Claus Raible

In 1975 the third program of the Bavarian Radio (BR3) made a survey to find out who their younger jazz listener was: to their astonishment it was a 8 years old child. His name was Claus Raible.

Claus wasn’t born in a family of musicians or jazz-lovers who provided him an education in jazz at early age. While attending primary school he discovered jazz on his own, through a little radio and soon started to record the transmissions, listening to themes and solos over and over again, until he knew them by heart. He grew up listening Duke Ellington, Basie, Ear Hines and Art Tatum, investigated the roots of jazz, stride piano and blues and by the time he finished primary school he knew more about jazz than most of music student twice his age…