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Henning PERTIET (Allemagne)

Henning Pertiet, who was born in 1965 in Hamburg is today one of the most expressive Blues and Boogie Woogie-Pianists in Europe. At the age of 23 he discovered the Boogie-Piano for himself: It was a record of Axel Zwingenberger that carried him off his feet, so he did everything to become a Boogie-Pianist himself. With contact to the Hamburg music scene and the local artists Axel Zwingenberger, Jo Bohnsack, Joja Wendt and Gottfried Böttger (who is one of his uncles by the way!) he had the best framework to learn the basics of this music directly from the people he admired. Very soon his fingers did what he wanted and many concerts all over Germany followed. Henning either played piano solo or with drum and vocals. By recommendation of Axel Zwingenberger Henning joined the Mojo Blues Band from Vienna in 1993. It is one of the best and most well known authentic blues bands of Europe. In the summer of the same year he became an integral part of this formation and he started touring Europe for 3 years as a band piano player. During this period the Mojo Blues band recorded two CDs (live and studio) on which Henning not only proved to be a sensitive accompanist but also had a strong influence on the band with his boogie style. By playing with the Mojos Hennings style matured, his blues repertoire widened and he decided to publish his first solo album in 1996. This album demonstrates very well that barrelhouse blues and boogie woogie can have the same "flair" as at the beginning of the 20th century even today. At the same time this album was the milestone of Hennings way back to working as a solo pianist. A way that he started in 1996 and still goes today, nevertheless always playing as an accompanist for other musicians. Up to now he has played many hundred concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland together with Axel Zwingenberger, Vince Weber, Abi Wallenstein, Henry Heggen, Michael Maass, Jeanne Carroll, Jan Harrington, Little Willie Littlefield, Frank Muschalle, Tibor Grasser, B.B. & The Bluesshacks and many more. He has spent many hundred hours in front of his record and CD player and he has made many personal experiences that he incorporates easily into his music. At the beginning of 1999 Henning published his second solo album: My Style. The title speaks for itself: Henning plays his style, he lets his instrument groove, he creates a tension that lets the atmosphere crackle, you can't keep your feet from moving ... The international press was full of compliments for his recordings. But Henning not only tries to spread hismusic by public concerts, he also initiated various concert series and a big jazz & blues festival: the "Verdener Jazz- und Blues-Tages. Nourished by these impressions as well Henning nowadays tells stories with his music that nobody else is able to tell in the same way. His music is expressive in a way that can not be imitated: not searching for effects and without any needless acrobatics. The audience rather experiences an authentic presentation of old blues and boogie classics as well as many personal compositions that are strongly influenced by Hennings personality and which capture anybody who allows to be taken away into the world of blues and boogie. I hope we'll be able to see Henning in France soon…

website : www.blues-piano.de

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