Kunstkopfindianer -

Kunstkopfindianer (Indian Art Head) was a tri-national jazz-rock supergroup behind a 1974 self-titled album on MPS. They featured Austrian saxophonist Hans Koller, German keyboardist Wolfgang Dauner, and Polish violinist Zbigniew Seifert.

Members: Hans Koller (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, producer), Wolfgang Dauner (piano, electric piano, synthesizer, Nagoya Harp), Zbigniew Seifert (violin, alto saxophone), Adelhard Roidinger (bass, electric bass), Janusz Stefański (drums)

Background

Kunstkopfindianer functioned as the 1974 MPS album title for a Hans Koller Free Sound quintet with Dauner, Seifert, bassist Adelhard Roidinger, and drummer Janusz Stefański.

In 1970, Koller formed Free Sound in Vienna with Roidinger, electric pianist Albert Mair, guitarist Costa Lukacs, and drummer Karl Prosenik. The group rehearsed through early 1971, then played clubs across Germany and neighboring European countries. Roidinger and Mair remained with Koller for the September 1972 MPS sessions that produced Phoenix with drummer Alex Bally.

Dauner led the Radio Jazz Group Stuttgart and first performed with Koller and Roidinger on September 25, 1972, at Villa Berg. He joined an expanded Free Sound on January 24, 1973, at the Vienna Audimax, where the group included Mair, Roidinger, Bally, and drummer Makaya Ntshoko.

Seifert first played with Stefański as a teenager in the Kraków-based Zbigniew Seifert Quartet. Tomasz Stańko recruited both musicians for his 1969 quintet, where they remained through the 1973 Jazz Jamboree. Koller summoned the two Polish players for a December 12, 1973, show with Dauner and Roidinger at the Vienna Audimax.

On January 18, 1974, the five musicians played with tenor saxophonist Joki Freund in the Radio Jazz Group Stuttgart at Villa Berg. Their set included eventual album cuts by Seifert (“Adea”), Roidinger (“Nom”), and Dauner, whose “Kunstkopfindianer” became the titular piece as sessions occurred on the 21st at Tonstudio Bauer in Ludwigsburg.

Discography:

Kunstkopfindianer (1974)

Sources

Jive Music — Hans Koller, Free Sound Quintet. Gives the underlying formation history: Koller returned in 1970, recruited Albert Mair, Costa Lukacs, and Karl Prosenik, then added Adelhard Roidinger; it places the first rehearsals in late 1970 and early 1971. (Jive Music)
Jazzrealities — Hans Koller discography, 1971–end. This is the crucial session chronology. It documents the 1971 Free Sound quintet, the September 1972 Phoenix sessions, Dauner with Koller and Roidinger at Villa Berg on September 25, 1972, Dauner in Free Sound at the Vienna Audimax on January 24, 1973, the Seifert/Roidinger/Stefański lineup on December 12, and the January 18–23 sequence that led directly into Kunstkopfindianer. (Jazzrealities)
London Jazz News — Janusz Stefański interview. Stefański supplies the strongest firsthand causal evidence. He dates his association with Seifert to their Kraków school years, places both musicians with Stańko through the 1973 Jazz Jamboree, and states that Koller invited them to Vienna in 1973 for Free Sound, followed by multi-country touring. (London Jazz News)
Zbigniew Seifert official biography. Confirms that Seifert moved to Germany when the Stańko Quintet ended in 1973 and immediately began playing with Hans Koller Free Sound. (Zbigniew Seifert)
LEO-BW — Wolfgang Dauner. The Baden-Württemberg biographical database confirms Dauner studied trumpet and composition at the Stuttgart music academy and became leader of the Radio Jazz Group Stuttgart in 1969. (LEO-BW)
Adelhard Roidinger — personal discography. Roidinger places himself on Koller’s Phoenix in 1972 and lists Kunstkopfindianer in 1974 with Dauner, Koller, Seifert, and Stefański, which establishes his continuity between the two configurations. (Adelhard Roidinger)
Ö1/ORF — Hans Koller centenary. ORF independently places Koller back in Vienna in 1970 and identifies Free Sound as the vehicle for the new musical direction he pursued at that point. (Ö1/ORF)