Addi Münsters Old Merrytale Jazzband Addi Münsters Old Merrytale Jazzband Main address:Wisplerstr. 56 22609 Hamburg, Germany Tel:+49 (0)40 82 37 91
OMTJ Story | Addi Münster's Old Merrytale Jazzband

OMTJ Story

The Old Merry Tale Jazzband from Hamburg, Germany, celebrated its 50-year anniversary in 2006. After its founding in 1956 and first successes in the region, the band soon advanced to Germany´s most prominent and popular jazz orchestra under the leadership of its former musical director, Gerhard Vohwinkel. The band never just copied its American and English idols but developed from the beginning its own original, specific sound. The Old Merry Tale Jazzband also composed and played some very popular German songs which made it into the charts in the 50s and 60s.

The well-known tune "Am Sonntag will mein Süßer mit mir segeln gehen" ("my sweetheart wants to sail with me this sunday") is in everybody´s ear still today. Addi Münster, who formed the new band carrying his name in 1984, was a member of the old Merry Tale Jazzband from the beginning. Gerhard Vohwinkel, the trumpet player and composer returned as musical director, but Addi also recruited new and younger talents to join the orchestra.



The band´s favorites include tunes from the Swing era, such as songs performed by the Benny Moten or Henry Red Allen orchestras, but is, of course, familiar with the entire Dixieland repertoire. Old original songs are often perfomed in a more modern New Orleans style. But African and Latin rythms can also be heard, even classical themes have made their way into the band´s repertoire. Addi Münsters Old Merry Tale Jazzband is often cited for its superior sound and admirable stylistic variety. The small orchestra with four brass players and four rhythmic parts often sounds like a bigband. Also in the repertoire are arrangements for jazz quartet and solo performances of exceptional brass players.

The Band unites musicians from different generations. All of them share a specific interest and passion for traditional jazz music, however, the repertoire and arrangements leave much room for the individual musicians´ own musical and stylistic preferences. This attitude attracts young talents. Addi´s role as an outstanding entertainer is indisputable but other band members can also be seen as frontman. This leads to new stories and situations and gives the true fan an opportunity to enjoy the OMTJ family in a different light every time the band performs.

Addi Münsters Old Merry Tale Jazzband has given guest performances for example in Denmark, the Netherlands, Hungary and Sweden, even in St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) and participated twice in the largest Dixieland festival in Sacramento. Since 1990, the band participates regularly in the Dixieland festival in Dresden after having played there first in 1975. The musicians love to travel by boat, if on the Elbe from Hamburg to Dresden or on the Danube from Passau to Budapest. In 2006, Addi Münsters Jazzband made their debut on Germany´s most luxurious cruise ship, the MS Deutschland, also called the "Traumschiff" ("dreamboat").