Fatty George Jazzband

b. Franz Georg Pressler, 24 Apr 1927, Vienna, Austria, d. 29 March 1982. In his early teenagers he started playing alto saxophone, afterwards learning this and clarinet officially. At 20 George performed bop, employed in Austria and Germany, frequently leading his personal band, continuing in to the middle-50s when he opened up a jazz golf club in Vienna. One of the sidemen in his rings was Joe Zawinul who performed in both Sounds band, an organization that liked a assorted repertoire including bop and traditional jazz. He continuing to run night clubs in Vienna but spent area of the middle-60s playing in Berlin. He led rings frequently on radio and tv in Austria. A gifted and greatly enthusiastic personality, George moved easily between different varieties of jazz, generally playing clarinet in traditional and mainstream swing-based configurations and alto in more sophisticated setting. On both tools he exposed a clean lyricism and was constantly harmonically interesting.