, without knowing them personally.
When Pirchner/Pepl played, it was an event. I personally still remember Pepl’s avalanche-like improvisations very well, where things always somehow got ‘dangerous’, hot. His immense rhythmic power was unbelievable.
During my studies, standards and the academic jazz repertoire were held in high esteem. Through the ‘Jazz-Zwio’ I learned that in this music you really could do exactly what you wanted yourself.
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28 July 2004 · Encyclopaedia · DE
Österreichisches Musiklexikon online: Pepl, Harry
Peter Stachel
Encyclopaedia entry on his life and work: jazz musician, composer and music educator, guitar at the conservatory and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, self-taught in jazz. It covers the collaboration with the Vienna Art Orchestra and the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster), the Jazzzwio with Werner Pirchner, his teaching in Graz and the principle of Real-time and Instant Composing. As awards it lists nominations for the German Record Critics’ Award (German award for outstanding recordings, chosen by a jury of critics) in 1983 and 1988 as well as Lower Austrian state prizes.
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17 September 2004 · Other · DE
IG Jazz Wien, Blue-Tomato-Archiv: „Rainer Rygalyk / Harry Pepl: Habanero-Slide-Show“
Event announcement for Friday, 17 September 2004 at the Blue Tomato in Vienna: presentation of photographs by the jazz photographer Rainer Rygalyk from the series “Jazzarts” with a video projection to which Pepl has added an acoustic layer of original compositions. Clemens Salesny and Wolfgang Schiftner improvise to the pictures and to Pepl’s CD.
one of Austria’s most creative jazz musicians
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December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Der Standard: „Harry Pepl 1945 - 2005“ (Komplexer Improvisator: Harry Pepl)
Ljubiša Tošić
Short obituary from Wiener Neustadt that honours Pepl as a complex improviser who experimented with piano and drums in his private studio. It names Erich Kleinschuster, the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster), the duo with Werner Pirchner, Dave Liebman, Jack DeJohnette, Benny Goodman and the Real-time Composing method with the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet.
was, in his active phase, one of the most important guitarists in the world
created a furore internationally between Berlin and Montreux with a subtle and intense form of chamber music
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December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Die Presse (p. 34): „Er musste spielen“ (Zum Tod des Wiener Jazzgitarristen Harry Pepl)
initials „sam“
Obituary with the headline quotation „Man könnte Klavierspielen müssen“ [“One might have to play the piano”] from the Concerto interview. It describes Real-time Composing, names Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall as well as Schoenberg and Webern as influences, and lists Erich Kleinschuster, the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster), JazzZwio, Jack DeJohnette, Art Farmer and Michel Portal as fellow musicians.
The virtuoso, who seemed so introverted on the outside, was bubbling away inside when he played.
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December 2005 · Obituary · DE
cultural information centre of the German Cultural Council / neue musikzeitung (nmz-red/leipzig, source: orf.at): „Jazz-Gitarrist Harry Pepl gestorben“
nmz-red/leipzig
Short news item based on an ORF (Austria's public broadcaster) source, giving his life dates and his teaching at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (contract lecturer from 1977, full professor from 1984 to 1995). The former rector of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Otto Kolleritsch, pays tribute to Pepl as a gifted guitarist and an exceptional figure. Benny Goodman, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi, Jon Christensen, Werner Pirchner and Dave Liebman are named.
The guitarist Harry Pepl was one of those musicians who shaped and influenced Austrian jazz at home and abroad.
neue musikzeitung, nach ORF
One of Europe’s leading jazz guitarists
neue musikzeitung, nach ORF
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5 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
ORF Wien (oesterreich.ORF.at): „Jazzgitarrist Harry Pepl gestorben“ (Stilprägend)
Short obituary from the day of his death: Pepl, one of Europe’s leading jazz guitarists, has died at the age of 60 and became known through the Jazz-Zwio with Werner Pirchner. The text names Benny Goodman, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi, Jon Christensen and Dave Liebman as partners, as well as his commissioned compositions for numerous ensembles and his teaching in Graz, with Wolfgang Muthspiel among his students. The neue musikzeitung took over the item with the note “Source: orf.at”.
The guitarist Harry Pepl was one of those musicians who shaped and influenced Austrian jazz at home and abroad.
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5 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Der Standard (Online, APA-Meldung): „Jazzgitarrist Harry Pepl ist tot“
APA
APA report from the day of his death, put online on the afternoon of 5 December 2005: the report states that Pepl died early on Monday in Wiener Neustadt, aged 60. The text calls him a guitarist known far beyond Austria who had worked, among others, with the Benny Goodman Quintet, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi and Michel Portal. It is not the print article by Ljubiša Tošić of 6 December 2005.
He was a guitarist known far beyond Austria
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7 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
JazzEcho (Universal Classics, Online): „Ade Harry Pepl!“
Online obituary of 7 December 2005. It names the duo with Werner Pirchner from 1977 as his most important project, the professorship in Graz from 1984 with the support of students such as Wolfgang Muthspiel, Dino Saluzzi, Jack DeJohnette, the Vienna Art Orchestra and the CD “Air Mail – Light Blues” (2001).
one of the defining instrumentalists of the European jazz scene
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8 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (no. 286, p. 39, arts section): „Schnelle Finger“ (Jazzgitarrist Harry Pepl gestorben)
Short obituary with its own dates: it wrongly gives 1944 as the year of birth, and names 1977 for the appointment to the teaching staff of the Jazz Institute in Graz and 1984 for the professorship. From 1977 to 1984 Pepl formed the Jazzzwio with Werner Pirchner; Benny Goodman, Dave Holland, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer, Dave Liebman and Jack DeJohnette are also named.
with his rhythmic incisiveness, his surprising chord progressions and his metallic, sitar-like sound, one of the most stimulating stylists on both the acoustic and the electric instrument
one of the most stimulating stylists on both the acoustic and the electric instrument
In the seventies there was hardly a faster jazz guitarist in Europe than the Austrian Harry Pepl.
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8 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Jazz thing (News, Online): „Gestorben: Harry Pepl“
Martin Laurentius and Axel Stinshoff (compilation)
Short news item of 8 December 2005 giving 6 December as the date of death, which contradicts the other sources (5 December). It quotes Joachim-Ernst Berendt on the duo with Pirchner, names Benny Goodman, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi and Dave Liebman, and gives the professorship as 1984 to 1995.
With his metallic, clear sound and his surprising chord progressions, Pepl developed into one of the most distinctive guitarists in Europe
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9 December 2005 · Obituary
organissimo (Jazzforum, Online): „Harry Pepl R.I.P.“
mikeweil (Moderator)
Post on the death of Harry Pepl in an English-language jazz forum. The moderator calls him one of Austria's most original jazz guitarists and recalls the Jazzzwio with Werner Pirchner, the ECM (the renowned European jazz label) album with Jack DeJohnette and Air Mail with Mike Richmond.
one of Austria's most original jazz guitarists
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19 December 2005 · Obituary · DE
Musikergilde (Online): „Harry Pepl - ein Nachruf“
Peter Paul Skrepek
Detailed obituary by the guitarist Peter Paul Skrepek, who met Pepl in the ORF Big Band (ORF: Austria's public broadcaster) in 1974. It describes his training, his ORF studio job, the Jazzzwio, Air Mail and the time with Benny Goodman, names students such as Wolfgang Muthspiel and Peter Havlicek, and gives Monday, 5 December 2005, as the date of death. The former rector of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Otto Kolleritsch, is quoted; readers’ letters supplement the text.
Now that I can play everything I want, I’m no longer allowed to.
Harry Pepl
Divinely gifted guitarist and an exceptional phenomenon
Otto Kolleritsch
an unmistakable musician from Vienna, recognised all over the world
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2006 · Obituary · DE
Jazzzeitung (p. 6): „Ciao Habanero“ (Harry Pepl 1945 bis 2005)
Rainer Rygalyk
Personal obituary by the jazz photographer Rainer Rygalyk. Wolfgang Puschnig and Wolfgang Reisinger recall the years with Air Mail; Rygalyk describes Pepl’s last major public appearance in 2004 at the Jazz Festival in Salzburg, with playback of eight Composings and live musicians in front of his pictures.
He is the European jazz guitarist par excellence.
I simply learned his musical language.
Wolfgang Puschnig
It was an extreme pull. Suddenly playing with someone who stands up there, two floors above us, steps on the gas so confidently and carries everything along with him.
Wolfgang Reisinger
To me he was a Franz Schubert kind of guy: incredibly beautiful songs, but of the highest quality, and the next moment completely bizarre and jagged.
Wolfgang Reisinger
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2006 · Encyclopaedia · DE
mica music austria, music database: Wolfgang Schiftner (Eintrag mit dem Harry-Pepl-Preis 2006)
Entry in the mica (Austria's music information centre) music database on the saxophonist Wolfgang Schiftner, born in 1982, co-founder of the JazzWerkstatt Wien. Among his awards it lists the Harry Pepl Prize 2006 at the Austrian Soundcheck (festival in Graz) in Graz, Austria, which makes Schiftner the first winner.
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November 2006 · Programme booklet · DE
GamsbART-Post 5/2006 (GamsbART-Verein, Graz): programme November to December 2006: Harry Pepl Gedenkpreis, 14. Austrian Soundcheck, Katholisches Studentenhaus Münzgraben
Heimo Steps; Otmar Klammer
Programme booklet of the Graz festival with the first texts on the Harry Pepl Prize. The prize for musicians under 30, a scholarship of 5,000 euros from the City of Graz, is presented on 18 November 2006 during the evening “Tribute to Harry Pepl”. Heimo Steps describes how “Cracked Mirrors” came about; Otmar Klammer describes Pepl’s “real composing”.
an incorrigible musical visionary
Pepl was a guitarist of international reputation who, with his idiosyncratic, angular and complex improvisational style, offered a European alternative to the US guitarists
Otmar Klammer, GamsbART-Post
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17 November 2006 · Report · DE
Kleine Zeitung (Online, culture section): „Harry Pepl: Œuvre eines Kreativen“
Michael Tschida
Online article on the first presentation of the Harry Pepl Prize in Graz, seen as an impetus to safeguard Pepl’s musical estate. His work, it says, is stored in boxes at the house, with tapes, scores and technical oddities; gamsbART (Graz concert promoter) is said to have promised that future diploma scholarships should support the scholarly study of it.
to archive the work of an exceptionally creative person
Gerhard Kosel
How much the star guitarist still inspires jazz musicians even now should be shown by more than just today’s final of the “Austrian Soundcheck”. Hats off to Harry P.!
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22 November 2006 · Report · DE
Der Standard (culture, Printausgabe): „Jazzwohnzimmer Miles Smiles feiert“
felb
Short report on the 15th anniversary of the Viennese jazz club Miles Smiles in the Josefstadt, founded by Wulf Müller. The first concert in autumn 1981 was played by Bill Frisell and Eberhard Weber. Among those who recorded there were Aladár Pege, Jim Pepper and David Friesen, along with Austrian musicians down to Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl.
along with Austrian greats from Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl downwards
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6 December 2006 · Programme booklet · DE
Porgy & Bess (programme note, Online): „A Tribute to Harry Pepl“, Mittwoch, 06.12.2006, 20:00 Uhr
initials „CH“
Announcement of the tribute evening with Lorenz Raab and Raphael Preuschl, the Andy Manndorff Trio, the Koehne Quartet and Peter Ponger solo, plus the concert films of Benny Goodman and of the Jazzzwio in Montreux in 1981 and visuals by Rainer Rygalyk. The text pays tribute to Pepl and mentions the three-day series devoted to him at Porgy & Bess (Vienna jazz club) in 1994; the net proceeds went to the administration of his estate.
But it was Harry Pepl himself who was truly “ace”
When you talk to guitarists, e.g. to Abercrombie or Scofield, there was one constant question: “And how is Harry?”
As an original stylist who left a lasting impression on the international scene through his technical perfection, rhythmic incisiveness, harmonic variety and overflowing musical energy
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2007 · Press release · DE
Christian Muthspiel Trio, „Against The Wind“ (Linernotes): „Das Christian Muthspiel Trio spielt Werner Pirchner und Harry Pepl“
Andreas Felber
Liner notes to the album “Against The Wind” (2007) in German, English and French. Felber describes Pirchner and Pepl as “perfectionist characters” who played Europe's festivals as the “Jazz-Zwio” roughly between 1978 and 1985, and reports that the young improvisers of the JazzWerkstatt Wien elevate Pepl to the father figure of the Austrian scene. The basis was a project with Wolfgang Muthspiel for the “Glatt&Verkehrt” festival in 2002. The product page also carries press quotes from Die Weltwoche and the Salzburger Nachrichten.
Werner Pirchner and Harry Pepl were perfectionist characters who never did anything by halves.
While the young improvisers of the JazzWerkstatt Wien, after Hans Koller, are now discovering Harry Pepl too and so elevating him to the father figure of the Austrian scene
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13 March 2007 · Radio · DE
Deutschlandfunk, Nachtradio (Playlist): „Milestones - Harry Pepl“ (Klassiker der Jazzgeschichte)
Playlist of a late-night radio programme on 13 March 2007 at 01:05, with “Live in Montreux 81”, the ECM (the renowned European jazz label) album with Pirchner and DeJohnette and Air Mail’s “Light Blues”. It shows Pepl as an entry in a German series on classics of jazz history.
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3 December 2007 · Report · DE
mica music austria: „Tribute to Harry Pepl im Porgy“
Announcement of a tribute evening at Porgy & Bess (Vienna jazz club) in Vienna on 6 December 2007, two years after Pepl’s death. The text pays tribute to him as an internationally sought-after boundary-crosser and names collaborations with Benny Goodman, Dave Holland, Dino Saluzzi, Jon Christensen and Dave Liebman. The evening is organised by former companions, prompted by the Graz platform Gamsb'Art, which awards the Harry Pepl Prize.
one of the most respected Austrian musicians
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16 November 2008 · Other · DE
Kleine Zeitung (p. 109, culture section, Styria): „18. AUSTRIAN SOUNDCHECK“ (Programmhinweis)
Listing for 17 November, 8 p.m., in Graz: presentation of the CD and DVD “Pepl/Pirchner Jazzzwio live in Montreux und Innsbruck” with the JazzWerkstatt Wien and award of the Harry Pepl Prize.
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3 December 2008 · Press release · DE
Kunstuniversität Graz, Mitteilungsblatt 5 (Online): „Mitteilungen der Abteilung für Öffentlichkeitsarbeit“ (Harry-Pepl-Preis 2008 an Daniel Riegler)
The gazette of the Kunstuniversität Graz (University of Music and Performing Arts Graz) of 3 December 2008 announces that the trombonist and composer Daniel Riegler receives the Harry Pepl Prize 2008. The scholarship, endowed with 4,000 euros, requires an engagement with Pepl's work, the result of which is to be presented in 2009; the prize was awarded on 17 November 2008.
The scholarship, endowed with 4,000 euros, comes with the requirement to engage with the work of Pepl, the jazz guitarist and KUG professor who died in 2005
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18 January 2009 · Review · DE
Kurier (p. 38, culture section): „JAZZZWIO: Harry Pepl & Werner Pirchner (Universal)“
initials „ros“
Short review of the reissue “Live in Concerts” with audio and video recordings from Montreux 1981 and Innsbruck 1984.
Two original home-grown musicians, both of whom had to go far too soon and are unforgotten
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February 2009 · Portrait · DE
Concerto (2/2009, p. 44): „Jazzzwio – ein markanter Name – bis heute“ (CD/DVD-Tipp „Live in Concerts“)
Thomas Hein
Report on the reissue of the Montreux recording together with the video, the preparation of which ran between summer 2007 and autumn 2008. Daniel Pepl describes the home studio “Bergwerk”, the rescue of the tapes and the plan to make his father’s complete work accessible.
While I try to be innovative within a framework, within a style, Harry always tried to cross the set boundaries and then go further.
Daniel Pepl
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6 February 2009 · Interview · DE
Kronen Zeitung (p. 31, Styria): „Ich glaube an innovative Kräfte“ (gamsbART-Manager Gerhard Kosel im Steirerkrone-Interview)
Interview with Gerhard Kosel about Graz jazz promoters and gamsbART (Graz concert promoter), which was founded by Heimo Steps in 1984. Kosel says that Pepl is not honoured enough in the place that was his adopted home for many years, and describes the Harry Pepl Prize as a means of keeping his memory alive.
Our aim with the Harry Pepl Prize is to keep this flame burning until musicology in Graz also takes up the subject.
Gerhard Kosel
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13 February 2009 · Review · DE
Die Presse (Online): „Jazzzwio, Live In Concerts“ (Zwio Infernal)
Samir H. Köck
Short review of the reissue of the 1981 Montreux concert (EmArcy/Universal). The text pays tribute to the duo of guitar and vibraphone as unusual chamber music of the 1980s, whose cascades of sound, the text says, have stayed in the memory of contemporaries.
The superb guitarist Harry Pepl and his perfectly matched partner
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13 February 2009 · Review · DE
Der Standard (Online, Rubrik Musikrundschau): „Zwio und Trio“ (Neue Jazz-Alben von Werner Pirchner & Harry Pepl, Pablo Milanes & Chucho Valdes u. a.)
“Musikrundschau” (music roundup) with a short review of “Jazzzwio: Live in Concerts” (Universal): according to the text, Pirchner and Pepl are worth remembering, the duo of guitar and vibraphone having supplied model examples of heated chamber music. The DVD is called a must. The date, 13 February 2009, is derived from the article number.
Harry Pepl, a complex guitarist of truly international stature
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20 February 2009 · Review · DE
Die Presse (Online): „Wolfgang Schalk: Wanted“
Samir H. Köck
Short review of the album “Wanted” by the Styrian guitarist Wolfgang Schalk, recorded in Los Angeles. It singles out the piece “And Harry Said Goodbye”, which Schalk dedicated to Harry Pepl.
Particularly beautiful is ‘And Harry Said Goodbye’, dedicated to the unforgotten colleague Harry Pepl.
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24 February 2009 · Review · DE
Zeitschrift für Kultur und Gesellschaft (Kulturzeitschrift): „JazzZwio: Live in Concerts“ (CD-Tipp)
Peter Füssl
CD recommendation for the reissue of Montreux 1981 and Innsbruck 1984 as a CD/DVD double pack. The text recalls the performances of the JazzZwio between 1977 and 1985 and praises the recordings as testimony to a timeless duo.
Great moments of brilliantly offbeat music and gnarled humour
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20 March 2009 · Review · DE
Kronen Zeitung (p. 36, Styria): „Den Namen umweht Magie: JazzZwio hieß ein Duo, das in den 80-ern ...“
initials „MG“
Short review of “Live in Concerts” with DVD: JazzZwio with Pirchner and Pepl in Montreux in 1981, plus a live recording from Innsbruck. The closing sentence appears word for word as the page header on the old website page “Air, Love & Vitamins”.
If there are classics of Austrian jazz, here is one!
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2010 · Encyclopaedia · DE
mica music austria, music database: Stefan Heckel (Eintrag mit dem Harry-Pepl-Preis 2010)
Entry in the mica (Austria's music information centre) music database on the Styrian pianist, accordionist and composer Stefan Heckel. The biography calls him a holder of the Harry Pepl Jazz Prize 2010, and the list of awards gives the Harry Pepl Prize 2010 at gamsbART's Austrian Soundcheck festival in Graz, Austria.
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2010 · Other · DE
Land Niederösterreich, Festschrift „Kultur im Spiegel der Zeit. 1960–2010 Kulturpreise Niederösterreich“: „Musik. Eine Kulturgeschichte der Möglichkeiten und Unmöglichkeiten“
Irene Suchy
Music essay “Musik. Eine Kulturgeschichte der Möglichkeiten und Unmöglichkeiten” (“Music: a cultural history of possibilities and impossibilities”) by the Ö1 editor Irene Suchy in the commemorative volume “Kultur im Spiegel der Zeit. 1960–2010 Kulturpreise Niederösterreich”. Suchy describes the work of the juries, who may also “highlight what has been overlooked”, citing as an example Harry Pepl, whom the jury honoured shortly before his death; she links his career with the “legendary ORF Big Band”. In the list of prizewinners Pepl appears with the promotion prize of 1991 and the Lower Austrian prize of honour.
the great instrumentalist and composer Harry Pepl
Pepl’s career with the legendary ORF Big Band
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6 May 2010 · Portrait · DE
mica – music austria (Online): „Porträt: Wolfgang Reisinger“
Portrait of the drummer Wolfgang Reisinger at mica – music austria (Austria’s music information centre). Besides Part Of Art, he names Air Mail with Wolfgang Puschnig, Mike Richmond and Harry Pepl as the second important band of his own during his time in the Vienna Art Orchestra. Pepl, he says, was the first of the great musicians from whom he could learn a lot, “a real genius”. He recounts how John Scofield called out “I’ll kill you!” to Pepl as they changed over on stage, and mentions tapes of a live performance that are almost better than the two studio albums.
Time and again I have had the good fortune to meet great musicians from whom you could really learn a lot, and the first of them was definitely Harry Pepl. He was a real genius and a great guitarist, with an energy and seriousness that showed you where things could go.
Wolfgang Reisinger
I still remember well how we once came off the stage, John Scofield went on, and in passing he said to Harry, ‘I’ll kill you!’. Those are the little experiences you don’t forget. That really was a totally hot band back then.
Wolfgang Reisinger
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8 July 2010 · Review
ECM Reviews (Between Sound and Space: ECM Records and Beyond): „Adelhard Roidinger: Schattseite (ECM 1221)“
Tyran Grillo
Review of Adelhard Roidinger's only ECM (the renowned European jazz label) album, recorded in November 1981 at Tonstudio Bauer in Ludwigsburg, with Heinz Sauer, Bob Degen, Harry Pepl, Werner Pirchner, Aina Kemanis and Michael DiPasqua. Grillo praises the airy, atmospheric sound, Pepl's soft guitar licks in the opening track and the Metheny-like picking in “Loveland”, and calls urgently for a reissue.
The fantastic sax solo and Metheny-esque picking lend even more elegance to the track’s progressive sound.
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17 September 2010 · Report · DE
mica music austria: „STUDIO FAN, das Abonnementprogramm des Ensembles Studio Dan“
Presentation of the subscription series of the Viennese ensemble Studio Dan with a short biography of its leader Daniel Riegler. For 2008 it lists his leadership of the Porgy & Bess (Vienna jazz club) stage band and the Harry Pepl Prize 2008.
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2011 · Portrait
musicexport.at: „Harry Sokal“ (Porträt)
Michael Ternai
Portrait of the saxophonist Harry Sokal for the Austrian music export office. Among his partners it names Harry Pepl, Daniel Humair, Gene Jackson, Andy McKee and Idris Muhammad.
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20 December 2011 · Review
ECM Reviews (Between Sound and Space: ECM Records and Beyond): „Pirchner/Pepl/DeJohnette: s/t (ECM 1237)“
Tyran Grillo
Mixed review of the 1983 ECM (the renowned European jazz label) album, recorded in June 1982 at Tonstudio Bauer in Ludwigsburg, with Werner Pirchner, Harry Pepl and Jack DeJohnette. The chorus effect of the Ovation guitar and the lack of rapport among the three musicians are criticised; Pepl’s solos and the closing piece “Better Times In Sight” are regarded as strengths. The page shows 10 February 2015 as the date of the update. Almost a year later, on 13 November 2012, Grillo revised his verdict in “A second look”.
When soloing, however, it sounds fantastic
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16 January 2012 · Review
ECM Reviews (Between Sound and Space: ECM Records and Beyond): „Pepl/Joos/Christensen: Cracked Mirrors (ECM 1356)“
Tyran Grillo
Review of the 1988 ECM (the renowned European jazz label) album with Harry Pepl (guitar, Roland MIDI guitar system, piano), Herbert Joos and Jon Christensen. The reviewer calls the album a far better showcase for Pepl’s innovative playing than the ECM record with Pirchner and DeJohnette and highlights Joos’s “Wolkenbilder”, the MIDI passages and Pepl’s piano on the closing piece. The page shows 18 July 2021 as the date of the update. Here Grillo himself calls his first impression of the album with Pirchner and DeJohnette “faulty impressions”.
a far better showcase for Pepl’s innovative talents
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13 November 2012 · Review
ECM Reviews (Between Sound and Space: ECM Records and Beyond): „A second look: Pirchner/Pepl/DeJohnette (ECM 1237)“
Tyran Grillo
Reassessment of the 1983 ECM (the renowned European jazz label) album, almost a year after his own critical review of 20 December 2011. After readers objected, Grillo writes, he kept returning to the album and had not initially given it the attention it needed. He now highlights the depth of Pepl's talent, the interplay between Pepl and Pirchner as the core of the trio and Pepl's solos, and calls the record “this curious little gem”; only on the processing of the Ovation guitar does he stand by his first opinion.
I simply did not give this date the attention it deserves.
The depth of Pepl’s talent, now that I’m more familiar with it, is immediately evident in the spaciousness of his evocations.
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21 November 2013 · Radio · DE
Ö1, „Schon gehört?“: „Schon gehört?“ (Kulturtipps vom 21. November 2013)
Cultural tips from the radio station Ö1 (the ORF's cultural radio channel): the Austrian Soundcheck (festival in Graz), a cooperation between the jazz department of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and gamsbART (Graz concert promoter), devotes an evening at the Dom im Berg in Graz, Austria, billed as “Super Sax”, to the saxophone, among others with the trio of Clemens Salesny, Martin Bayer and Peter Primus Frosch. On 22 November Salesny receives the Harry Pepl Prize, awarded this year for the fourth time.
On 22 November this encouragement prize goes to the alto saxophonist Clemens Salesny.
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25 November 2013 · Report · DE
mica music austria: „Clemens Salesny erhält den Harry Pepl Preis“
News item on the fourth presentation of the Harry Pepl Prize at the Austrian Soundcheck (festival in Graz) in Graz: the encouragement prize went in 2013 to the alto saxophonist Clemens Salesny. The article briefly introduces Salesny and his projects.
This year the Harry Pepl Prize was awarded for the fourth time as part of the “Austrian Soundcheck” in Graz.
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26 March 2014 · Report · DE
Falter 13/2014 (arts section): „Erinnerungen an Werner Pirchner, den Frank Zappa aus Hall in Tirol“
Klaus Nüchtern
Review of the film “D.U.D.A.!” by Werner Ludin about Werner Pirchner. The text mentions Pirchner’s collaboration with the guitarist Harry Pepl, through which he became an internationally sought-after jazz virtuoso; the focus is on Pirchner.
Through his collaboration with the guitarist Harry Pepl he rose to become an internationally sought-after jazz virtuoso
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11 September 2014 · Interview
London Jazz News: „Interview: Wolfgang Muthspiel“
Interview with Wolfgang Muthspiel. He introduces “Air Love and Vitamins” as a piece by his former guitar teacher in Graz, Harry Pepl, and recommends Pepl especially for his rhythm.
He is an interesting musician to check out, especially in the rhythmical field.
Wolfgang Muthspiel
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2015 · Other
riegler.weblog.mur.at (Website Daniel Riegler): Biography Daniel Riegler, Trombone, Composition
Daniel Riegler
English biography on the website of the trombonist and composer Daniel Riegler, born in 1977 in Graz, Austria, with a tabular overview up to 2015. For 2008 it lists his leadership of the Porgy & Bess (Vienna jazz club) stage band Studio Dan and the Harry Pepl Prize 2008.
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14 February 2015 · Radio · DE
Ö1, Die Lange Nacht des Werner Pirchner: „Die Lange Nacht des Werner Pirchner“
Albert Hosp (Gestaltung)
A “Lange Nacht” (long night) programme for the 75th birthday of the vibraphonist and composer Werner Pirchner. The programme mentions the duo with Harry Pepl at the Montreux Jazz Festival (renowned jazz festival in Switzerland) and thereby shows the connection between the two musicians; the focus is on Pirchner.
in a duo with the guitarist Harry Pepl
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31 August 2015 · Report · DE
Die Presse (Online): „Saalfelden: Schmerz an der Heimat, Störung der Jazz-Idylle“
Samir H. Köck
Festival report from Jazzfest Saalfelden 2015 (major jazz festival in the Salzburg region). The festival recalled Werner Pirchner’s 75th birthday and also commemorated the guitarist Harry Pepl, who died in 2005.
also commemorated the guitarist Harry Pepl, who died in 2005
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19 September 2015 · Radio · DE
Ö1, „Die Ö1 Jazznacht“: „Erinnerungen an Harry Pepl“
Christian Bakonyi
Broadcast for the 70th birthday on Saturday, 19 September 2015, 23:03 to 24:00, with the studio guests Daniel Pepl, Agnes Heginger and Clemens Salesny. Also played is an archive find of the trio with Herbert Joos and Tony Oxley from Tamsweg, dated 15 December 1988.
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26 October 2015 · Radio · DE
Ö1, Spielräume Spezial: „Heimat bis Du großer...“ (Würdigung von Harry Pepl zum Nationalfeiertag)
Klaus Wienerroither (Gestaltung)
Programme for the Austrian National Day, Monday, 26 October 2015, 5.10 pm, commemorating the guitarist and composer almost ten years after Pepl’s death. The title alludes to the line „Heimat bist du großer Söhne“ [“Homeland of great sons”] of the Austrian national anthem; the programme opens with “In this case it really is one of the sons” and calls Air Mail “probably one of the best jazz groups of Austrian origin”. Playlist: Air Mail with “Shifting People” and “The Halley’s Comet / Light Blue Blues”, “Salt and Pepl” with the ORF Big Band under Richard Österreicher, “Harry Pepl’s Blues” with Benny Goodman, “Against The Wind” live with the Jazzzwio, “Eastern Island Ears” with Dave Liebman and Wolfgang Reisinger, a part of “Anspannen, Überspannen, Abspannen” with STUDIO PERCUSSION graz, Peter Alexander’s “Sag’ mir quando, sag’ mir wann” (Pepl as studio guitarist) and finally “Air, Love & Vitamins” with Werner Pirchner and Jack DeJohnette.
The tribute to an individualist.
In this case it really is one of the sons.
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18 November 2015 · Report · DE
Falter 47/2015 (Rubrik Steiermark): „Steiermark kurz“
Short news from Styria. One item reports that the Harry Pepl Prize, endowed with 5,000 euros, went for the first time to a female musician at the Austria Soundcheck (festival in Graz), the composer and saxophonist Viola Falb.
the Harry Pepl Prize to the composer and saxophonist Viola Falb
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3 December 2015 · Radio · DE
Ö1, Spielräume: „Spielräume“ vom 3. Dezember 2015 (Musik aus allen Richtungen, Harry Pepls Wiederkehr)
Andreas Felber (Gestaltung)
Programme of 3 December 2015, 17:30, on the occasion of Pepl’s 70th birthday and the tenth anniversary of his death: Clemens Salesny, Martin Bayer, Peter Primus Frosch and Agnes Heginger perform Pepl’s music (5 December 2015, Porgy & Bess, Vienna jazz club). It also covers new CDs of Austrian production.
Agnes Heginger, Clemens Salesny, Martin Bayer and Peter Primus Frosch play Harry Pepl
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24 December 2015 · Report · DE
NÖN (Online, Hollabrunn): „Viola Falb, die erste Frau im Jazz“
Report on the saxophonist and composer Viola Falb from the Hollabrunn district in Lower Austria: at the opening of this year's Austrian Soundcheck (festival in Graz) in Graz, Austria, she received the fifth Harry Pepl Prize. Only the beginning of the article is freely available online.
Viola Falb, the district's exceptional artist, received the 5th Harry Pepl Prize in Graz.
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12 May 2016 · Report · DE
Der Standard (Online): „Inntöne-Festival: Session mit der Historie“
Preview of the INNtöne festival (jazz festival in Diersbach, Upper Austria). The saxophonist Clemens Salesny, the guitarist Martin Bayer, the drummer Peter Primus Frosch and the singer Agnes Heginger interpret pieces by Harry Pepl on the Saturday, improvise on them and respond to recordings that Pepl improvised for his Lonely Single Swinger Band: guitar, synthesizer, piano, vocals and drums, all recorded by himself at home. Der Standard calls this a formidable example of an engagement with history that yields “delicate results”.
There are, however, ways of engaging with history that yield delicate results. A formidable example can be experienced on Saturday at the Inntöne festival in Diersbach (which begins on Friday), when sounds by the guitarist Harry Pepl (who died in 2005) also ring out from the stage.
Guitar, synthesizer, piano, vocals, drums: Pepl once recorded everything himself at home.
Clemens Salesny, Martin Bayer, Peter Primus Frosch and Agnes Heginger interpret Harry Pepl
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16 May 2016 · Report · DE
Die Presse (Online): „Resch, renitent: Der Sound des Sauwalds“
Samir H. Köck
Report on the 30th anniversary of the Inntöne festival in Diersbach. It also describes the performance of the homage to Harry Pepl, in which fragments of Pepl’s recordings were played in and which not everyone liked.
an artistic high-wire act in which fragments of Pepl’s recordings were also played in
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17 May 2016 · Report · DE
Der Standard (Online): „Inntöne: Expressive Gelassenheit“ (Al Foster und das Harry-Pepl-Projekt)
Festival report from the Inntöne in Diersbach. Only the teaser about the Al Foster Quartet is visible; the subtitle names the Harry Pepl project as a further item on the programme. The full text was not accessible.
Al Foster and the Harry Pepl project
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19 May 2016 · Interview · DE
Die Presse (Online): „Kärntner Jazzer mit langem Atem“
Samir H. Köck
Interview with Wolfgang Puschnig on his 60th birthday. Puschnig names the seven years with Airmail, Harry Pepl’s band, as one of the highlights of his career; Pepl is only a side topic of the conversation.
the seven years with Airmail, the band of the guitarist Harry Pepl, who died in 2005
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19 May 2016 · Review · DE
Jazzpages (Online): „INNtöne 2016 – Rückschau mit Bildern“
Frank Schindelbeck
Festival report with photos from the INNtöne Jazzfestival 2016 on Paul Zauner's farm in Diersbach. As the highlight of the second festival day, the author describes the project of Agnes Heginger, Clemens Salesny, Martin Bayer and Peter Primus Frosch, in which recordings from Pepl's home studio were played in and the band entered into a dialogue with them. He refers to the double CD on Fullmax Recordings.
The four musicians on stage played so excellently with Pepl's legacy that, without knowing the story behind it and with your eyes closed, there could have been a quintet on stage.
An extremely successful tribute to one of Austria's important jazz musicians.
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30 May 2016 · Radio · FR
France Musique (Radio France), „Jazz au Trésor“: „Jazz au Trésor: Benny Goodman: Berlin 1980“
Alex Dutilh
Programme on France Musique (Radio France’s culture station) about the TCB reissue of the Berlin Goodman recording, with daily tracks from 23 to 27 May 2016. According to Alex Dutilh, Goodman took only his pianist Don Haas to Europe and auditioned “the Austrian guitarist Harry Pepl”, Peter “Fifi” Witte and Charly Antolini only after arriving. None of the three spoke English, and the rehearsal was limited to two standards. Chancellor Helmut Schmidt attended the first of the two concerts at the Berlin Philharmonie (7 and 8 November 1980).
It was on arriving on European soil that he auditioned and hired the Austrian guitarist Harry Pepl, the German bassist Peter “Fifi” Witte and the Swiss drummer Charly Antolini.
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8 April 2017 · Report · DE
Ö1 (oe1.orf.at, article): „Pirchner und Pepl“ (Muthspiel Trio spielt „Against the Wind“)
Haide Tenner (Gesprächspartnerin)
Item on the CD “Against the Wind”, on which the Christian Muthspiel Trio plays works by Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner. In conversation with Haide Tenner on the “Klassik-Treffpunkt”, Muthspiel tells how the CD came about out of the commemoration of Pirchner and the programme “Pepl/Pirchner”.
The musicians play works by the composers Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner, who died early.
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11 September 2017 · Obituary · DE
Salzburger Nachrichten (Online, APA): „Wiener Jazzgitarrist Andy Manndorff 60-jährig gestorben“
APA
APA obituary of the Viennese guitarist and composer Andy Manndorff (1957 to 2017). It quotes an interview with mica (Austria's music information centre) in which Manndorff names Harry Pepl as the only teacher who was able to teach him anything, and traces his stations in Amsterdam, New York and Vienna.
I was never a good student either; the only teacher who could teach me anything was Harry Pepl. And he gave me a spirit to take with me
Andy Manndorff
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20 September 2017 · Report · DE
Ö1 (oe1.orf.at, article): „Der Musiker Werner Pirchner“
Short portrait of Werner Pirchner (13 February 1940 to 10 August 2001) as a jazz musician and composer. It lists the Pirchner-Pepl-JazzZwio, founded in 1975, with its appearances until the mid-1980s, among others in Velden, Montreux and Saalfelden; the focus is on Pirchner.
With the guitarist Harry Pepl he founded the Pirchner-Pepl-JazzZwio in 1975
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10 October 2017 · Report · DE
Ö1 (oe1.orf.at, article): „Der Gratwanderer Werner Pirchner“
Article on Werner Pirchner for the tenth anniversary of his death, shown on the page with the date 10 October 2017 but referring in the text to 10 August 2011. It names the Jazz-Zwio with Harry Pepl as a stage that also made Pirchner known in the international jazz scene; the focus is on Pirchner.
together with Harry Pepl in the legendary JazzZwio
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27 October 2017 · Review · DE
Passauer Neue Presse (p. 21, local news, Passau city): „G'schmackiger Fusion-Eintopf“ (Gerald Gradwohl Group im Café Museum)
Christine Pierach
Concert report on the Gerald Gradwohl Group in Passau, which pays homage to the late Viennese jazz guitarist Harry Pepl. Gradwohl says that Pepl was underrated and that Pepl taught and inspired him; Pepl is a marginal note in the report.
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18 December 2017 · Review
Guitar Moderne (Online): „Harry Pepl: The One That Almost Got Away“
guitar moderne
Short piece in the American online magazine for adventurous guitarists. The author discovered Pepl in 1986 on the ECM (the renowned European jazz label) album “Volver” by Enrico Rava and Dino Saluzzi: his sound recalled Metheny, but with a harder attack and a freer sensibility. He recommends “Cracked Mirrors”, which still sounds fresh today.
His chorused sound and fluidity were reminiscent of Metheny, but his attack was harder and his sensibility was decidedly more “out.”
Check out “Cracked Mirror” to hear how his playing in 1988 sounds fresh even today.
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9 November 2018 · Press release · DE
APA-OTS (Presseaussendung von Fullmax Recordings, OTS0138): „Harry Pepl & The (Lonely) Single Swinger Band“
Daniel Pepl (Fullmax Recordings)
Press release launching the live project: Clemens Salesny, Martin Bayer, Andi Schreiber and Valentin Duit interact with previously unreleased recordings from Pepl's last creative period (1996 to 2005), which he had recorded instrument by instrument himself in his studio in Hernstein, Lower Austria; Markus Wallner handles sound and playback. Dates: Porgy & Bess Vienna (12 November 2018), Tube's Graz (13 November), Brauhaus Breznik Bleiburg (15 November), Jazzit Salzburg (16 November).
It is then as if Harry Pepl were still on stage, playing together with the live musicians.
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14 January 2019 · Radio · FR
France Musique (Radio France), „Les Grands entretiens“: „Michel Portal (1/5): Je me cachais la nuit pour écouter de la musique“
Yvan Amar
First episode of a five-part interview series by Yvan Amar with the clarinettist and saxophonist Michel Portal (27 minutes). Among the recordings played is Jack DeJohnette’s “Ahmad The Terrible” with Harry Pepl (guitar), Dave Liebman (soprano saxophone) and Michel Portal (tenor saxophone) from the album “Men’s Land” (Label Bleu).
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3 August 2019 · Interview
christianmuthspiel.com (ORjazzTRA Vienna, Interviews): Interview zum ORjazzTRA Vienna
Christian Muthspiel names four concerts in Graz that made him a jazz musician: Albert Mangelsdorff solo, the Carla Bley Big Band, the Art Ensemble of Chicago and the duo of Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner.
And not to forget the fourth concert: Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner.
Christian Muthspiel
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13 September 2019 · Radio · DE
Ö1, In Concert: „Harry Sokal, Harry Pepl, Jean-Francois Jenny-Clark, Daniel Humair“ (Österreichisch-französisches Gipfeltreffen 1984 in Wien)
Klaus Wienerroither (Gestaltung)
Programme with an unreleased concert recording from the ORF (Austria's public broadcaster) archive: in 1984 the saxophonist Harry Sokal played in Vienna with the guitarist Harry Pepl, the bassist Jean-Francois Jenny-Clark and the drummer Daniel Humair. The programme was broadcast on 13 September 2019 at 14:05.
the Viennese guitar master Harry Pepl
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13 February 2020 · Radio · DE
Ö1, Spielräume: „Werner Pirchner, der Vibrafonist“ (Musik aus allen Richtungen zum 80. Geburtstag des Tiroler Kosmopoliten)
Andreas Felber (Gestaltung)
Programme for Werner Pirchner’s 80th birthday on 13 February 2020. It describes the vibraphonist’s path and explains how the Jazz-Zwio with Harry Pepl brought the connection with the young Austrian jazz scene and the international career; the focus is on Pirchner.
Meanwhile, Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner also joined forces with the young Austrian jazz scene
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5 June 2020 · Radio · DE
Ö1, In Concert: „Harry Pepls „Hip Jargon“ plus Werner Pirchner anno 1975“
Helmut Jasbar (Gestaltung)
Programme with a concert recording from the ORF (Austria's public broadcaster) radio archive: on 25 September 1975 Pepl played in the Large Broadcasting Hall of the Vienna Funkhaus with his trio Hip Jargon (Wayne Darling, double bass; Fritz Ozmec, drums); the guest was Werner Pirchner on vibraphone. The programme calls Hip Jargon the nucleus of the Jazz-Zwio. The programme features “Wirf an” and “Wohl oder übel” by Pirchner as well as “Pfifferling”, “Squirrel Dance”, “Down At The Ticky Toe” and an excerpt from “Radler” by Pepl and Pirchner, almost 78 minutes in all.
The nucleus of the famous “Jazz-Zwio”: Hip Jargon
The music has overwhelming impact, raw and direct, with a concentrated energy that makes the recording sound as if it had been made yesterday.
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18 June 2020 · Report · FR
FIP (Radio France): „„Les heures propices“ et majestueuses de Franck Tortiller“
Catherine Carette
Article by the Paris radio station FIP on the duo album “Les heures propices” by Franck Tortiller (vibraphone) and Misja Fitzgerald Michel (guitar), released on 19 June 2020 on MCO. Even before the studio sessions, the duo presented Pepl’s piece “Air, Love and Vitamins” during lockdown, according to FIP a nod to the Vienna Art Orchestra and to Christian Muthspiel. The video is embedded.
the duo was already unveiling this piece by the Austrian guitarist Harry Pepl, a nod to the Vienna Art Orchestra and to Christian Muthspiel
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25 September 2020 · Radio · DE
Ö1, Spielräume Nachtausgabe: „Der unvergessene Jazzgitarrist Harry Pepl“
Klaus Wienerroither (Gestaltung)
Programme for his 75th birthday on 10 September 2020, broadcast on Friday, 25 September 2020, at 22:25 and repeated on 26 September 2020 at 00:05. Guests include the music producer Daniel Pepl, the drummer Wolfgang Reisinger and the pianist Anna Maurer, who is working on a solo piano album of Pepl’s compositions.
His Austrian-American quartet Airmail was probably one of the best jazz groups of Austrian provenance.
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25 September 2020 · Radio · DE
Ö1, In Concert: „Fünf Österreicher und eine Cool-Jazz-Legende“ (Das Harald-Neuwirth-Konsort mit Lee Konitz 1976 im Wiener Funkhaus)
Helmut Jasbar (Gestaltung)
Programme with a historic concert document from the ORF (Austria's public broadcaster) archive: on 14 June 1976 the Harald Neuwirth Konsort performed in the Large Broadcasting Hall of the Vienna Funkhaus, with Harry Pepl (guitar), Werner Pirchner (vibraphone), Wolfgang Wüst (double bass) and Fritz Ozmec (drums) and the guest Lee Konitz. The programme was broadcast on 25 September 2020 at 14:05.
The members of the ensemble were guitarist Harry Pepl, vibraphonist Werner Pirchner, double bassist Wolfgang Wüst and drummer Fritz Ozmec
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2 August 2021 · Review · FR
Le Dauphiné Libéré (im Tätigkeitsbericht 2021 des Festival de Chaillol): „Festival de Chaillol: le duo Tortiller et Fitzgerald-Michel très applaudi“
Report by Le Dauphiné Libéré (regional newspaper of the French Alps) on the concert of the duo Franck Tortiller (vibraphone) and Misja Fitzgerald-Michel (guitar) at the 25th Festival de Chaillol on Saturday, 31 July 2021, in a packed community hall in the Serre-Ponçon: Val d’Avance area (Hautes-Alpes, France). Besides Tortiller’s “On ne danse qu’une seule fois” and Monk’s “Bemsha Swing”, the duo played a piece by the “Austrian composer Harry Pepl”. Preserved in the festival’s 2021 activity report, pp. 55 to 56.
classics such as Thelonious Monk’s “Bemsha Swing”, or another by the Austrian composer Harry Pepl.
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3 October 2021 · Review · FR
CultureJazz: „13 arches... en jazz, ça porte bonheur ?“
Thierry Giard
Festival report by Thierry Giard (photos Christian Ducasse) in CultureJazz (French jazz magazine) on “Les Arches en Jazz” 2021. At the concert by Franck Tortiller and Misja Fitzgerald-Michel on Saturday, 25 September 2021, at noon in the church of Notre-Dame in Port-Bail-sur-Mer, the programme included compositions by Harry Pepl, Jim Pepper, David Crosby and Thelonious Monk alongside their own pieces. Giard had already heard the duo on 31 July 2021 in Rambaud (Hautes-Alpes).
On the menu that lunchtime were original compositions but also pieces by the Austrian guitarist Harry Pepl, the Native American saxophonist Jim Pepper, David Crosby and Thelonious Monk.
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4 October 2021 · Review · FR
Citizen Jazz: „Les Arches en jazz, une première“
Marie Boisnel
Report by Marie Boisnel in Citizen Jazz (French jazz magazine) on the first “Les Arches en Jazz” festival in Port-Bail-sur-Mer (Cotentin, Normandy, France). At the midday concert in the church of Notre-Dame, the duo Franck Tortiller and Misja Fitzgerald Michel played “Air, Love and Vitamins”, Pepl’s “gentle ballad” written for the same duo of guitar and vibraphone with Werner Pirchner.
Then the gentle ballad by the Austrian guitarist and composer Harry Pepl, written for the same duo with Werner Pirchner, guitar and vibraphone, “Air, love and vitamins”, plunges us into a languorous meditation.
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28 January 2022 · Interview
The San Diego Union-Tribune (Online): „Austrian jazz guitar star Wolfgang Muthspiel jazzed about pending San Diego debut concert“
George Varga
Interview with Wolfgang Muthspiel ahead of his first concert in San Diego. Asked about Austrian role models, he names, besides Joe Zawinul, his teacher Harry Pepl: an important guitarist with a sound of his own, a heavy player with a great sense of time, to him an international figure with his own voice.
There was also an important guitar player by the name of Harry Pepl, who was my teacher. He had a unique sound and was a heavy player, with a great sense of time.
Wolfgang Muthspiel
I think he was an international figure and definitely had his own voice.
Wolfgang Muthspiel
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23 September 2022 · Encyclopaedia
ZOTZin Guitar Lessons (Online): „The Most Complete List of Jazz Guitarists“
Extensive list of jazz guitarists on the website of an American guitar school, published in 2022 and last updated on 29 March 2026. Harry Pepl appears as number 741, described as the godfather of all Austrian jazz guitarists and a legend.
The godfather of all Austrian jazz guitar players, a legend
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5 February 2024 · Portrait
Wulf Müller, Blog „European Jazz Masters Of The Past“: „European Jazz Masters Of The Past #2: Harry Pepl“
Wulf Müller
Detailed biographical essay by the former producer at PolyGram Austria and co-founder of “Jazz Live”, with photographs from the family collection. Müller first met Pepl in 1984 at an Air Mail concert in Vienna. He describes the Jazzzwio and the time with Benny Goodman, the making of the “Schönberg Improvations”, whose idea Pepl brought to his office, and the solo piano record “Flow” from 1996, recorded without corrections. Some biographical details, such as his birth and the start of his teaching in Graz, differ from the documented sources.
a very humble, charismatic and private person with a great sense of humour. Someone who was constantly looking for new ideas
While Harry was building his reputation as one of Europe’s most interesting and unique guitarists
He swings like hell
Harry Pepl on Benny Goodman
Musically, I still find this album exciting, challenging and powerful.
Harry sat down at the piano, which he never really learned to play, nor practised, and plays, let’s the music flow through him.
After a few moments I don’t feel time anymore. An emotion of happiness floats through me and the sounds stream on their own
Harry Pepl
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20 March 2024 · Interview · DE
mica music austria (Online): „Uns geht es darum, Gegensätze in unserer Musik zu manifestieren.“ (Raphael Preuschl, Fabulous Austrian Trio, im mica-Interview)
Michael Ternai
Interview with the bassist Raphael Preuschl on the 20th anniversary of the Fabulous Austrian Trio with Alex Machacek and Herbert Pirker. Speaking of Machacek's guitar playing, he says it seeks to lift the limits of a string instrument, and recalls Harry Pepl's piece “Man könnte Klavierspielen müssen”.
Harry Pepl once wrote the song ‘Man könnte Klavierspielen müssen’. I believe it is Alex's intention to lift the limitation of a string instrument and to take on the polyphonic freedom of a keyboard instrument.
Raphael Preuschl
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12 April 2024 · Report
Wulf Müller, Blog „European Jazz Masters Of The Past“: „European Jazz Masters Of The Past #3: Herbert Joos“
Wulf Müller
Biographical essay on Herbert Joos. Towards the end of the 1980s Joos went into the studio with Harry Pepl and Jon Christensen to record “Cracked Mirrors”, which was released in 1988 to critical acclaim.
he went into the studio with Austrian guitar master Harry Pepl and Norwegian drummer Jon Christensen to record ‘Cracked Mirrors’
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June 2024 · Other
Bandcamp (Kresten Osgood): „LIVE AT H15 STUDIO“ (Kresten Osgood Quintet)
Kresten Osgood Quintet
Release page of the album “Live At H15 Studio” (ILK Music, June 2024) by the Danish Kresten Osgood Quintet. Track 2 is “The Halleys Comet - Light Blue Blues” by Harry Pepl; the album was named Jazz Release of the Year at the Danish Music Awards Jazz (Danish jazz awards) in 2024.
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9 June 2024 · Review
Instagram (@ecm_vinylcollector): „Cracked Mirrors“ (Pepl/Joos/Christensen, ECM 1356)
Short review of “Cracked Mirrors” on the Instagram account of an ECM (the renowned European jazz label) collector. The album, it says, is the most idiosyncratic of the ECM records of its time and hard to classify; Pepl breaks the material into a thousand pieces.
If you're Harry Pepl, you bust it into a thousand pieces and shoot it into the ether.
Cracked Mirrors … is easily the oddest of the bunch, a nearly unclassifiable record.
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10 December 2024 · Report
JazzDanmark: „DMA Jazz 2024 in Store VEGA: The winners are here!“
Report on the presentation of the Danish Music Awards Jazz (Danish jazz awards) 2024 at Store VEGA in Copenhagen. The album “Live at H15 Studio” by the Kresten Osgood Quintet (ILK Music), on which Pepl’s piece “The Halleys Comet - Light Blue Blues” can be heard, was named Jazz Release of the Year. The text itself does not mention Pepl.
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2025 · Press release · DE
Fullmax Recordings (press kit for the album, German, English, French, Polish): Harry Pepl 80: „Harry Pepl (tape) & The (Lonely) Single Swinger Band“, Live-Dialog mit einem Giganten der Improvisation
Fullmax Recordings (draft by Clemens Salesny)
Two-page press release for the 80th birthday and the album “Live”. The project combines Pepl’s original tracks from the Hernstein studio with Clemens Salesny, Martin Bayer, Andi Schreiber and Valentin Duit. Page 2 contains the track list, instrumentation, recording locations and credits; versions exist in four languages.
Now it can be experienced live again. I think that is unique in Europe
Daniel Pepl
Original (PDF) · DEOriginal (PDF) · ENOriginal (PDF) · FROriginal (PDF) · PL
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2025 · Other · DE
violafalb.com (Website Viola Falb): Biografie Viola Falb
Viola Falb
Biography on the website of the saxophonist and composer Viola Falb, covering her training, bands such as FALB FICTION and the saxophone quartet PHOEN, and a list of awards up to 2025. It lists the Harry Pepl Prize under 2016; the contemporary reports in Falter and NÖN document the award in November 2015.
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6 September 2025 · Radio · DE
Ö1, „Die Ö1 Jazznacht“: „Zum 80. Geburtstag von Gitarrist Harry Pepl“
Christian Bakonyi
Broadcast on Saturday, 6 September 2025, 23:03 to 24:00, with the guests Daniel Pepl, Clemens Salesny and Martin Bayer. The accompanying article mentions John Scofield and the MIDI guitar and points to the concert at Porgy & Bess (Vienna jazz club) on 28 September 2025.
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27 September 2025 · Review · DE
RONDO (Online): „Songs From The Treehouse“ (Tim Collins, Martin Gasselsberger)
Werner Stiefele
Review of the duo album by vibraphonist Tim Collins and pianist Martin Gasselsberger on GLM Music. Apart from Billie Eilish's “Everything I Wanted” and “Air, Love & Vitamins” from the repertoire of the Jazzzwio of Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner, the duo plays its own pieces; the reviewer places the line-up in the tradition of Gary Burton and Chick Corea.
“Air, Love & Vitamins” from the repertoire of the Austrian JazzZwio of Harry Pepl and Werner Pirchner
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28 October 2025 · Encyclopaedia · DE
mica music austria, music database: Harry Pepl
Database entry with biography, activities, awards, commissions, performance venues and a list of works (64 works); last updated 28 October 2025. The entry counts Pepl among the guitarists who have shaped Austrian jazz nationally and internationally, and records 2nd place at the Austrian Jazz Award 2025 (award for jazz from Austria).
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November 2025 · Report · DE
ORF Kärnten (Online): Bericht über den Österreichischen Jazzpreis 2025
Report on the presentation of the Austrian Jazz Award 2025 (award for jazz from Austria) at Casino Velden, with the ranking in the Best Album category: Kenji Herbert Trio ahead of Harry Pepl (tape) & The (Lonely) Single Swinger Band and the Tobias Meissl Trio.
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26 November 2025 · Radio · DE
Ö1, „On stage Spezial“: Österreichischer Jazzpreis 2025, live aus dem Casino Velden
Andreas Felber
Live broadcast of the award ceremony on Wednesday, 26 November 2025, 19:30. The playlist includes “Hernstein Blues” from the album “Live” (Pepl and Salesny, 8:10).
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26 November 2025 · Report · DE
Fullmax Recordings (Website): Beitrag zum Österreichischen Jazzpreis 2025, Best Album
Post on the album “Live” taking 2nd place in the Best Album category at the Austrian Jazz Award 2025 (award for jazz from Austria). The Jazz Academy consists of 149 experts, there were over 170 submissions and a seven-member expert jury; the award ceremony took place at Casino Velden.
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18 December 2025 · Review · DE
Kleine Zeitung (p. 51, culture, column „Open Music im Grazer Stockwerk“): „Im Spiel mit der Wiener Gitarristenlegende“
Robert Tendl
Report on the evening by Harry Pepl (tape) & The (Lonely) Single Swinger Band at the Stockwerk in Graz. Pepl left behind a great deal of material from his home studio; Salesny, Bayer, Schreiber, Duit and the technician Markus Wallner bring the audio tracks onto the stage via amplifier and loudspeakers and improvise along with them.
A surprisingly lively, highly musical result emerges
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18 December 2025 · Review · DE
Kronen Zeitung (p. 42, culture): „Die Schemen eines Lebenden“ (Stockwerk Graz: Harry Pepl's Lonely Single Swinger Band blinzelt ins Jenseits)
F. Jureček
Concert review of the performance in Graz: a quintet around Clemens Salesny and the sound engineer Markus Wallner shapes an evening of improvisation from multitrack recordings by the guitarist, who died in 2005. Pepl’s audio tracks are heard as sounds dynamically processed at the mixing desk, with Andi Schreiber, Martin Bayer and Valentin Duit playing along.
Archive material gives rise to the shadowy outlines of a living man.
Not many musicians release new CDs 20 years after their death.
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2026 · Other · DE
SWR (Südwestrundfunk), SWR NEWJazz Meeting: „Chronologie SWR NEWJazz Meeting (1966 bis 2026)“
Julia Neupert und Sara Barth
Chronology of the SWR NEWJazz Meeting (formerly the Südwestfunk’s New Jazz Meeting Baden-Baden) from 1966 to 2026. For 1980 it lists the “String Meeting”, an ensemble dominated by string instruments with six string players and two guitarists, among them Harry Pepl; the final concert took place in Mainz on 28 November 1980. Other participants: John Blake, Wolfgang Dauner, Krzesimir Dębski, Christian Escoudé, Pierre Favre, Didier Lockwood, Barre Phillips, Ack van Rooyen, Bo Stief, Fredy Studer and Abdul Wadud.
“Never-before-heard sounds” is what Joachim Ernst Berendt promises the audience at the final concert in Mainz on 28 November, played by an ensemble dominated by string instruments