Otto Bredl

Otto Bredl is a German jazz trombonist whose steady presence on the European music scene began in the years immediately following the end of the second World War. His horn playing, enthusiastic and juicy to a near-slobbering point, was an atmospheric feature of many American clubs that sprung up in Munich during this period. Between 1948 and the mid '80s, Bredl appeared on at least 100 recordings, including a series of collaborations between European big bands and visiting American jazz stars. The sight of Bredl in a brass section was a sign of quality, sure to extend to the other trombonists flanking him -- great players such as his frequent associate Jiggs Whigham, or the flashy Stan Kenton alumni Bobby Burgess. Prior to discovering trombone and the music of Jack Teagarden, Bredl played an even weirder instrument, the bassoon. His early training was in the classical academy, a situation he was yanked away from by the opportunities in clubs and subsequent grander exposure over German radio. From 1949 he was steadily employed in the well-financed broadcasting studios by radio bandleaders Kurt Edelhagen and Eddie Sauter. By 1961, he had become associated with the fabulous Clarke-Boland Big Band, a collaborative effort between French pianist Francy Boland and the American bebop drummer Kenny Clarke. Bredl remained flexible as the genre he loved went through periods of adolescent angst; fusion, for example, came along in the '70s and can be directly blamed for the trombonist's involvement with projects such as the album Illusions on a Double Dimple by the group Triumvirat. Hard blowing was also required for his '70s assignment with bandleader Peter Herbolzheimer, who, it must be assumed, knew how to torture trombonists since he played the instrument himself. No reflecting on dimples here; a retrospective of this band boasts of containing Powerhouse Sounds of the '70s. Bredl, whose name sounds like something one might order in a Munich bakery, has also recorded with vocalist Sarah Vaughan, tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, and the '50s pop singer Caterina Valente. ~ Eugene Chadbourne