New Interview - Barbara Dennerlein

Barbara Dennerlein The Jazz Hammond Organist's Website features Biography, Projects, CD's, Concerts, Itinerary, Photos, Reviews, ...
http://www.barbaradennerlein.de
Barbara Dennerlein 2011

That's The Way The Organ Should be Played. Barbara Dennerlein has indeed developed her own signature sound and approach to the Hammond B3 organ, whereas most organ ensembles include a bassist to lay down the bassline, or use their left hand to play the bassline on the keyboard, Dennerlein uses the foot pedals to play the bassline and she also incorporates the use of Midi technology to further enhance the listener's experience. ... Dennerlein's experimentation and creativity with her own compositions, however, goes beyond her innovations with the bassline, for she is considered to be an artist who blurs the lines between jazz and the blues and the various sub-genres of jazz music. In fact over the years, she has become just as comfortable playing a pipe organ in more classically oriented concerts. On the Hammond B3 she can play a strident up-tempo piece or she can find a deep funky groove, and at other times she treats her fans to a mellower jazz tune."
(Riveting Riffs, Canada)



"Vital Organs For German organist Barbara Dennerlein, Jazz lives on pipes as well as Hammond B-3. Search YouTube for Barbara Dennerlein and you're sure to be dazzled by the footage of her footwork, not to mention her hands. She's not an athlete, but a startlingly original musician with a mission: to bring the organ into the 21st century. To that end, Dennerlein performs on both the jazzy Hammond B-3, and its classical predecessor, the churchier, bigger and more complex pipe organ... Dennerlein's worldly, joyous jazz takes you to church whether you're in a club or in a holy place. She's the hottest German jazz export since Klaus Doldinger's band, Passport. ... Dennerlein weaves funk and swing, groove and church, acoustic and electric into her own compositions and the standards she transforms... Barbara Dennerlein is all about the open mind. ... she's not in the tradition of Jimmy Smiths, Johnny "Hammond" Smith, or Jimmy McGriff. Her groove runs deeper and less predictably, largely because of her signature footwork."
(Clevescene, USA)



"Organ virtuoso Barbara Dennerlein works her triple-threat magic. Barbara Dennerlein loves a challenge, and what could be more challenging than multiplying yourself by three time you take the stage? ... Dennerlein is recognized as one of the reigning virtuosos of the Hammond organ, and the master of playing jazz on its even-more-complicated cousin, the pipe organ. But whether she's playing a moody solo improvisation under a soaring cathedral ceiling or speedy post-bop licks in a smoky nightclub, her work is distinguished by her unprecedented ability to be soloist, accoimpanist, and bass player, all at the same time ... it's really amazing ... Dennerlein's remarkable gift of being three musicians at once."
(The Georgia Straight, Canada)



Impressions of the 51st Monterey Jazz Festival... Swinging into the Monterey Jazz Festival's final evening, German organist Barbara Dennerlein wastes no time in digging a deep soul-jazz groove. "Easygoing," an original tune with a cool "Killer Joe" walking vibe, finds Dennerlein stretching out almost instantly with a supercharged solo that sounds like it requires three hands. And then, as if to make sure all cylinders are firing at full capacity, she immediately leaps into a second solo, using nothing but the bass pedals at her feet. Having thus established her total mastery of organ-jazz conventions, Dennerlein then proceeds to shatter the mold. Without ever sacrificing the almighty groove, she calmly guides her trio into dense thickets, modernist harmonies and odd meters. Dennerlein possesses awesome technique and a prodigious feel for the dynamic range of her instrument, varying the feel throughout each tune from a whisper to a scream. An accomplished pipe organist as well, Dennerlein frequently makes the B3 mimic its larger cousin, at one point summoning a remarkable 5 second blast like a Bach fugue, a radio soap opera and a sci-fi movie score rolled into one. These are the best moments of the set, with Dennerlein and guitarist Brian Pardo crackling with the concentrated power and focus of a laser beam, rapturous and unrelenting..."
Jazzobserver, (USA)

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Barbara Dennerlein has indeed developed her own signature sound and approach to the Hammond B3 organ, whereas most organ ensembles include a bassist to lay down the bassline, or use their left hand to play the bassline on the keyboard, Dennerlein uses the foot pedals to play the bassline and she also incorporates the use of Midi technology to further enhance the listener's experience.