Former band members
In alphabetical order.Andreas von der Meden - banjo and guitar
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Andreas ("Andy") started not only his acting career as child, but he also began to play the drums for the Oimel Jazz Youngsters at age 12. Andy then switched to banjo and guitar and performed as a soloist with some of the leading Oldtime Jazz bands in North Germany at the time.
Only 16 years old, he got the unusual and honorable chance to put together an All Star formation to accompany guest soloists at NDR Jazz concerts. This gave him the chance to meet Jazz giants like Albert Nicholas, Peanuts Holland, Toots Thielemans, Fatty George, Rolf Kühn, to name a few.
From 1960 to 1961 Andy played in Berlin for the famous City Stompers, together with Gerhard Vohwinkel, but then decided to make acting, once again, his main profession. This did not keep him from making Jazz music in the years to come with the Steamboat Stompers and others.
In 1969 he became a new member of the Old Merry Tale Jazzband, before, in 1986, he followed Addi Münster to form his own branch of the OMTJ. Since 1997, Andy shares his position as the OMTJ´s banjo player with Jürgen Hintsche.
Bruno Lefeldt - piano
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Gerhard Vohwinkel - trumpet
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Gerhard Vohwinkel, the musical leader of the OMTJ, has a great reputation among Traditional Jazz musicians and fans in all of Europe. Since 1954, Gerhard´s original trumpet sound can be heard in various bands around Hamburg, he has played the banjo as a guest in Ken Coyler´s band, and was engaged as a trumpet player and arrangeur by Papa Bue´s Viking Jazzmen in Copenhagen from 1956 to 1958.
Under his leadership Papa Bues´s successful band recorded its first, now historical records for the Storyville label. From 1959 on, Gerard contributed his knowledge and experience to advance the musical quality of the then amateur band OMTJ and changed it into a professional, successful company. For personal reasons, Gerhad moved to Berlin in 1961 where he joined the top band Spree City Stompers before moving on to Munich where he became a founding member of the Allotria Jazzband.
When Jost Münster called on him to join his new branch of the Old Merry Tale, Gerhard did not hesitate to return to his roots in Hamburg. To this date, Addi Münsters band plays not only the internationally known Jazz standards but also the numerous compositions and arrangements that Gerhard created for the band, and which make it sound so special and inimitable.
Jochen Rose - trumpet
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email: joro(at)t-online.de
Jochen Rose, the OMTJ´s jazz trumpet player from Hannover, joined the Jazzband in 1986. Jochen first learnt to play classical violin and later rock guitar before he changed to trumpet in 1958. His first big performance was with the Storyville Jazzband from Hannover in the TV-movie Liebe 61 in the early 60s. In the 70s, Jochen played with the band´s Rock Jazz successor, Store Evil, on a regular basis.
In addition, he participated in a concert and educational tour of Africa with the Joe Viery Big Band on behalf of the Goethe Institut and played with the Hannover-based Rockband, Harvey Cooper and others. In the 80s, Jazzprofi Jochen became more interested in Swing and Dixieland Jazz and consequently joined the Hot Pepper Orchestra.
With this traditional band from Hannover, of which he is still a member, Jochen played at countless events, among them several engagements at tourist resorts world-wide for international tour operators.
If his time allows, Jochen can also be seen with the Hannover Big Band, the Adderley Memorial Band and the Six Sounds from Bremen. Trumpet solo parts in the German movie-hit "Männerpension" 1995/1996 complete Jochen´s career and his image of a hot and "fit" trumpet player.
Jürgen Hintsche - banjo
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email: j.hintsche(at)t-online.de
"In Celle jazzt man auch ganz dufte", a compositon of OMTJ´s_Gerhard Vohwinkel, was first published in 1960. It was this song about the Jazz feeling in the small towns between Hannover and Hamburg that made Jürgen Hintsche, who was born in Celle in 1943, buy his first Banjo.
His first engagement from 1960 to 1964 was with the group Glory Skiffle Tramps, the best skiffle band in all of North Germany at the time. Other stations on his way to the OMTJ included Sister Kate´s Jazzmen (1965 to 1971), the Canal Street Jazzband (1972/1973) and Wolfgang Brinkers Jazzland Express (1974 to 1980).
He has also been a musical and personal friend of Reiner Regel for a long time before he joined Regel´s Arimail in 1987. Jürgen made many guest appearances at both the Old Merry Tale Band and Addi Münsters Old Merry Tale Band before he became a member of the OMTJ in 1997.
Lutz Büchner - saxophone & clarinet
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In 1994 he became a permanent member of the NDR Bigband.
Along with his bandmate, Swedish bass player Lucas Lindholm, drummer Heinz Lichius and Buggy Braune on piano Lutz played almost weekly at a jazzclub (Dennis’) in Hamburg, featuring guests such as Wolfgand Schlueter (vib) or Gene Jackson (drums). At the same club Lutz played with Joerg Achim Keller’s 'Small Bigband’ once a week.
As a teacher Lutz worked for the Institute of Music at the University of Bremen and for the musicschool of MIB (Association of Musicians in Bremen) In Hamburg he is a member of the „Nils Gessinger Band” and Juergen Attig’s „low X”. There are several projects with Bassist Detlev Beier, Hans Dekker (drums) and Joe Dinkelbach (p), Paul Imm (b) and Ralph Reichert (ts), Marc Prietzel (drums), Jon Hammond (org) and ex Miles Davis guitarist Barry Finnerty (g), and NDR Bigband Bandmate Stefan Diez (g).
Lutz also played with larger ensembles such as the 'Ed Partyka Jazzorchestra', the 'hr Radio Bigband' in Frankfurt (at the Frankfurt Jazzfestival with Tim Hagans), the 'Bremen Bigband' and Henk Meutgeert’s 'Jazzorchestra of the Concertgebouw' in Amsterdam. 2000-2004 he played with Danish drummer Alex Riel. The quartet with Alex, Lutz, Carsten Dahl on piano and Jesper Lundgaard on bass recorded a cd („ life at Jive”) that was released by „Stunt Records”. The band performed in Denmark, Norway, Vietnam and also at the NDR-Jazzconcerts in Hamburg at Rolf-Liebermann-Studio.
Since 2001 Lutz has been playing with Joe Gallardo`s band. Joe’s CD is called „A Latin Shade of Blue” and was released by the German record label „ENJA”. The band played at jazz festivals in Burghausen, Vienna and Jazz-Baltica in Salzau. With the NDR Bigband he played concerts at jazz festivals in London, Paris, Chicago, New York and Bejing. For the „Goethe-Institute” the band toured in South-America, Spain, Portugal and South-Africa. The NDR Bigband is a sought-after orchestra, featuring musicians like Wayne Shorter, Benny Golson, Michael Gibbs, Dave Holland, Abdullah Ibrahim, Al Jarreau, Clark Terry, McCoy Tyner, Albert Mangelsdorf and many others.
In 2004 Lutz arranged two of his compositions for the NDR Bigband.
The „Trio Connex” was founded in 2004 with Bjoern Luecker (drums) and Phillip Steen (bass). The three musicians have released their recording in January 2006 (Schoener Hören Music).
Lutz’ CD „Ring” with Sandra Hempel (git), Danny Gottlieb (drums), Vladyslav Sendecki (piano), Paul Imm (bass) and Jürgen Attig (frettless bass) was published 2006 (Schoener Hören Music).
Lutz has been a friend of the OMTJ for many years, playing with the band on special occasions. He formally joined the band as lead sax and clarinet player in 2013.
Download Lutz Buechner_engl.pdf here
Reiner Regel - saxophone and clarinet
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email: info(at)reinerregel.de
web: http://www.reinerregel.de/
Reiner Regel joined the newly formed OMTJ in 1985. His influence on the sound and the quality of the group can be recognized to this day. Reiner was born and raised n Hamburg where he began to play both clarinet and saxophone at the age of 12.
After finishing highschool he studied music at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg. In 1975, Reiner published his first solo record "Clarinet Special" which resulted in the formation of his first group Reed`s & Rhythm. With this band, later renamed Airmail, Reiner went on tour in Germany and Europe. At the same time, Reiner started his cooperaton with Knut Kiesewetter and Meyers Dampfkapelle, and later with the Rentnerband.
The album "Gettin´ Airmail", published in 1983, features solely Reiner´s own compositions. According to his critics, he is one of a few European Jazz musicians who can sound like their black counterparts abroad. In addition to many life performances and CD-productions with Udo Lindenberg, Europäische Top Eight, Bill Ramsey, Hannes Wader, Inga Rumpf and others, Reiner staged in various TV and Film productions, including the famous German crime series "Tatort" and the movie hit "Männerpension".
Over the last years, he worked intensively with Gottfried Böttger with whom he recorded the CD "Reedin´ Piano". Reiner?s play is said to cover a broad musical spectrum, which for many years he is now also teaching to his many students.