Paul Kuhn was born the son of a croupier in Wiesbaden. In 1936, at the age of 8, he had a public gig at the 'Funkausstellung' in Berlin, playing the accordion. Some years later, he discovered jazz music (which was frowned upon during the nazi time (1933-1945)). In 1944, he was in Paris and had some gigs to entertain soldiers of the Wehrmacht, who still occupied Paris.
After V-Day (8 May 1945), the USA formed an occupation zone in parts of Germany, amongst them the region around Frankfurt. Kuhn was hired by AFN (American Forces Network), and he was live on the radio almost every day, alone or with his band. He adopted the style and sound of Glenn Miller (1904-1944).
In the 1950s, he arranged and composed entertainment music. Around 1955, he increasingly launched pop songs, sung and played by himself. During the sixties, more and more west German households bought a TV; music shows, big bands, and singers were very successful. In 1968, Kuhn was named head of the entertainment orchestra of Sender Freies Berlin.
In 1980, this band was dissolved and Kuhn moved to Cologne and founded his own orchestra.
Starting in 2000, he toured with Max Greger, Hugo Strasser, and the Big Band of SWR (Südwestdeutscher Rundfunk).
At the end of 2011, Kuhn travelled to San Francisco to record a CD (The L.A. Session, with John Clayton and Jeff Hamilton). The album was released in 2013.
His most known hits were Der Mann am Klavier (1954), Es gibt kein Bier auf Hawaii (1963), and Die Farbe der Liebe (1958 in the charts).
[Courtesy of Wikipedia]
Hugo Strasser (born April 7, 1922, in Munich-Schwabing, † March 17, 2016 in Munich-Trudering )
Hugo Strasser was born on April 7th, 1922, in Munich and became a famous German clarinetist and bandleader. The orchestra is known for its dance music, especially through the album series "Dance Record of the Year" and the musical sound and rhythm-settings in many dance championships. He formed his own 16-man dance band in the post-WWII years and still, today plays at many balls, including, inter alia, the Carnival balls, the Bayerischer Rundfunks. Many of his band members such as the late tenor saxophonist Werner Tauber, Hans Ehrlinger trombonist, trumpeter Etienne Cap, and guitarist Dirk Schweppe were/are outstanding arrangers for their instruments. Although the orchestra has been around for all those years, there were few personnel changes. [Courtesy Beautiful Instrumentals]
Max Greger (born April 2, 1926, in Munich, † August 15, 2015 ibid)
German saxophonist and bandleader Max Greger is a popular and well-known musician in Europe with myriad credits to his name, including film and television work. A gift of an accordion as a child first spurred his musical inclinations, and Greger ultimately studied clarinet and saxophone at the Munich Conservatory during the late '30s. Briefly serving in the military toward the end of World War II, Greger began performing with various jazz groups. His postwar work, often in American officers' clubs, ultimately led Greger to form his own sextet around 1948-1949, and later a big band. Performing a mixture of pop, jazz, and swing tunes, Greger had considerable success from the '50s onward, including regular appearances on German television from 1963 to 1977, and helped establish the growing German jazz movement. [Courtesy AllMusic]
