Harpadelic (Remastered) Jonny Teupen

• 1 The Fool On the Hill 03:07
• 2 Blue Tattoo 02:38
• 3 Come Back and Shake Me 03:14
• 4 The Cornflower Girl 03:32
• 5 Harp Revolution 05:11
• 6 Love Me 06:19
• 7 By the Willow Tree 03:01
• 8 Theda 03:58
• 9 Plaisir d'amour 03:01
• 10 I Saw the Sun Goin' Down 03:00
• Total Runtime 37:01

Info for Harpadelic (Remastered)

Jonny Teupen was one of the strangest and most wonderful artists to record for the MPS label during their glory days – and his big instrument was a jazz harp, which he often electrified to great result! Sure, Dorothy Ashby had been making jazz inroads on the instrument in the US at about the same time – but Teupen had a cool sound that was a bit sitar, a bit guitar, and a bit 'inside the piano' at his wildest moments. This record is maybe his greatest moment ever – and mixes Jonny's harp with vibes from Dave Pike guitar from Volker Kriegel, trumpet from Shake Keane, and drums from Charly Antolini – all solid MPS players who really help ground the sound!

“Swinging harps are the the black swans of the jazz and pop instrumental world. They are as rare as water in the desert.” So state the liner notes for the LP “Harpadelic”. Jonny Teupen (1923 – 1991) was one of the few who could make this 5000 year old instrument swing. Teupen was not one of those romantically “effusive virtuosos who, with their excessive glissandos and tremolos, regurgitate their emotional Pablum.” The Berliner was a classically trained harpist and composer who could play in an orchestra as well as any jazz band.

Top musicians from both jazz and rock back up Teupen on his 1969 recording. Two members of the Kurt Edelhagen Orchestra, trumpeter Shake Kean and trombonist Jiggs Whigham take care of the “big band” riffs; vibraphonist/percussionist Dave Pike, guitarist Volker Kriegel, bassist J. A. Rettenbacher, and drummer Charly Antolini create a pulsing groove.

The Günter Kallmann Choir, at the time internationally renowned, takes care of the nostalgic mood on Teupen’s “easy listening” compositions. Music to relax by. What’s more, the nine piece vocal group could come up with a swinging scat chorus. Jonny Teupen’s love for modern jazz is shown on the title piece “Harp Revolution”; every member improvises over the theme and even dares venture into the realm of free jazz.

Jonny Teupen, harp
Volker Kriegel, guitar
Jiggs Whigham, trombone
Shake Keane, trumpet
Dave Pike, vibraphone, percussion
J. A. Rettenbacher, bass, electric piano
Charly Antolini, drums
Günter Kallmann Chor

Digitally remastered

Jonny Teupen
geboren am 9. Januar 1923 in Berlin; verstarb am 17. August 1991 in Köln) war ein deutscher Harfenist und Komponist des Modern Jazz und des Easy Listening.

Teupen studierte bei Max Saal an der Akademischen Hochschule für Musik Berlin. Nach Stationen im Theater des Volkes und der Staatsoper Unter den Linden wechselte er 1949 zum NWDR, wo er Soloharfenist des heutigen WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln wurde, dem er bis 1985 angehörte. Daneben war er aber auch in WDR-Produktionen mit Paul Kuhn und Helmut Zacharias zu hören. Um ihn herum wurde 1961 der Musik-Kurzfilm „Junger Mann mit Harfe“ aufgebaut. Unter eigenem Namen spielte er (insbesondere für MPS) mehrere jazzorientierte Alben ein und komponierte auch für den Film (Mini Killers, 1969). In den 1960er und frühen 1970er Jahren galt er in Deutschland als „Harfenist Nr. 1“. Er war auch unter dem Pseudonym Jean-Pierre Valmer tätig.

This album contains no booklet.