One of the reasons we came to Austria in the first place for this sabbatical was due to the contacts I made in 2008 when I attended the Schagerl Brass Festival. Then I met Thomas Gansch of Mnozil Brass, among others. The fact that everyone was so nice made us feel that we could come here and build on those initial contacts. I can't imagine it having worked any better for us than it has. We have made some lasting friendships and had a great times. Example: the 2010 Schagerl Christmas Party.
The party is really a classic company party, given by the chief of the company, Karl Schagerl (There are actually two brothers, Karl and Robert, who are "Schagerl". Karl is the business head, Robert is the man in the shop, building their great instruments). The featured entertainment for the night was Thomas Gansch and Leonhard Paul, of Mnozil Brass, along with fabulous young saxophonist Florian Trübsbach, the great drummer Mario Gonzi, and some sidemen whose names I'm sorry I can't manage to remember. It was a great group. This weekend at Jazzland, Vienna's oldest jazz club, the group is doing a 3 night Dixieland presentation! Anyways, the night was great. We felt honored to be there. Here are some pics:
Quotes decorating the walls of the cellar where the event took place.
Loosely translated: The wise with their bitter advice/make out hearts so heavy/if it wasn't for my old barkeep/I wouldn't live much longer...
Heine: The highest form of Happiness is a life with a certain level of of craziness.
Picasso: Art washes away the dust of everyday life from your soul.
Leonhard Paul: the funniest guy in the world. Watch him at the end of the new Mnozil DVD, Magic Moments. An amazingly talented musician.
Thomas Gansch: a sweet man, and one of the greatest trumpet players in the world, in my opinion.
Florian and Thomas.
Our host, Karl Schagerl.
Lucas, digging the scene.
Leonhard and his trusty plunger. He recently broke three fingers on his left hand, but didn't let that stop him.
Mario Gonzi. One of the classiest drummers I have ever heard.
Willi Brandstötter, the great tubist from Mnozil. Another sweet guy, and a real gentleman.
Thomas on traps...
And a great time was had by all!
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