Michael Naura

Michael Naura (19 August 1934 - 13 February 2017) was a German jazz pianist , editor and publicist .

Born in Memel , Lithuania, Michael Naura grew up in Berlin and studied journalism, philosophy and sociology at the Freie Universität Berlin . He then worked as a pianist in swing jazz bands. From 1953 to 1964 he directed one of the most successful jazz bands in Germany, the Michael Naura Quintet. The music of this eclectic quintet was originally heavily influenced by George Shearing, then by Dave Brubeck and later by the hard bop of Horace Silver, but also by the chamber jazz of the Modern Jazz Quartet. The most important improviser in Naura's quintet was the vibraphonist Wolfgang Schlüter. Other musicians included the alto saxophonists Klaus Marmulla and Peter Reinke, the bassists Hajo Lange and Wolfgang Luschert, and the drummers Heinz von Moisy and Joe Nay .

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