Axel Zwingenberger

Born in Hamburg in 1955, Axel Zwingenberger established himself in the mid-1970s as one of the European pianists specializing in boogie-woogie and blues piano. Trained in classical music in childhood before turning in his teens to this tradition born in the United States, he develops a playing style centered on the left-hand pulse, swing, and the energy of the blues, in a faithful approach to the historic styles while integrating his own compositions. Axel Zwingenberger recorded his first album, Boogie Woogie Breakdown, in 1977, then numerous sessions and concerts with American musicians linked to blues and jazz, among whom Big Joe Turner, Lionel Hampton, Champion Jack Dupree, Jay McShann or Mama Yancey. His discography also includes duo or group projects, such as Boogie Woogie Bros. with his brother Torsten Zwingenberger in 1988, Blue Pianos with Jay McShann in 1990, Groovology with Gottfried Böttger in 2004, or The Magic of Boogie Woogie in 2010 with Charlie Watts and Dave Green as part of The ABC&D of Boogie Woogie. Present on club stages, jazz festivals and piano boogie events, Axel Zwingenberger occupies a lasting place in the contemporary circuit of this repertoire between Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.