Pianist, organist and composer Rudi Wilfer was a working musician as early as 1959, as trumpeter in the late Fatty George’s band. Here, he had the good fortune to play with such international names as Slide Hampton, Carmell Jones, Oliver Nelson, Leo Wright, etc. In 1973, he received the first prize in the international jazz-composition contest of Monaco with his “For Joe”.
Wilfer, along with Joe Zawinul, Fritz Pauer and Friedrich Gulda, is one of the leading Austrian jazz pianists. Early in 1981, he presented his great Mass, with the Arnold Schoenberg Choir, a string orchestra and jazz-sextett, in Vienna. With this work he established his name as a serious composer.
Featuring Rudi Wilfer (piano, organ, arrangement), Aladar Pege (bass), Rudi Staeger (drums), Karl Ratzer (guitar on tracks 6-10).
Bonustracks: Elly Wright (vocal on tracks 11-13), Alfred Winter (bass on tracks 11-13).
Tracklisting:
1. On The Sunny Side Of The Street (4:05)
2. After You’ve Gone (3:53)
3. Smile (Wenn Deine Freunde scheiden) (Chaplin) (4:00)
4. Dein ist mein ganzes Herz (3.59)
5. Smile (J. Turner) (3:09)
6. All Of Me/Bye Bye Blues/Hello Dolly (4:31)
7. The Shadow Of Your Smile (3:12)
8. The Lady Is A Tramp (3:13)
9. You Are The Sunshine Of My Life (3:22)
10. Sweat Georgia Brown (2:32)
Bonustracks:
1. Flat Foot Floogee (3:45)
2. Twee Dee Tweet Blues (4:38)
3. Pennies From Heaven (3:49)
Recorded live 1982 & 1993 in Vienna.
Released 1994.