History
1973
Three friends, who had been making music together for a long time, decide to found a jazz band: Dietmar Bazant, Klaus-Georg Eulitz, Lutz Käubler. Frank Geipel, who had already played with the others for several years, is soon the fourth to join the band. [The founding members of the band.]
1974
First attempts to play, still with guitar and bass guitar emulating the present day Chris Barber band. Hans Walter Lapschieß is brought into the yet to be named band as a trombonist from the Technical University (TU) wind orchestra. First appearances at events of the student clubs of the TU Dresden. First gig on an Elbe River steamboat. The band is looking for a trumpeter and finds pianist Lutz Rethberg. After auditions with two trumpeters, music student Matthias Schädlich joins the band.
1975
On January 29, at an event ("Kreuzworträtsel für junge Leute”) at Kulturpalast Dresden, the audience choses “Blue Wonder Jazzband” as then band’s new name by popular vote. The band members in 1975 are: Matthias Schädlich (tp) Hans-Walter Lapschieß (tb) Frank Geipel (sax) Lutz Rethberg (p) Dietmar Bazant (b) Klaus-Georg (Jockel) Eulitz (bj) Lutz Käubler (dr) Gert Müller joins the band in the fall, followed a little later by Manfred Böhlig.
1975- 1978
concerts in the Dresden area, especially at student parties, carnival events, in youth clubs, in Bärenzwinger etc.
1978
Participation in the 8th International Dresden Dixieland Festival as a session band.
1979
Participation in the 9th International Dixieland Festival. Blue Wonder Jazzband is represented with one song on the official record of festival recordings. Since then – except for 1994 – the band participated in the festival every year. As a concert band, session band, in the surrounding program and in the Studio Theater hosting the children's event "With triangle and rattle wood" or in the concert for children with disabilities.
1980
First appearance abroad at the Old Jazz Meeting "Golden Washboard" in Warsaw.
1980/81
First radio productions at Sender Dresden, Dietmar makes first attempts on the tuba - for acoustic reasons in his wardrobe.
1979
Title page of the only East Germany-wide radio and television magazine.]
1982/83
guest performances at festivals in Warsaw (PR Poland), Prague, Prerov and Loket (Czechoslovakia).
1984
Concerts in Karlovy Vary and at the "Dresden Days" in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).
1986
Tour to the far away Urals (Soviet Union) to “culturally enlighten” the builders of the natural gas pipeline.
1987
Participation in the Oldtime Jazzweekend in Salgotarian (Hungary). Blue Wonder Jazzband is represented on the official festival record.
1988
Participation in the days of the East Germany Culture Days in Ostrava (Slovakia), among other things with the Dresdner pantomime Ralf Herzog, with whom the band develops a stand-alone show called "Herzog’s Jazz Club".
1989
Second participation in the "Dresden Days" in Leningrad. Frank Geipel is the first in the band to become a grandfather.
1990
The Berlin Wall separating East and West Germany, which limited the band to playing in Eastern Europe until now, came down in November of 1989. In February, the band embarks on its first trip to Western Germany, to Hamburg for a travel fair with a delegation from Dresden. In May, first appearance in the legendary Berlin jazz club "Eierschale". Many years before, in 1979, the band had once been announced in the club’s program, but was in the end not allowed to travel to the west. On June 17 a concert in Seligenstadt / Main, an unforgettable experience for the band. In the summer, five concerts in Austria fund a family vacation for the band, and 22 family members come along for the wonderful experience.
1990 1991 1992
Participation in the Federal Press Ball in Bonn (as first artists from East Germany). Several years of touring West Germany, since in the turbulent years after Germany’s reunification, people in the East had other priorities than paying for life music music form the East. In 1991, production of the first tape from recordings of the Radio Dresden.
1991
The "craziest" of all trips, to a concert in Leonberg. After work, hopping on a plane to Stuttgart, bus transfer directly to the stage, concert with Peanuts Hucko (played by Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, and others), three hours at a hotel, return flight, and back to work on time in the morning.
1993
The first CD of the Blue Wonder Jazzband is released ("Die Rote", recordings from 1990/91/92). Frank's saxophone family is being extended by the E-Flat saxophone, and he now has to carry three instruments. Concert in the Berliner Philharmonie.
1994
Second CD - "Die Grüne" is recorded at two birthday concerts in the Studio Theater of the Dresden Kulturpalast. Participation in the Jazz Festival Breda (Netherlands). Third prize in a competition of a festival with 60 bands. Jazz Festival Biel (Switzerland)
1995
Manfred changes from cornet to trumpet and Dietmar is astonished. In all those years, he had not noticed that the trumpet that Manne played was in fact not a trumpet. At the end of the Dixieland Festival Dresden, the band plays for three and a half hours on the balcony of the Kulturpalast in front of 30,000 people waiting for the arrival of the Dixie parade. Jazzfestival s'Hertogenbosch (Netherlands) and Oldtime Jazzfestival Askersund (Sweden) - Blue Wonder is the only "southern" band in the Northern Lights Festival, a rare festival that is practically played without any microphones.
1996
Third CD - "Die Schwarze" (The MC of 1993 appears as CD, following the trend of the technical revolution)
1997
Louis Armstrong Festival St. Addresse near Le Havre (France)
1998
Concert at the Schauspielhaus Berlin, together with Dutchswing College Band, Paris Washboard and the wind ensemble of the Berliner Philharmonic Orchestra. "Saxony Days" in Wroclaw (Poland)
1999
concert with Joe Muranyi (clarinetist in Armstrong's last All Star Band)
1999
Fourth CD - "Die Bunte"
2000
25th birthday, the booklet "Rillenforscher" chronicling 25 years of band history is published; Tour of India (Bombay, Bangalore, New Delhi); for the first time "Blue Wonder Jazzband featuring ..." with Joe Muranyi, the clarinetist in Louis Armstrong’s last All Star Band; as part of the 30th International Dixieland Festival in the Festival Hall of the Dresden Kulturpalast joint concert with the "Three Big B" of English revival jazz: Mr. Aker Bilk, Chris Barber and Kenny Ball.
2002
For the second time "Blue Wonder Jazzband featuring ..." with the Hot Antic Jazzband (France). Release of the fifth CD - "Blue Wonder Jazzband plays Morton & Ellington"
2003
Sixth CD - "7th Dixieland Jubilee 2003 at Kulturhaus Kornwestheim on January 18, 2003 - Blue Wonder Jazzband"
2004
Legendary jazz MC Karlheinz Drechsel becomes the "First Honorary Member of the Blue Wonder Jazzband"; 50th Concert in the Wine Cellar and Theater Restaurant Heil in Radebeul, the venue where the band played the most concerts.
2005
30th birthday and 30 years of playing together with the same band members. The 7th CD and first DVD "Blue Wonder Jazzband 30 Jahre - Jubiläumskonzert Live" is released. For the third and fourth time "Blue Wonder Jazzband and Guests" with Rod Mason's Hot Five and Paris Washboard.
2006
The 8th CD "Blue Wonder Jazz Band Live", 10th Dixieland Jubilee 2006 Kornwestheim, is released. Participation in the parade "800 years Dresden". For the 5th time "Blue Wonder Jazzband and Guests” with the Barrelhouse Jazzband and Karlheinz Drechsel.
2007
For the 6th time "Blue Wonder Jazzband and Guests" with the Umbrella Jazzmen, a band with which we have been connected through many beautiful experiences and memories since 1979.
2008
Our 9th CD, Blue Wonder Jazzband plays Oliver & Armstrong, is released. For the 7th time “Blue Wonder Jazzband and Guests” with Jazz O'Maniacs.
2009
We play for the 70th time at Wine Cellar Heil. For the 8th time “Blue Wonder Jazzband and Guests” with Blue Note Six from Vienna.
2010
In January, we celebrate our 35th birthday and 35 years of unchanged cast with 3 concerts in the Studio Theater of Kulturpalast Dresden. For the 80th birthday of the honorary member of our band, Karlheinz Drechsel, we play in the Ratskeller Berlin-Köpenick.
2012
Due to reconstruction of the Kulturpalast Dresden, we celebrate our 3 concert birthday party one last time at the Studio Theater. For the 9th time “Blue Wonder Jazzband and Guests” with Salome from Berlin.
2013
We celebrate 38 years Blue Wonder Jazzband with a concert at the Comödie Dresden with the singer Sydney Ellis. On Holy Thursday we play for the 10th time at Theater Crimmitschau, this time with guest band Engelbert Wrobels Hot Jazz Quartet.
2014
In the 40th year of our band, the double CD "Rückblick - 40 Jahre Blue Wonder Jazzband" is released.
2015
40 years Blue Wonder Jazzband - birthday concert at Comödie Dresden. On January 31, 2015 we celebrated our big anniversary together with singer Sydney Ellis, our honorary member Karlheinz Drechsel and 600 loyal fans. On this occasion, MDR Radio Sachsen broadcasts a one-hour feature by Gabi Kammel on January 19, 2015. At the 45th International Dixieland Festival we take part in the Jazz Gala at Semperoper Dresden, a truly unforgettable experience.
SZ Dresden v. 29.01.2015
DNN Dresden v. 16.01.2015
2016
In February, we truly enjoy a concert with Fats Jazzband (Slovakia) at the "Kölpinseer Oldtimejazz" on Usedom. At the beginning of September we take part in the Haderslev Jazz Festival in Denmark.
2017
Two especially memorable concerts this year: Our "Birthday Concert" in the Comödie Dresden with Bernd Kleinow (Blues-Harp) and Karlheinz Drechsel as well as the concert "Jazz am Gründonnerstag" at Theater Crimmitschau with the outstanding Hungarian band "Hot Jazz Band".
2018
For "Kölpinseer Oldtimejazz" we invite the Priester Sisters from the Czech Republic.
2019
"Jazz am Gründonnerstag" at Theater Crimmitschau was the highlight again this year. As guests we had Trevor Richards International Trio, supplemented by Olivier Franc (F). It was a feast for the ears, reinforced by Franc's temperament on stage.
2020
Our 45th band anniversary in January at the Comödie Dresden was the highlight of the year. Ulf Drechsel moderated excellently, Dietmar Bazant informed the audience about the band history with his typical humor. But the year was also the most memorable in our band history. For almost seven months, we had no concerts because of the Corona pandemic. And on October 5, Germany’s best jazz presenter Karlheinz Drechsel, passed away. He was highly admired by us and was a friend of our band.
2021
The year was marked by the restrictions caused by the Corona pandemic. We could only perform a few concerts between July and the beginning of November.
2022
The year was certainly the most complicated for the band. After 47 years of playing music together in an unchanged line-up (Karlheinz Drechsel called this "unique in the world") our trumpet player Manfred Böhlig had to quit, because he was not able to play trumpet anymore since January of that year due to serious illness. Of course we discussed quitting the band all together. We played the already confimred concerts with Gunnar Besen (Old Time Memory Jazzband Jena) and with Christian Rien. Because making music was still fun and Christian Rien was interested in joining us permanently, we decided to continue.