Alex Riel


Alex Riel was a Danish jazz and rock drummer. His first group, the Alex Riel/Palle Mikkelborg Quintet, won the Montreux Grand Prix Award at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1968. He was married to the writer Ane Riel.

Biography

Riel recorded with, among others, Booker Ervin, Kenny Drew, Kenny Werner, Bob Brookmeyer, Thomas Clausen, Bill Evans, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Donald Byrd, Don Cherry, Thad Jones, and Ben Webster. He formed a jazz ensemble with bass player Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. Riel was also a founding member in 1968 of the Danish rock group The Savage Rose. His album The Riel Deal won a Danish Grammy for Best Danish Jazz Album in 1996.
In September 2010, Riel's 70th birthday celebration at the Jazzhus Montmartre was broadcast live with the title Celebration of a Living Jazz Legend by the Danish national television station TV2.

Personal life and death

Riel married crime fiction author Ane Riel in 2002. They lived in Liseleje in North Zealand from 2005 until his death. He died at his home there on 9 June 2024, at the age of 83.

Awards

As leader

With Steve Dobrogosz
With Kenny Dorham
  • Scandia Skies
  • Short Story
With Dexter Gordon
  • Cheese Cake
  • King Neptune
  • Love for Sale
  • It's You or No One
  • Billie's Bounce
  • Loose Walk
  • Misty
  • Heartaches
  • Ladybird
  • More Than You Know
  • Swiss Nights Vol. 1
  • Swiss Nights Vol. 2
  • Swiss Nights Vol. 3
  • Lullaby for a Monster
With Karin Krog
  • You Must Believe in Spring
  • Love Songs
  • Something Borrowed … Something New – with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Kenny Drew
With Warne Marsh
  • Jazz Exchange Vol. 1
  • Live at the Montmartre Club – with Lee Konitz
With Jackie McLean
With Palle Mikkelborg
  • The Mysterious Corona – with Radiojazzgruppen
  • Ashoka Suite/Guadiana/Concert
With The Savage Rose
  • The Savage Rose
  • In the Plain
  • Travelin
  • Your Daily Gift
  • Refugee
  • Babylon
  • Dødens triumf
With Archie Shepp
With Sahib Shihab
  • Sahib's Jazz Party
  • Sahib Shihab and The Danish Radio Jazz Group
With Stuff Smith
With Ben Webster
  • Intimate!
  • Blue Light
  • Duke's in Bed!
  • Stormy Weather – with Kenny Drew
  • My Man: Live at Montmartre 1973
  • Saturday Night at the Montmartre
  • Atmosphere for Lovers and Thieves
  • Midnight at the Montmartre
  • Sunday Morning at the Montmartre
With others'