Erich Kleinschuster

Erich Kleinschuster Graz Austria 23 January 1930 – 12 September 2018 Was An Austrian Trombonist And Bandleader. Kleinschuster Learned To Play Piano Before Picking Up Trombone His First Major Engagement Was As A Member Of Fridl Althaler's Radio Graz Dance Orchestra. As A Member Of The International Youth Band He Appeared At The 1958 Newport Jazz Festival And Worked With Johannes Fehring From 1958 To 1965 In Addition To Playing With Kenny Clarke And Francy Boland's Ensemble. He Played With Friedrich Gulda In 1965 Then Put Together A Six-Piece Ensemble The Following Year Which Performed Frequently On Österreichischer Rundfunk. He Founded Vienna's Jazzinstitut In 1968 And Was The Leader Of Österreichischer Rundfunk's Big Band From 1972 Until 1981 He Was The Conductor For The Austrian Entries Of The Eurovision Song Contest In 1972 And 1976. Among His Jazz Associations In The 1970s Were Stan Getz Astrud Gilberto George Gruntz Peter Herbolzheimer Gerry Mulligan And Toots Thielemans. In 1981 He Moved Back To Graz And Became A Lecturer In Music At The Hochschule Für Musik Und Darstellende Kunst A Position He Held Until 1998 He Also Put Together A Youth Orchestra JAM Which Toured In The Early 1990s. Kleinschuster Initially Studied Law Before Going On To Study Trombone And Piano At The Conservatory Of Music. He Began His Musical Career As A Trombonist In The Small Dance Orchestra Of Radio Graz And In The Fridl Althaller Combo But Made His Living As A Lawyer Until In 1958 He Appeared At The Newport Jazz Festival As Part Of The International Youth Band. He Switched To A Professional Career In Music Becoming A Member Of The Newport International Band An International Touring And Recording Outfit That Also Featured Guitarist Gabor Szabo. Big Shows Such As The Brussels World Fair And A Columbia Recording Date Kept Him From Sliding Back Into The Lucrative World Of Law. In The 1960s He Played In The Johannes Fehring Orchestra In Friedrich Gulda's Euro Jazz Orchestra And In The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band . In 1966 He Founded His Sextet Initially Including Art Farmer Fritz Pauer Jimmy Woode And Erich Bachträgl But Also Calling On Joe Henderson Carmell Jones Clifford Jordan Or Jimmy Heath. Between 1971 And 1981 He Was Executive Producer Of Popular Music At Austrian National Radio O.R.F. And Founder-Leader Of The O.R.F. Big Band. He Also Played In In Peter Herbolzheimer's Rhythm Combination & Brass. In 1972 He Was A Member Of The George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band. In 1969 He Founded The Jazz Institute At The Vienna Conservatory And In 1985 The Jazz Department At The Carinthian Conservatory. In 1981 He Became Professor Of Improvisation And Jazz Trombone At The University Of Music And Dramatic Arts Graz. Since 1998 He Has Organised The “Grazer Jazz Sommer”. read less