Heiner Stadler

Heiner Stadler(April 9, 1942 – February 18, 2018) was ajazzcomposer,record producer,pianistandarrangerwhose work has traversed genres including jazz,bluesandcountry,baroque,classical,romanticandcontemporary classical music.He was also the founder and CEO of Labor Records, distributed byNaxos Records.

Early life

Stadler was born April 9, 1942, inWest Prussia(now part ofPoland) in the town ofLessen(Łasin) in thecounty of Graudenz(Grudziąd). His great-grandmother wasJosephine Amann-Weinlich, who founded and conducted Europe's first women's orchestra, theWiener Damen-Orchester(later theErste Europäische Damenorchester), which toured extensively, including an 1871 appearance at New York'sSteinway Hall.Stadler studied piano at the Hamburg Conservatory and composition privately with composerWalter Steffens.

Jazz Composer and Arranger

Stadler relocated toNew York Cityin 1965 to begin a career as a jazz composer and pianist. His first commercially released work, an arrangement ofDuke Ellington'scompositionMain Stemfeaturing saxophonistJames Moody,Ron Carter,Kenny Barron,Freddie Waitset al., was issued in 1969 on theMilestonelabel. Prior to that, at a recording session in December 1966 at Nola Penthouse Sound Studios, Stadler recorded his composition entitled ‘’The Fugue #2’’ which would become part of the pioneering 1973 releaseBrains on Fire.The 1966 session includedJimmy Owenson trumpet,Joe Farrellon tenor sax, trombonistGarnett Brown,pianistDon Friedman,bassistBarre Phillipsand drummerJoe Chambers.The 1973 release also included sessions from 1971 featuring bassistReggie Workman,Tyrone Washingtonon tenor sax and drummerLenny White,along with Stadler himself on piano.

‘’Brains on Fire’’ was reissued in 2012 with additional tracks recorded through 1974. One notable addition was a twenty-minute duet between vocalistDee Dee Bridgewaterand Workman on bass (recorded July 3, 1973, at Generation Sound Studios, New York City, under the composer's supervision). The re-release also included Stadler's arrangement ofRuss Freeman’s compositionBea’s Flat,originally written for trumpeterChet Baker.Commissioned by the NDR Big Bandand conducted byDieter Glawischnig,the arrangement featured musiciansManfred Schoof,Gerd Dudek,Albert Mangelsdorff,Wolfgang Dauner,Lucas Lindholm andTony Inzalaco.

As producer and arranger, Stadler was responsible for the iconic 1978 albumTribute to Bird and MonkfeaturingThad Jones,George Adams,George Lewis,Stanley Cowell,Reggie Workman and Lenny White. The widely acclaimed release received excellent reviews from Neil Tesser inJazz Magazineand fromDownBeat Magazinewhich honored the album with a five-star rating and recognized Stadler in the magazine's Annual Critic's Poll as aTalent Deserving Wider Recognition.

Other releases of Stadler's own works includeJazz Alchemy(1976) featuring Charles McGhee,Richard Davis,Marilyn Crispell,Joshua Pierce(Recorded on August 13, 1975, at Minot Sound Studios,White Plains, New York)andRetrospection(a 1989 reissue including several previously unreleased tracks). Stadler has been a four-time recipient ofNational Endowment for the ArtsGrants for composition as well as a grant recipient from the Creative Artist Public Service Program of theNew York State Council on the Arts.

In 1988, dancer/choreographerSin Cha Hong'sLaughing Stone company performed her original workSeraphimat theJoyce Theaterincorporating environmental sounds arranged by Stadler with a score byPierre Henry,Diamanda Galasand Kirk Nurock'sNatural Sounds Ensemble.In addition to his own work, in the 1970s he produced (together with partner Kent Cooper)concerts at New York'sHunter Collegeand theBrooklyn Academy of Musicwith artists such asPete Seeger,Arlo Guthrie,Sonny Terry&Brownie McGhee,John Lee Hooker,Lightnin' Hopkins,Buddy Guy&Junior Wells,Koko Taylor),Albert King,Louisiana RedandPeg Leg Sam.

Record Producer

Stadler's record productions include releases by blues musicians John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Louisiana Red,Johnny ShinesandRoosevelt Sykes;classical pianists such as the Brazilian João Carlos Martins (the complete clavier works of Bach) andArthur Moreira Lima(music ofChopin),Grete Sultan,Bulgarian musicians such as Pavlina Dokovska,Angela Tosheva,Nadejda Vlaeva, Ivan Spassov,Ivo PapazovandGheorghi Arnaoudov,Lithuanian pianistIeva Jokubaviciute,theChinese-AmericanpianistMargaret Leng Tan(new music byJohn Cageand others); the Brazilian guitaristCarlos Barbosa-Lima,jazz musicians Dee Dee Bridgewater, Thad Jones, George Lewis, Tyrone Washington, Reggie Workman,Ken Peplowski,Randy Sandke,andJay Clayton;the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble; a large group of important twentieth-century composers including the AmericansHarry PartchandPetr Kotik,Japanese composerSomei Satoh,Korean composerIsang Yunand many others.

He is particularly known for his extensive recordings of the American avant-garde pioneer John Cage, begun in cooperation with the composer and continuing until his death. He also supervised the release ofPhilip Glass'sfamous recording ofEinstein on the Beach(originally for Tomato, currently available onSony). Stadler has produced for Labor Records,Arabesque Records,Zoho,WERGO Records,Tomato Records,Arcadia Records and several labels within theConcord Music Group.

Labor Records

He founded Labor Records in 1973 as one of the first labels with what would subsequently be called a "cross-over" or "multi-cultural" point of view, and has served as owner, CEO, Producer and Executive Producer since inception. Labor's current catalogue focuses on unusual and often unknown repertoire coupled with landmark editions such as the complete keyboard works ofJ. S. Bachperformed by legendary Brazilian pianistJoão Carlos Martins.Other projects includeMusic of Tribute,Labor's ambitious piano series as well as genre-crossing releases by Germany'sHanns Eisler/Bertolt Brecht,Walter Steffens (Music to Art), AmericanEric Salzman,Uruguay'sEduardo Fernández,and Brazil'sDuo Caramuru/Baldanza.

In 2000, Stadler traveled to Albania to record the music ofAleksandër Peçi.This was the first time in history that a foreign company had gone directly to Albania to produce two albums of contemporary classical music, a landmark event in the history of this impoverished country on the Balkan Peninsula.

Tomato Records

Stadler served as Director of Artists and Repertoire atTomato Recordsfrom 1978 to 1981 and as the company's Director of Operations/Executive Producer from 1987 until 1991. In the latter position, he supervised the company's complete reissue program (a catalogue of over 65 releases).

Arcadia and Concord Records

Stadler was Vice president/Producer of Arcadia Records from 1991 to 1994, supervising all aspects of financial, production and manufacturing matters with respect to Arcadia's recording program. As producer he traveled twice toNorth Koreain the 1990s, to help develop an ambitious project in close cooperation with Korean composer Isang Yun. The idea was to create an event bringing North and South Korean musicians together in a joint concert, but the project never materialized and was not revisited.

Then, from 1995 until 2000 he served as Staff Producer/Label Manager for Concord Concerto (a division ofConcord Records, Inc.), overseeing all aspects of theConcertodivision. In addition, he produced for other labels of the Concord Group such as Concord Jazz, Concord Picante, Jazz Alliance and The Blues Alliance.

External links

• Labor records website