Alex Riel

Alex Riel (13 September 1940 – 9 June 2024) was a Danish jazz and rock drummer.^[1][2] His first group, the Alex Riel/Palle Mikkelborg Quintet, won the Montreux Grand Prix Award at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1968.^[3] He was married to the writer Ane Riel.

Alex Riel
Alex Riel photo by Gorm Valentin
Background information
Born	(1940-09-13)13 September 1940 Copenhagen, Denmark
Died	9 June 2024(2024-06-09) (aged 83) Liseleje, Denmark
Genres	Jazz, rock
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Drums
Years active	1962–2024
Website	www.alexriel.dk

Biography

Riel recorded with, among others, Booker Ervin, Kenny Drew, Kenny Werner, Bob Brookmeyer, Thomas Clausen, Bill Evans, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Donald Byrd, Don Cherry, Thad Jones, and Ben Webster. He formed a jazz ensemble with bass player Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen.^[4] Riel was also a founding member in 1968 of the Danish rock group The Savage Rose.^[5] His album The Riel Deal won a Danish Grammy Award Jazz in 1996.^{[citation needed]}

In September 2010, Riel's 70th birthday celebration at the Jazzhus Montmartre was broadcast live with the title Celebration of a Living Jazz Legend by the Danish national television station TV2.^[6]

Personal life and death

Riel married crime fiction author Ane Riel in 2002. They lived in Liseleje in North Zealand from 2005 until his death.^[7] He died at his home there on 9 June 2024, at the age of 83.^[8]

Awards

• Danish Jazz Musician Award 1965 presented by Duke Ellington and Sam Woodyard (Photo)^[9]
• Ben Webster 90 Years Honorary Prize 1999 (shared with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and Olivier Antunes)^{[citation needed]}
• Danish Grammy Award Jazz in 1996 for Riel's album The Riel Deal^{[citation needed]}
• Life Time Achievement Award from IFPI 2007 (Photo)^[10]

Discography

As leader

• Alex Riel Trio with Kenny Drew, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (Fona, 1965)
• Emergence with Jesper Lundgaard, Jerry Bergonzi (Red, 1994)
• The Riel Deal with Kenny Werner, Jerry Bergonzi (Stunt, 1996)
• Unriel with Jerry Bergonzi, Michael Brecker, Eddie Gómez, Mike Stern, Niels Lan Doky (Stunt, 1997)
• DSB Kino with Harry Sweets Edison, Roger Kellaway (Stunt, 1998)
• Rielatin with Jerry Bergonzi, Mike Stern, Kenny Werner (Stunt, 1999)
• Celebration (Stunt, 2000)
• Live at Jive Alex Riel/Luts Büchner Quartet (Stunt, 2001)
• What Happened? Alex Riel Trio (Cowbell, 2004)
• The High & The Mighty Alex Riel Trio (Cowbell, 2007)
• Live at Stars Alex Riel Quartet feat. Charlie Mariano (Cowbell, 2008)
• Riel Time Alex Riel Quartet (Cowbell, 2008)
• Get Riel (Cowbell, 2008)

As sideman

With Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis

• Swingin' Till the Girls Come Home (SteepleChase, 1976)

With Dexter Gordon

• Cheese Cake (SteepleChase, 1964 [1979])
• King Neptune (SteepleChase, 1964 [1979])
• Love for Sale (SteepleChase, 1964 [1982])
• It's You or No One (SteepleChase, 1964 [1983])
• Billie's Bounce (SteepleChase, 1964 [1983])
• Loose Walk (SteepleChase 1965 [2003])
• Misty (SteepleChase, 1965 [2004])
• Heartaches (SteepleChase, 1965 [2004])
• Ladybird (SteepleChase, 1965 [2005])
• More Than You Know (SteepleChase, 1975)
• Swiss Nights Vol. 1 (SteepleChase, 1975 [1976])
• Swiss Nights Vol. 2 (SteepleChase, 1975 [1978])
• Swiss Nights Vol. 3 (SteepleChase, 1975 [1979])
• Lullaby for a Monster (SteepleChase, 1976 [1981])

With Bob Brookmeyer

• Holiday (Challenge, 1981)

With Ken McIntyre

• Hindsight (SteepleChase, 1974)

With Jackie McLean

• Live at Montmartre (SteepleChase, 1972)
• Ode to Super (SteepleChase, 1973) with Gary Bartz
• A Ghetto Lullaby (SteepleChase, 1974)
• The Meeting (SteepleChase, 1974) with Dexter Gordon
• The Source (SteepleChase, 1974) with Dexter Gordon

With Archie Shepp and Lars Gullin

• The House I Live In (SteepleChase, 1963 [1980])

With Sahib Shihab

• Sahib's Jazz Party (Debut, 1963)

With Thorgeir Stubø

• Flight (Hot Club, 1985)

With Radka Toneff

• Live in Hamburg (Odin, 1981)
• Butterfly, track 4-6 (Curling Legs, 2008)

With Ben Webster

• My Man: Live at Montmartre 1973 (SteepleChase, 1973)

Gallery

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References

1. Jeg skal sgu sidde ved trommerne Af Bine Madsen. Dagbladenes Bureau, 9 February 2010. Same interview in Flensborg Avis, 17 February 2010, Side 18
2. Alex Riel Horsens Folkeblad, 16 February 2010, 2. sektion, Side 12
3. "Montreux Fest Carves Jazz Niche". Billboard. 29 June 1968. p. 93. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
4. Jazz at Foreign Ministry of Denmark
5. Riel og rytmen. Portræt: Alex Riel Af Tove Skytte Erngaard. Jyllands-Posten, 27 July 1997, Kultur og tv, Side 1
6. "Alex Riel 70 Year Celebration Danish National TV Live". Nyhederne-dyn.tv2.dk. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
7. "Ane Riel-9a-b" (in Danish). forfatterweb. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
8. Trommeslager Alex Riel er sovet ind efter uhelbredelig sygdom (in Danish)
9. "Danish Jazz Musician Award 1965 Presented by Duke Ellington and Sam Woodyard". Drummerworld.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
10. "Life Time Achievement Award". Drummerworld.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2010.

External links

• Official site
• Alex Riel discography at Discogs