Horst Jankowski

Horst Jankowski launched his career as a classical pianist before channeling his energies into an extensive catalog of easy listening instrumentals and space age pop. Observers frequently draw parallels between his output and that of campy space age pop arranger and composer Juan Garcia Esquival, easy listening arranger and composer Bert Kaempfert, and easy listening arranger Ray Conniff.

After studying at the Berlin Music Conservatory, Jankowski took up jazz gigs in German nightspots and eventually directed the ensemble supporting jazz vocalist Caterina Valenti. The Berlin native also served as conductor while writing material for his nation’s counterpart to Muzak. His “A Walk in the Black Forest,” released in Germany under the title “Eine Schwarzwaldenfahrt,” gained widespread attention throughout the 1960s, securing him a contract with Mercury, which issued several of his albums. During the 1970s he turned more decisively toward jazz, resulting in reduced radio exposure in the United States; among the recordings from this phase are his jazz-inflected renditions of contemporary hits such as “Light My Fire,” later anthologized on the Black Forest Explosion! compilation.

Jankowski’s piano technique stood out for its emphatic, percussive attack, often compared to striking the keys forcefully, and this approach surfaces clearly in his solo passages. Additional sessions paired him with various jazz groups, including the ensemble led by clarinetist Rolf Kuhns.