Götz Alsmann

Götz Alsmann, a well-known German entertainer, built a productive solo career performing as a nostalgic jazz singer and pianist while sustaining an extended tenure as host for radio and television programs on the public broadcaster WDR. At times labeled “der Fritz Lang des Jazzschlagers,” or the Fritz Lang of jazz singers, he earned a reputation as an inventive if unconventional personality, distinguished by his upright hairstyle, vintage wardrobe, and rapid-fire humor. Born July 12, 1957, in Münster, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Alsmann assembled his first group, the Heupferd Jug Band, in 1972 and cut three albums with them before entering Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität in Münster in 1977. His completed dissertation, “Nichts als Krach: Die Unabhängigen Schallplattenfirmen und die Entwicklung der Amerikanischen Populären Musik 1943-1963” (Nothing as Noise: The Independent Record Companies and the Development of American Popular Music 1943-1963), mirrored his artistic direction, as the American popular music of that era shaped both his sound and his sense of style.

During the 1980s Alsmann recorded only intermittently, working with the Sentimental Pounders. The band’s debut, Party Time (1982), preceded two 1985 releases—the full-length Saratoga Suitcase and the single “People Are People,” a cover of the Depeche Mode hit—that drew wider notice. After that early success Alsmann issued Twelve to Six: The Afternoon Session (1987) under his own name, then joined the Keytones for The Keytones Meet Götz Alsmann in 1989. On WDR he launched the Professor Bop-Show in 1986 and hosted the television program Roxy: Das Magazin für den Jungen Erwachsenen from 1986 to 1990. That same year he assembled the Götz Alsmann Band, featuring Michael Müller on bass, Rudi Marhold on drums, Markus Paßlick on percussion, and Altfrid M. Sicking on vibraphone and xylophone.

Alsmann’s profile rose sharply in the 1990s as his music, radio, and television activities all gained momentum. He fronted a rapid succession of television series, including High Life (1990-1993, RIAS), Gong-Show (1992-1993, RTL), Avanti (1993-1994, VOX), and Spät-Show (1994-1996, NDR). After a pause in recording he returned with the EP Big Bamboo in 1993 and the album Zazou the following year. Gestatten...Götz Alsmann appeared in 1997 and Zuckersüß in 1999; both marked his first major-label releases and his first recordings sung in German rather than English, a choice he generally maintained thereafter. In 1998 he and Christine Westermann issued Zimmer Frei, a CD drawn from their popular WDR radio talk show of the same name and featuring numerous guests.

After 2000 Alsmann’s output increased in both frequency and commercial reach. Filmreif! (2001), his third Universal Jazz album, became his first chart entry, peaking at number 59, and was followed later that year by the compilation For Collectors: 1982-1991, which collected early tracks such as “People Are People” and “Saratoga Suitcase.” Later releases include the three-CD audiobook In 80 Tagen um die Welt (2002), featuring music alongside a reading of Around the World in 80 Days; Zimmer Frei, Vol. 2 (2003), another guest-filled radio-show CD; the four-CD audiobook Die Feuerzangenbowle (2003); the jazz album Tabu! (2003); the five-CD audiobook Drei Mann in Einem Boot (2005); the jazz album Kuss (2005); the audiobook Max und Moritz und Andere Lieblingswerke (2006), read with Otto Sander; and the Christmas album Winterwunderwelt (2006), recorded with the WDR Big Band. The latter became his first Top 40 release, a level matched by Mein Geheimnis (2007), a jazz album and his debut on the Blue Note label.