Crazy Otto
Crazy Otto was one of the stranger and more entertaining phenomenon in light jazz in the years after World War II. Born in Germany in 1912, Fritz Schulz-Reichel was the son of a classical musician, and took up the piano at age six. By age eight, he had developed a unique style of performing, playing the melody with his left hand and the rhythm with his right. By the time he was in his teens, he seemed destined for a career as a concert pianist, but he discovered popular music and decided that this was where his future lay.
He became a light jazz performer known for his unusual, often comical improvisations built on popular melodies, and began building a reputation akin to Victor Borge or Francois Glorieux, but anchored in popular, as opposed to classical, music. When he wasn't performing in clubs in Berlin or Paris (where he was elected an honorary member of the Hot Club of France for his improvisational abilities), he wrote songs in a pop vein. In 1953, Schulz-Reichel took on the performing identity of Crazy Otto and made records for Deutsche Grammophon, either solo or with a small rhythm group backing him up, consisting of originals and improvisations on established popular tunes.
He became phenomenally popular not only in Germany but also in France and England, and his records sold extraordinarily well in America as well, where his work was released by Decca and, later, MGM. His most notable single contribution, beyond recordings of particular songs, was the invention of the Tipsy Wire Box, a device that transformed any piano, up to and including the most perfectly tuned grand, into an out-of-tune beer hall instrument. He became something of a pop culture phenomenon in America during the mid-'50s, with Johnny Maddox achieving a number two hit pop single with "The Crazy Otto Medley" in 1955, and releasing his own singles, including "Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh." Schulz-Reichel had top musicians covering his songs and playing on his work, including German jazz guitarist Ladi Geisler. He was still fondly remembered by German and European jazz fans at the time of his death in 1990.
© Bruce Eder /TiVo
Discographie
17 album(s) • Trié par Meilleures ventes
-
Vintage Belle Epoque No. 42 - EP: Crazy Otto and His Crazy Piano
Comédies musicales - Paru chez Vintage Music le 30 mars 1958
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano at the Honky Tonk Bar
Ragtime - Paru chez Vintage Music le 15 avr. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vintage Music No. 153 - LP: Crazy Otto
Comédies musicales - Paru chez Vintage Music le 21 juin 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vintage Belle Epoque No. 69 - EP: Pepe
Comédies musicales - Paru chez Vintage Music le 14 nov. 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vintage Belle Epoque Nº 28 - EPs Collectors, "Crazy Otto's Piano Massacre"
Dixieland - Paru chez Vintage Music le 6 juil. 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Massacre (Mono Version)
Pop - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Crazy Otto Rides Again
Jazz - Paru chez CoolNote le 30 sept. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Smiles (Billboard Hot 100 - No. 21)
Country - Paru chez Music Manager le 19 déc. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Very Best Of
Ragtime - Paru chez Brownbeats Records le 15 août 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Plays Crazy Tunes
Ragtime - Paru chez Master Classics Records le 1 juil. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vintage Belle Epoque Nº 22 - EPs Collectors, "Oldtimers'"
Dixieland - Paru chez Vintage Music le 4 juin 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
Smiles / Shine (All Tracks Remastered)
Pop - Paru chez Hit Singles Records le 11 nov. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Glad Rag Doll (Dougherty-Ager-Yellen)
Pop - Paru chez JB Production CH le 3 déc. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Crazy Otto's Back In Town
Pop - Paru chez Leverage le 1 déc. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo