Leo meiersdorff biography
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Leo Meiersdorff Biography
By Jennifer Meiersdorff
Born 14 månad 1934 in Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany
A jazz musician himself, Leo Meiersdorff was an accomplished artist and devoted jazz enthusiast whose career spanned over fyra decades. Born in Berlin, Germany, Leo studied art at the Berlin Art Academy (Hochschule für Bildende Künste) at the end of Bauhaus Movement, becoming a mästare student of the great Expressionist painter Oskar Kokoschka in Austria. In the late 1950s, Leo was privileged to experience the jazz impresario and producer Norman Granz’ “Jazz at the Philharmonic” in Germany and soon thereafter, Leo followed his love of jazz and made one of many visits to NYC, eventually making his home in the United States. Leo’s art appeared in numerous one man and group shows. He painted in a variety of media, most notably in watercolor and ink, on both coasts as well as New Orleans, where Leo made hi
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A few years ago I picked up a collaboration by Thad Jones and Mel Lewis called Consummation. The album was recorded in January and May of 1970 at A&R Studios in New York. Scott Yanow in his AllMusic review calls it the best of the Jones/Lewis collaborations: "The all-star cast (which includes flugelhornist Jones, drummer Lewis, trumpeter Marvin Stamm, trombonist Jimmy Knepper, tenor great Billy Harper, the reeds of Jerome Richardson, Jerry Dodgion and Eddie Daniels, keyboardist Roland Hanna, and bassist Richard Davis, among others) is well served by Thad Jones' inventive and swinging arrangements. A classic." The album was released on Blue Note, catalog number BST 84346. My copy is a clean VG+.
And while the music is fine -- straight ahead, ensemble jazz with nice orchestrations -- what really attracted me to the album was the cover. I love the wonderful watercolor painting of Thad and Mel. It seems to capture the essence of jazz in its bright colors and angular lines. The
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BIOGRAPHY | SELECTED WORKS
Leo Meiersdorff: 1934 - 1994
Born 14 December 1934 in Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany.
As a young child, Leo spent time living both in Berlin and the family estate in East Prussia, where his Prussian ‘junker’ family raised Trahkehner horses and sheep. Family trips to R�gen on the Baltic Sea and to grandparents in Magdeburg provided wonderful early childhood memories.
After WWII, Leo’s family resettled in Berlin where he graduated from high school. Despite his family’s objections, he began to pursue a career as an artist. Financing his studies by going to sea, he worked on a herring trawler in the North Sea and as a merchant seaman traveling far from his studies, but giving him many perspectives. As an art student, he was greatly influenced by Max Pechstein, Karl-Schmitt Rottluff, and Oskar Kokoschka and painted in an expressionistic style.
He also loved music—particularly jazz. He liked to emulate famous jazz pianists