Alex Riel (13 September 1940 – 9 June 2024) was a Danish jazz and Rock music drummer.[ Jeg skal sgu sidde ved trommerne Af Bine Madsen. Dagbladenes Bureau, 9 February 2010. Same interview in Flensborg Avis, 17 February 2010, Side 18][ Alex Riel Horsens Folkeblad, 16 February 2010, 2. sektion, Side 12] His first group, the Alex Riel/Palle Mikkelborg Quintet, won the Montreux Grand Prix Award at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1968.
Biography
Riel recorded with, among others,
Booker Ervin,
Kenny Drew,
Kenny Werner,
Bob Brookmeyer, Thomas Clausen,
Bill Evans, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis,
Donald Byrd, Don Cherry,
Thad Jones, and
Ben Webster. He formed a jazz ensemble with bass player Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen.
[ Jazz at Foreign Ministry of Denmark] Riel was also a founding member in 1968 of the Danish rock group The Savage Rose.
[ Riel og rytmen. Portræt: Alex Riel Af Tove Skytte Erngaard. Jyllands-Posten, 27 July 1997, Kultur og tv, Side 1] His album
The Riel Deal won a Danish Grammy for Best Danish Jazz Album in 1996.
In September 2010, Riel's 70th birthday celebration at the Jazzhus Montmartre was broadcast live with the title Celebration of a Living Jazz Legend by the Danish national television station TV2.
Personal life and death
Riel married crime fiction author
Ane Riel in 2002. They lived in
Liseleje in
North Zealand from 2005 until his death.
He died at his home there on 9 June 2024, at the age of 83.
[ Trommeslager Alex Riel er sovet ind efter uhelbredelig sygdom ]
Awards
-
Danish Jazz Musician Award 1965 presented by Duke Ellington and Sam Woodyard (Photo)
-
Ben Webster Prize 1999 (shared with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Olivier Antunes)
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Danish Grammy for Best Danish Jazz Album of 1996 for The Riel Deal
[
]
-
Life Time Achievement Award from IFPI 2007 (Photo)
Discography
As leader
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Alex Riel Trio (Fona, 1965) – with Kenny Drew, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
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Emergence (Red Records, 1994) – with Jesper Lundgaard, Jerry Bergonzi
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The Riel Deal (Stunt Records, 1996) – with Kenny Werner, Jerry Bergonzi
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Unriel (Stunt, 1997) – with Jerry Bergonzi, Michael Brecker, Eddie Gómez, Mike Stern, Niels Lan Doky
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DSB Kino (Stunt, 1998) – with Harry Sweets Edison, Roger Kellaway
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Rielatin (Stunt, 1999) – with Jerry Bergonzi, Mike Stern, Kenny Werner
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Celebration (Stunt, 2000)
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Live at Jive (Stunt, 2001) – with Luts Büchner Quartet
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Alex Riel Trio: What Happened? (Cowbell, 2004)
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Alex Riel Trio: The High & The Mighty (Cowbell, 2007)
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Alex Riel Quartet: Live at Stars (Cowbell, 2008) – with Charlie Mariano
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Alex Riel Quartet: Riel Time (Cowbell, 2008)
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Get Riel (Cowbell, 2008)
As sideman
With Steve Dobrogosz
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Confessions (Prophone, 1980)
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Scary Bright (Dragon, 1984) – with Berit Andersson
With Kenny Dorham
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Scandia Skies (SteepleChase, 1963 1980)
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Short Story (SteepleChase, 1963 1979)
With Dexter Gordon
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Cheese Cake (SteepleChase, 1964 1979)
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King Neptune (SteepleChase, 1964 1979)
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Love for Sale (SteepleChase, 1964 1982)
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It's You or No One (SteepleChase, 1964 1983)
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Billie's Bounce (SteepleChase, 1964 1983)
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Loose Walk (SteepleChase 1965 2003)
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Misty (SteepleChase, 1965 2004)
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Heartaches (SteepleChase, 1965 2004)
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Ladybird (SteepleChase, 1965 2005)
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More Than You Know (SteepleChase, 1975)
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Swiss Nights Vol. 1 (SteepleChase, 1975 1976)
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Swiss Nights Vol. 2 (SteepleChase, 1975 1978)
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Swiss Nights Vol. 3 (SteepleChase, 1975 1979)
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Lullaby for a Monster (SteepleChase, 1976 1981)
With Karin Krog
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You Must Believe in Spring (Polydor, 1974)
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Love Songs (Polydor, 1977)
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Something Borrowed … Something New (Meantime, 1989) – with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Kenny Drew
With Warne Marsh
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(Storyville, 1975 1976)
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Live at the Montmartre Club (Storyville, 1975 1983) – with Lee Konitz
With Jackie McLean
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Live at Montmartre (SteepleChase, 1972)
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Ode to Super (SteepleChase, 1973) – with Gary Bartz
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A Ghetto Lullaby (SteepleChase, 1974)
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The Meeting (SteepleChase, 1974) – with Dexter Gordon
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The Source (SteepleChase, 1974) – with Dexter Gordon
With Palle Mikkelborg
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The Mysterious Corona (Debut, 1967) – with Radiojazzgruppen
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Ashoka Suite/Guadiana/Concert (Dedicated to Torolf Mølgaard) (Metronome, 1970)
With The Savage Rose
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The Savage Rose (Polydor, 1968)
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In the Plain (Polydor, 1968)
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Travelin' (Polydor, 1969)
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Your Daily Gift (Gregar, 1970)
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Refugee (Gregar, 1971)
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Babylon (Polydor, 1972)
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Dødens triumf (Polydor, 1972)
With Archie Shepp
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The House I Live In (SteepleChase, 1963 1980) – with Lars Gullin
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Frankfurt Workshop '78: Tenor Saxes (Circle, 1978 1985) – with George Adams, Heinz Sauer
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Devil Blues (Circle, 1978 1986)
With Sahib Shihab
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Sahib's Jazz Party (Debut Records, 1963)
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Sahib Shihab and The Danish Radio Jazz Group (Oktav, 1965)
With Stuff Smith
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Live at the Montmartre (Storyville, 1965 1988)
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Swingin' Stuff (EmArcy, 1965)
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Violin Summit (SABA, 1967) – with Stéphane Grappelli, Svend Asmussen, Jean-Luc Ponty
With Ben Webster
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Intimate! (Fontana, 1965)
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Blue Light (Polydor, 1966)
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Duke's in Bed! (Black Lion, 1969)
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Stormy Weather (Polydor, 1970) – with Kenny Drew
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(SteepleChase, 1973)
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Saturday Night at the Montmartre (Black Lion, 1974)
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Atmosphere for Lovers and Thieves (Black Lion, 1976)
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Midnight at the Montmartre (Black Lion, 1977)
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Sunday Morning at the Montmartre (Black Lion, 1977)
With others
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Hacke Björkstens septett: I lur och dur (Megafon, 1972)
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Bob Brookmeyer: Holiday (Challenge, 1981)
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Birgit Brüel: Dame i Danmark (Metronome, 1967)
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Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis: Swingin' Till the Girls Come Home (SteepleChase, 1976)
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Wild Bill Davison with Kansas City Stompers: Wild Bill Davison in Copenhagen (CBS, 1974) – with Sanne Salomonsen
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Champion Jack Dupree: The Blues of Champion Jack Dupree (Storyville, 1965)
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Herb Geller: Rhyme and Reason (Atlantic, 1975) – with Mark Murphy, Earl Jordan
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Lars Graugaard: Smile (Skylight, 1986) – with Jukka Tolonen, Bo Stief
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Al Grey and Jesper Thilo Quintet: Al Grey & Jesper Thilo Quintet (Storyville, 1987)
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Bent Jædig: Danish Jazzman 1967 (Debut, 1967)
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Steve Kuhn, Bengt Hallberg, Monica Zetterlund, Radiojazzgruppen: Chicken Feathers (SR, 1972)
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Ken McIntyre: Hindsight (SteepleChase, 1974)
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The Radio Jazz Group: The Radio Jazz Group (Debut, 1965)
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Zoot Sims and Kenny Drew Trio: Live in Denmark (Vantage, 1978 1990)
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Thorgeir Stubø: Flight (Hot Club, 1985)
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Toots Thielemans: Slow Motion (CBS, 1978)
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Radka Toneff: Live in Hamburg (Odin, 1981 1992)
==Gallery==
External links
