BAOBAB

When saxophonist and flautist Karl-Heinz Huschka, bassist Michael Radtke and keyboardist Joachim Pflieger came together by chance in Sindelfingen in early 1970, they were soon united by a common, similar interest in "making music": composing, experimenting, always inviting other musicians to join in, using instruments, voices, choir and many ideas to expand a diverse spectrum of sound and style possibilities

Slowly, a common idea and musical direction of the core group was established, growing and consolidating over time with the addition of drummer Dieter Ben Kauffmann, trumpeter Uwe Zaiser, percussionist Helmut Kristmann and singer Beatrice Mathé. Concentrating on original compositions in a style between pop, rock and jazz, the now compact 7-piece group has been working consistently for years - they gave themselves the name BAOBAB: a solid trunk with branches in all directions.

More public appearances in the Stuttgart area followed, the repertoire grew, as did the number of visitors, and a recognizable style emerged. The first appearance in 1976 at the Sudhaus, Stuttgart's best-known jazz club, was proof of the band's rise to a higher league: BAOBAB was described as "one of the most interesting rock-jazz groups on the Stuttgart scene". In 1977 they were invitated to participate in the recording and LP release "Live im Sudhaus" by IG Jazz at the beginning of 1978.

Later that year, BAOBAB qualified for a performance at the Baden-Württemberg Pavilion, as excerpted from an article in the Stuttgarter Zeitung: "The group fulfills the demand for witty and rousing music in the style of rock-jazz with both pizzazz and grace. Their music is well thought out without becoming formulaic or even freezing in the individually found patterns. It is vital and aesthetic and is also characterized by sensitive tuning of the electronic equipment. A further - and not at all amateurish - characteristic is the sensitivity with which the audience is attuned to a dialog: always discreetly inviting, then in refreshing "counterplay".

From 1980, core members left the group for study reasons, but the name was successfully continued for a while, supplemented by experienced new members; Joachim Pflieger, Beatrice Nuber-Mathé and Dieter Ben Kauffmann still play in various formations today.