Born: April 7, 1970 Primary Instrument: Bass
juergen hits the local music scene of his hometown munich at age 17. shortly after his debut as a bassplayer he plays in the opening act for ray charles.
he hones his skills at the sweelinck conservatory of amsterdam, in paris under john cage colleague joelle leandre and finally at suny purchase, new york. he graduates with a masters degree in music in 2001.
juergen played and studied with artists such as kevin mahogany, lester bowie, monty waters, scott colley, todd coolman and jon faddis.
juergen played at legendary CBGB‘s (New York), Knitting Factory (New York), Smoke (New York), Else‘s (Montreal), Studio 303 (Montreal), Theatre Garage (Minneapolis), Waterfront Theatre (Vancouver), Meander (Amsterdam) and Unterfahrt (Munich).
the year 2003 was a period of intense creative output. in that year juergen invites vocalist/laptopartist hester boverhuis of amsterdam and multi instrumentalist kai wolff of berlin to join the fun.
together with hester he writes the audio-visual music and literature performance „breakdown on paradise blvd �” showdown in three acts“, which they perform in munich at laden 13. the show contains text fragments by william burroughs, hunter s. thompson and the grimm brothers, plus fragments taken from a conversation of david bowie and william burroughs.
it stages exceptional surreal circumstances of life in sound, word and picture.
following the show juergen invites to munich the amsterdam salonorchestra rouge&noir to perform chansons from the 1920’s.
shortly thereafter juergen presents yet another performance with hester boverhuis on vocals/laptop. „the hare and the dog“ tells fairytales from various cultures.
„the world’s eerie sound“ is a follow up performance juergen does with the same lineup at the performance series „bewegungsfreiheit“ (freedom of movement) at literaturhaus in munich, making the audience drift with all senses into a magical world of fairytales both dreary and cheerful.
in july 2003 juergen puts together a group of musicians to play the international festival of poetry and literature, which takes place annually in all literaturhaus-cities in germany. the debut album „wintermaerchen“ of this group hits stores in november 2003. it’s a collection of fairytales and songs catching the mysticism of the world of everlasting ice and it‘s many surreal creatures. the sounds on this album are so cold, you will have to break them off your speakers and melt them in the fire to be able to listen to them! in the year 2004 juergen goes back to new york to work on music he wrote over a stretch of 3 years. the result is the debut album „no trespassing“ of his group ORkAaN ORkEstRA, released in april 2004. the album receives wide critical acclaim and worldwide airplay on both major and independent radio stations.
„uptOwn and thE brOnX“ is a video project juergen films, edits and scores in 2005. it’s available as a free podcast download on the internet.
the short film shows a ride on the 1-train of new york city, which connects most of the jazzclubs on manhattans westside, and therefore is one of juergen’s most frequented lines. the film demonstrates that the conductors of the mta are the one and only rappers alive.
the 2005/06 recording „let’s get it on tonight“ is the first collaboration with new york rapper jus nyce. it is being promoted during the soccer worldchampionship in germany in 2006 and receives about 59000 online hits. also in 2006 juergen goes to new york again to produce „the change up“ for rapper jus nyce. it’s said to be “...the ultimate urban real recognizes real brooklyn-bred hip hop experience”.
later in 2006 and going well into 2007 juergen conceptualizes and records the audiobook series „italienisches aus der lauschbar“ together with his wife frau viola.
the series receives wide critical acclaim and is featured in a great variety of german lifestyle magazines.
besides being an artist and composer, juergen, over the last couple of years, produced numerous soundscapes for europes biggest live tv event (15million viewers average) „wetten, dass...?“
he resides with his family in munich, sicily and new york.
„... A very well packaged CD, and the music lives up to the packaging. Up to the minute jazz , with variey, excellent compositions -plus polished arrangements and performances. Richard Good, Radio One 91 FM
„One of the most unusual and original material I've received in recent months! International team of great musicians led by, unpredictable Juergen Reiter shifts throuh different song structures with ease producing excellent sound experience. Must admit, never heard of Mr. Reiter before, but from now on he's on my list of people I'd like to hear more and more again...“ Vasja Ivanovski, 94.1 FM RADIO 2
„Certainly a great mixture of experimental fusion of sounds/electronics and a strong structure of Jazz. From beginning to end, this is a journey to many unknown/known territories...“ Paul Jove, Radio Contemporanea 103.7FM
„...very interesting cd, that offers a lot to discover. curious about the next release and how the group�'s sound will evolve...“ Robert Lochmann, Radio X (Frankfurt), DJ Jazzmadass
„This is a great CD !!! Full of very interesting sound scapes that challenge and also full of very traditional straight jazz...“ Mark Robinson, GeorgeFM
„Fine adventurous writing and ensemble playing...“ Mal Stanley, ABC Classic FM
„...Nice trax... I like your “take' on the jazz realm...it's fresh and groovy!“ Mitchell Mendys WKNH Keene
„What a great sound you have...“ Michael Criddle Triple H-FM
„Brilliant, innovative jazz grounded in the traditional roots with a nice use of electronics (never too much), real pleasant melodies, all the musicians are doing a good job.“ Pascal Dorban Radio ARA, Luxembourg
“...remarkable recording...” Dick Hughes, Jazz Action Productions, Sidney, Australia
“The album is really great...Keep up the good work!” Filipe Santos, Pais Relativo, RUA FM, Portugal
“What wonderful music! The cd is well paced and the compositions are fascinating. Great musicians.” Steve MacLeod - Host of Jazzology on Cjsr FM
„we LOVE the new disc from Juergen Reiter and his group ORkAaN ORkEstRA here at 100,000 watt radio station KUMD in Duluth MN, USA...Great new release!!“ John Ziegler, 100,000Watt Radio Station, KUMD, Duluth, USA
„This is certainly an interesting and intriguing recording and offers a different slant on Electronic Music. It is innovative in concept and meaning and it takes several listenings to understand the purpose and objective of the Album. I was also very impressed with rhythm and bass and percussion backing, it is well laid down and evolves well with the Electronics.“ John Reid, Keith Community Radio 102.8 F
„Juergen Reiter ens porta la seva darrera producció entre Manhattan i Europa, a cavall dels dos continents i de dues maneres d'entendre la música. En aquest món multi-cultural, el seu só també ho troba, i les diferents influèncias s'hi deixen sentir tant com la procedència dels mebres de la banda, “Orkaan Orkestra”, indiquen. L'àlbum, titulat “No Trespassing”, conte 10 peces que experimenten en sons, estils i improvitzacions varies sobre un únic coix�- d'esplèndit jazz. Aquest és ja el seu 7è projecte musical, des de l'any 2002. Aquest jove i creatiu music té ara 36 anys. Més informació a www.orkaan.com. L'àlbum es pot adquirir a http://cdbaby.com...“ Rafel Corbi, Radio Palafrugell, Costa Brava, Spain
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