Georg Ruby/www. georgruby. de
Georg Ruby Piano Solo
Improvised piano music
The opening concert of the jazz festival »Post This Neo That« at the Philharmonie in Cologne was the starting point for Georg Ruby's successful career as solo pianist. In his work he uses sort of networking technique combining traditional jazz improvisation with elements of New Music, German popular music of the 20ies and 30ies and HipHop of the 90ies of the last century. In his music he integrates groove and swing as well as chamber musical elements or even abstract free-jazz-like aggressive components.
Georg Ruby's solo programmes are featured on the following CDs:
- STADTGARTEN SERIES VOL. 1 / JHM 1001 SER CD
- STADTGARTEN SERIES VOL. 4 / JHM 1004 SER CD
- STRANGE LOOPS/ JHM 57 CD
- SOLO (Bei dir war es immer so schön) / TEATIME VOL. 2 / POISE 6 CD
Georg Ruby Village Zone
feat. Dieter Manderscheid and Christian Thomé
The musical preferences of Georg Ruby, Dieter Manderscheid and Christian Thomé are obvious: they love free and spontaneous improvisation, so-called instant composing, »collaboration« while performing their own material with no reference to obsolete, classical trio hierarchy structures and having fun re-arranging old standards. Their choice are not »worn out« hits of jazz history. They try to work out highly original versions of the music of Theo Mackeben and Frederick Hollaender, famous German songwriters of the 30ies and 40ies of the last century. Over the last years the three musicians from Cologne have become some of the most important musicians of the European jazz scene: Christian Thomé with his crossover projects, Dieter Manderscheid as favourite sideman of, e. g., Gerry Hemingway, Ekkehard Jost, Klaus König, and Georg Ruby - by the way co-founder of the meanwhile legendary Stadtgarten project in Cologne - as solo piano player and conductor of the Village Zone Orchestra, BJJO (Berliner Jugend Jazz Orchester) and the Blue Art Orchestra (prizewinner of German orchestra competition 1996).
Georg Ruby - piano
Christian Thomé - drums, perc
Dieter Manderscheid - bass
Georg Ruby's trio concept is featured on the following CDs:
- DIOKO > RUBY-MANDERSCHEID-KOBIALKA / Potosi / JHM 20 LP
- DIOKO > RUBY-MANDERSCHEID-KOBIALKA / Helix / JHM 29 CD
- Georg Ruby VILLAGE ZONE Dieter Manderscheid - Christian Thomé / Mackeben Revisited / JHM 121
Blue Art Orchestra / Conductor: Georg Ruby
Blue Art Orchestra (BAO) was founded in 1988. Since 1989 it has been conducted by Georg Ruby and has found its own way of interpretation of contemporary orchestral jazz music. Compositions and arrangements of musicians like Kenny Wheeler, Rob Pronk, Django Bates, Francy Boland and, of course, Georg Ruby himself are characterising the band's repertoire. The BAO also has two vocalists: Ameli Dziembar and Volker Leprich. They are featured soloists and also »serve« as additional musical colour without any lyrics. The orchestra is prizewinner of the German orchestra competition 1996 in Gera. Together with two other bands it has received the highest German award for big bands.
Tours to England, France and Spain as well as one to Poland, sponsored by Deutscher Musikrat because of the 1996 prizewininng, provided indispensable international (musical) contacts.
The CD's of BAO
FLY (rubyRec 01)
CLAIR-OBSCUR (rubyRec 02)
THE TOPAZ SESSION (rubyRec 03)
Distribution:
JazzHausMusik
www. jazzhausmusik. de
Village Zone Orchestra
Since 1985 the elite of improvising musicians in west Germany is streaming to the Village Zone Orchestra (formerly Jazz Orchester Rheinland-Pfalz). The orchestra (conductor: Georg Ruby) is renowned as one of he most interesting ensembles of its kind.
Village Zone Orchestra offers two different kinds of programme.
Repertoire 1 comprises contemporary material for jazz orchestra. To have this at one's disposal has to be regarded as a great honour, because extraordinary composers as Maria Schneider (USA), Kenny Wheeler (CAN/GB), Django Bates (GB) and Francy Boland let the orchestra play their arrangements, which are otherwise only played by the original groups of the composers themselves. This reveals something of the orchestra's special qualities. Some arrangements of Jimi Hendrix classics have turned out to be especially attractive for the audience.
From »Foxy Lady« to »Little Wing« - featuring dynamic male vocalist Volker Leprich - the Village Zone Orchestra shows in a very stylish and infectious way how capable it is to perform even unusual arrangements. Furthermore the orchestra features female vocal artist Ameli Dziemba as soloist as well as additional musical colour, performing without any lyrics. Last but not least the compositions and arrangements of the orchestra's conductor Georg Ruby contribute to create together with the musicians of the Village Zone Orchestra its distinctive sound.
Georg Ruby & Village Zone Orchestra "The Music of Francy Boland"
The Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band from Cologne has been from 1960 to 1980 the most successful European orchestra and its conductor Francy Boland one of the world's most charismatic and respected arrangers. His success as arranger and composer also led to an engagement as arranger for the Count Basie Big Band in the 60ies - no award could ever replace such an honour. Before his »baby«, the Clarke/Boland Big Band, was given life, he had been arranger of the RIAS Big Band and the WDR Big Band from Cologne for a long time.
Like some other renowned German and European jazz orchestras (Kurt Edelhagen, Manfred Schoof) this band also was connected with the city of Cologne and its jazz scene. Gastronomic entrepreneur Gigi Campi (»Campi im Funkhaus«/Cologne) was mastermind and manager of the band and successfully provided all the international contacts, which helped in almost no time to build up the band's reputation as one of the world's best jazz orchestras.
Georg Ruby has researched different sources and found all the incredibly swinging material and is able to present an energetic, outrageous programme with his 20 members Village Zone Orchestra.
Repertoire 2 comprises »classical« big band music: all the best swinging material of musicians like Sammy Nestico and Neal Hefti (from the bandbook of the Count Basie Big Band) or arrangers like Bill Holman (Stan Kenton Band) as well as music of Peter Herbolzheimer and Rob Pronk.
Ameli Dziemba, with her versatile timbre, is featured as female vocal soloist. She makes her mark on all the songs of the era (from »All of me« to Ellington's »A-Train«).
Tours to West Africa (1984), USA (1987), Malta (1988), USSR (1990), East Africa (1991), Russia (1991/1992), Malta (1993), USA (1994), Mexico, Honduras and Panama (1997) provided the indispensable international (musical) contacts for Georg Ruby and his Village Zone Orchestra.
CDs of the Village Zone Orchestra (Jazz-Orchester-Rheinland-Pfalz):
- KAZZOU (LJBB 9104)
- LIKE LIFE (LJBB 9405)
- LAST SEASON (LJBB 9706).
Georg Ruby & Village Zone Orchestra
Vocal (Ameli Dziemba)
Vocal (Volker Leprich)
Alto Sax/Soprano Sax/Flute/Clarinet
Alto Sax/Soprano Sax/Flute/Clarinet
Tenor Sax/Soprano Sax/Flute/Clarinet
Tenor Sax/Soprano Sax/Flute/Clarinet
Bari Sax/Bass Clarinet/Flute/Picc Flute
Trumpet/Flgh / Trombone
Trumpet/Flgh / Trombone
Trumpet/Flgh / Trombone
Trumpet/Flgh / Trombone
Trumpet/Flgh / (Tuba)
Guitar
Piano/E-Piano/Synth
Double-Bass/E-Bass
Drums
