Curt Cress Clan -

Curt Cress Clan was a German jazz-rock/funk supergroup led by drummer Curt Cress and featuring guitarist Volker Kriegel. The band released a 1975 self-titled album on Atlantic.

Members: Curt Cress (drums, percussion), Dave King (bass), Volker Kriegel (guitar), Kristian Schultze (keyboards), Ack van Rooyen (flugelhorn)

Background

Curt Cress Clan formed in Munich in 1975 when Cress recruited players from Germany’s premier jazz-rock circles. The group united musicians with overlapping ties to Passport, Niagara, and Spectrum.

Cress emerged from Hanau’s late-’60s beat scene (Load, Inspiration Six) before drumming in the heavy psych outfit Orange Peel. Between 1970 and 1974, he appeared on albums by Marz (The Dream Is Over), Jeremy B. (This Is My Life), Veit Marvos (Nice to See You), and Tiger B. Smith (We’re the Tiger Bunch), while establishing himself as a session player with Passport (Hand Made, Looking Thru) and the Doldinger Jubilee ensemble.

American-born bassist Dave King relocated to Germany in 1969 and soon joined Embryo, contributing to Father, Son and Holy Ghosts, Steig Aus, and Rocksession. He also played on Niagara’s Afire. Guitarist Volker Kriegel, active since the early ’60s with regional jazz units, gained wide renown in the Dave Pike Set (1968–73), then co-founded Spectrum and cut several MPS titles including Mild Maniac and Inside: Missing Link. He also appeared on crossover jazz events like Doldinger Jubilee Concert and NDR Jazzworkshop sessions.

Dutch flugelhornist Ack van Rooyen had a long track record in both orchestral jazz and studio ensembles. In the 1960s, he played with Friedrich Gulda, the German All Stars, and his brother Jerry van Rooyen. During the early 1970s, he recorded with Klaus Weiss Orchestra (I Just Want to Celebrate), Peter Herbolzheimer’s Rhythm Combination & Brass (Waitaminute, Scenes), and Eberhard Weber (The Colours of Chloë). Keyboardist Kristian Schultze studied in Berlin, Vienna, and Graz before relocating to Munich, where he joined Passport and worked with Niagara (S.U.B.) and Utopia (Utopia), and appeared with Kriegel and Cress on the Doldinger Jubilee Concert.

This convergence of veteran players yielded a polished, high-intensity blend of electric jazz with funk-oriented rhythm foundations and intricate ensemble arrangements.

Curt Cress Clan (album)

The Curt Cress Clan released their singular album in 1975 on Atlantic.

Built around compact themes and rhythmic development, the album centers on tightly structured jazz-funk interplay between guitarist Volker Kriegel and keyboardist Kristian Schultze, whose phrasing shifts between clavinet punctuations and smooth electric piano swells. Flugelhorn player Ack van Rooyen weaves through the arrangements with spacious, ascending motifs, often layering behind or trading phrases with Kriegel’s fluid runs. Bassist Dave King underpins the motion with firm, syncopated figures that pivot beneath Curt Cress’s sharply articulated drum cadences and sudden percussive accents.

“Cyclone” opens in near‑isolation with extended drum focus before bass, keyboards, and guitar enter in staggered layers, establishing a deliberate build that frames the record’s emphasis on percussive direction. Several mid‑tempo pieces—“From the Back,” “451271,” and “Delphine”—trace precise, calculation‑like patterns shaped by disciplined group coordination and interlocking accents, while “Fields” slows the pulse into a calmer register, pairing intricate drumming with sustained flugelhorn lines that introduce a brief sense of stillness.

“Shuffle On Out” pivots around a blues‑derived bass figure reshaped through subtle tempo turns and shifting harmonic color, giving guitar and keyboards extended space to redirect momentum. Later tracks explore reduced density and wider spacing: “No Answer” stretches the tempo into a restrained, open field, and “Movin’ Right Along” condenses energy into a short burst of heightened drum and bass interaction. Closing piece “Funk Off” settles into a simpler rhythmic frame, ending the album with pared‑down motion after the earlier structural intensity.

A1. “Cyclone” (3:54) – Cress, King
A2. “From the Back” (4:30) – King
A3. “Fields” (3:46) – Schultze
A4. “Shuffle On Out” (5:53) – King

B1. “Delphine” (3:27) – Cress, Schultze
B2. “451271” (3:35) – Cress, King
B3. “No Answer” (3:46) – Cress, King
B4. “Movin’ Right Along” (2:45) – King
B5. “Funk Off” (4:59) – Cress, King

Curt Cress produced the album at Scala Studio in Munich. WEA Musik GmbH handled pressing and distribution through TELDEC-Press and issued the LP under Warner Communications.

Postlude

Following the Curt Cress Clan project, each member returned to prolific careers across German jazz-rock, studio pop, and orchestral crossover.

Curt Cress resumed work with Klaus Doldinger’s Passport, contributing to Cross-Collateral (1975), Infinity Machine (1976), and Iguaçu (1977). He also played on 1975–78 albums by Wolfgang Schmid (Wolfhound), Diez & Bischof (Daybreak), Joachim Kühn (Springfever), Lucifer’s Friend (Mind Exploding), Marius Müller-Westernhagen (Bittersüß), Triumvirat (Pompeii), and Udo Lindenberg (Sister King Kong, Panische Nächte). Parallel to his jazz-funk work, he appeared on projects by Tender Aggression (Power Sandwich), Ulla Meinecke (Von Toten Tigern Und Nassen Katzen), and the Doldinger Jubilee concert series. Cress joined Oktagon for their 1980 album.

Dave King remained active across funk, disco, and jazz-fusion circuits. He played on 1975–77 albums by Donna Summer (Love to Love You Baby), Asha Puthli (The Devil Is Loose), Toto Blanke (Electric Circus), and Tender Aggression (Power Sandwich, European Maid), as well as recordings by Peter Maffay, Costa Cordalis, Udo Lindenberg, Bobby Stern, and Mellow Disco. He also worked with producers Siegfried Fietz and Klaus Weiss (Drum Box), and appeared alongside Cress and Schultze on Daybreak and Sister King Kong.

Ack van Rooyen continued as a fixture in German big band and orchestral jazz. He played on 1975–78 albums by Peter Herbolzheimer (Live im Onkel Pö, Hip Walk, Touchdown), Bert Kaempfert (Kaempfert ’76, Safari Swings Again), Inga Rumpf (Second-Hand Mädchen), and the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble (Live im Schützenhaus, Teamwork). Additional credits include Jazz Gala Concert (1976), Volker Kriegel’s House-Boat, and contributions to NDR Jazzworkshop sessions and children’s musicals by Wolfgang Dauner.

Kristian Schultze stayed with Passport for their mid-70s Atlantic trilogy (Cross-Collateral, Infinity Machine, Iguaçu) and played on albums by Wolfgang Schmid (Wolfhound), Diez & Bischof (Daybreak), Udo Lindenberg (Panische Nächte, Rock-Revue), and Amanda Lear (Sweet Revenge). Between 1975 and 1978, he also appeared on recordings by Ulla Meinecke, Jugoton’s Jazz Sekstet, and Das Waldemar Wunderbar Syndikat (I Make You Feel Good).

Volker Kriegel expanded his leadership with the Mild Maniac Orchestra, releasing Octember Variations (1977), Elastic Menu (1978), and House-Boat (1978). He played on 1975–78 albums by Don “Sugarcane” Harris (Keyzop, Flashin’ Time), Peter Herbolzheimer (Jazz Gala Concert), and the United Jazz + Rock Ensemble (Live im Schützenhaus, Teamwork). Other credits include Topical Harvest, Das Auto Blubberbumm, and Gitarren Und Rhythmus with Hans Peter Ströer. Kriegel also contributed to crossover works on Biton and projects from the Kollektiv Rote Rübe and Michael Koch-Mattheis.