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Attila Zoller

Attila Cornelius Zoller (born June 13, 1927 in Visegrád, Hungary; died January 25, 1998 in Townshend, Vermont) was the first guitarist to discover free jazz and is considered as one of the innovators of modern jazz guitar. As a child, Zoller was taught classical violin by his father, a professional violinist. In his teens, he switched to flugelhorn, then jazz bass, and finally guitar. Zoller quit school during the Russian occupation of Hungary following World War II and began playing professionally in Budapest jazz clubs. He escaped Hungary in 1948 just before the permanent Soviet blockade of the country and began his serious music career after he moved to Vienna in 1948, He formed a jazz group with the accordionist and vibraphonist Vera Auer. Zoller moved to Germany in 1954, where he played with pianist Jutta Hipp, saxophonist Hans Koller and trombonist Albert Mangelsdorff. Visiting American musicians (notably Oscar Pettiford and Lee Konitz) admired Zoller's work and urged him to move to the U.S., which he did in 1959 after winning a scholarship to the Lenox School of Jazz. There he studied with Jim Hall and roomed with Ornette Coleman and Don Cherry, whose influence sparked Zoller's interest in free jazz. Zoller played in drummer Chico Hamilton's group in 1960, with Benny Goodman and with flutist Herbie Mann from 1962-1965. In 1965, Zoller began leading a free jazz-influenced group with the pianist Don Friedman, and in 1968 co-led a group with Konitz and Mangelsdorff. Zoller played and recorded with among others with Tony Scott, Stan Getz, Red Norvo, Jimmy Raney, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Shirley Scott, Cal Tjader and many more. In addition to his activities on stage which take him regularly to the European festival circuit, to Japan and to the various US jazzclubs, Zoller was a renowned teacher and founding president of the Vermont Jazz Center (since 1985). In 1995 Zoller received the New England Foundation for the Arts Achievement Award for his lifelong musical contribution to jazz. He was also a designer of musical instruments; he patented a bi-directional pickup for guitars in 1971 and helped design his own signature line of guitars with different companies.


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12
Album Review

Lajos Dudas: Radio Days Vol. 2

Read "Radio Days Vol. 2" reviewed by Mark Sullivan


The previous compilation Radio Days: The Music Of Lajos Dudas (JazzSick Records, 2016) was released to celebrate German-Hungarian jazz clarinetist/composer Lajos Dudas' 75th birthday. It collected performances dating from 1984 to the early 2000s: about twenty years. The new volume's coverage is both wider and deeper. The dates range from 1976 to 2017—over forty years—and the total time is about the length of three CDs. It comes on a special memory card, an unusual format well-suited to what Dudas describes ...

343
Album Review

Attila Zoller Trio: Common Cause

Read "Common Cause" reviewed by Mike Neely


Among the legions of neglected jazz guitar players, the late Attila Zoller is one of the best. Enja's reissue of Common Cause presents all the evidence needed to make the case. Bassist Ron Carter and drummer Joe Chambers round out this fine trio recording, one that suggests a reassessment of Zoller is long overdue.

Zoller has a big sound oddly reminiscent of Charlie Christian. They were both guitarists who loved the sound of the electric guitar, ...

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Video / DVD

Attila Zoller and Don Friedman

Attila Zoller and Don Friedman

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Attila Zoller is another guitarist who's fame has unfairly faded with time among jazz fans. Like guitarist Gabor Szabo, Zoller was a Hungarian refugee who escaped Soviet invasion. He found his way to Austria in 1948 and moved to the U.S. in 1959 to perform, record and teach. He also had enormous influence over the jazz fusion movement that would start in the late 1960s and flower in the '70s. Among his many fascinating avant-garde albums were three recorded with ...

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Radio Days Vol. 2

RaRecords & Film
2022

buy

Jazz Soundtracks

Avalon Music
2013

buy

Common Cause

Enja Records
2009

buy

When It's Time

Avalon Music
2005

buy

Common Cause

Enja Records
2005

buy

Live Highlights '92

Avalon Music
2004

buy

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