Erich Kleinschuster’s projects and initiatives played a vital role in establishing a spiritual home for jazz in Vienna. The founding of his sextet in 1966 and, in 1968, a jazz department at the Vienna Conservatory, were catalysts for a scene that attracted international stars as well as nurturing the careers of home-grown virtuosos. Many jazz exiles, admired in Europe as they never were in the United States, settled for long periods, carving out new lives on the continent. The recordings in this series – many only recently discovered and presented for their first time on these vinyl editions – provide an illuminating and long overdue testament to one of the unsung forces of modern jazz in Europe.

Includes performances by Erich Kleinschuster on trombone; Carmell Jones on Trumpet; Slide Hampton on trombone; Art Farmer on Trumpet; Palle Mikkelborg on Trumpet; Robert Politzer on Trumpet; Hans Salomon on tenor/alto saxophone; Fritz Pauer on piano, Fender Rhodes; Jimmy Woode on bass; Peter Marshall on bass; Erich Bachträgl on drums, percussion.