Werner Pirchner - Tyrolean Zappa of the Vibraphone

Check out the Vibes History Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Kw...

Imagine starting a career as a jazz vibraphonist, only to eventually have a national scholarship for classical wind players in your name. That's what happened to Werner Pirchner.

Werner Pirchner (1940-2001) was an incredibly unique musician - lauded in is home country of Austria, and completely unkown outside it's borders. In this video I wanted to share some of his music with you, tell you a little about him, and hopefully send you down a rabbit hole of musical investigation.

Jazz history is far reaching - and well outside the normal stories we hear are musicians like this. Pirchner was undoubtedly a great jazz vibraphonist, but unlike many European jazz musicians of the time, he didn't aspire to move to New York and assimilate as an American. No - he wanted to use all the music he loved as a way to celebrate his own culture, from the mountains of Tyrol.

Reading about Pirchner, I saw many comparisons to Frank Zappa - especially in youtube comments from Austrian fans. His music doesn't necessarily sound like that of Frank Zappa, but the spirit of it absolutely does. Rife with satire, in-your-face titles, and modern compositional techniques, Pircher's music reached so many people in Austria that, in the words of a friend of mine who played with him, "Somehow this guy put us all in a situation of being students forever".

I hope you enjoy the video!

Check out my online jazz vibes courses & books:
https://www.timcollinsmusic.com/

Here are the links to songs I played:
   • Black Jack  
   • Austria Drei: Hos'nt Raga (W. Pirchner)  
   • Austria 3 "Boop Boop"  
   • Harry Pepl & Werner Pirchner (Jazzzwio) - ...  
   • JazzZwio - Harry Pepl & Werner Pirchner, I...  
   • Klaviertrio "Heimat?" PWV 29b: I. Aus dem ...  
   • Die Bewässerung von Mitteleuropa: III. Has...  

And Pirchner's website:
https://wernerpirchner.com/

This is a great article written by Andreas Felber:
https://www.treibhaus.at/kuenstler/30...

#vibraphone #jazzhistory #tyrol #tirol

0:00 Who was this guy?
0:31 Growing up in Tyrol
1:34 Early career and hist first recorded vibraphone solos
3:36 Self-produced album & cult classic film
5:01 "Austria Drei" - awesome fusion band
9:14 duo with Harry Pepl & 'modified vibraphone'
13:00 burning vibes solo
16:08 This song is so beautiful! Air, Love & Vitamines
17:58 Chamber music (classical piano trio)
18:44 Brass music