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Stefan Wagner
- Guitar, Compositions
Stefan Wagner (born in 1965) is known to many
jazz fans in Austria and Germany since the 1990ies mostly as
music journalist and presenter of various jazz broadcasts on
several public radio stations. He proved his love for jazz for
example with interesting portraits of Art Blakey, Billie Holiday,
Thelonious Monk or John Coltrane. At the moment he does mainly
programs about musicians of the actual scene, but also features
about special styles or characteristics of jazz music.
Stefan Wagner
started to play guitar at the age of 15 and came into jazz when
listening to the records “Electric Guitarist” by
John McLauglin, “Maiden Vouyage” by Herbie Hancock
and a live recording of John Coltrane from the year 1961. His
teachers were (among others) Fritz Steiner, Klaus Spechtl and
Peter Legat (founder and leader of the group “Count Basic”);
he finished his music studies on the “Franz Schubert”
conservatory in Vienna with a concert degree.
1986 the
guitarist founded the “Stefan Wagner Group” for
the first time and played shows in Viennese Jazz clubs regularly
until the beginning of the 1990ies. The repertoire of the band
consisted of originals, but also of selected pieces written
by musicians like John Scofield, Mike Stern, George Benson,
Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock or Miles Davis.
After a
break of several years, Stefan Wagner formed a new band in 1996
- first just to give a performance on a student’s party
at the Viennese location “Arena”. Because of the
success of this concert Stefan Wagner decided to establish a
new, permanent working group once again. The second edition
of the “Stefan Wagner Group” now exists since 1997
and has become a true platform for the guitarist’s originals,
more than the first edition of the band had been.
Stefan Wagner
sees in his compositions a way to show his very own musical
expressions, his goal is to be recognized not only as a guitarist,
but also as a composer.
In addition
to his own group, Stefan Wagner played among others in the band
“Vienna Jazz Formation” (founded by the saxophonist
Hannes Meixner), as a guest in the trio of the Hammond organ
player T. C. Pfeiler and together with the Austrian saxophone
– legend Hans Salomon.
