Axel Zwingenberger is a Hamburg-born Blues and Boogie Woogie pianist. His first Boogie Woogie performance was on February 3rd, 1973, together with his brother Torsten on washboard. Since then, he has performed over 5000 concerts in over 60 countries on 4 continents. He has issued more than 30 CDs under his name, and he has sold over 500.000 records until today.
His sheet music book "Boogie Woogie Piano Solo" is the first non simplified, unshortened Boogie Woogie and Blues piano transcription. Besides his concerts, he had dozens of TV- and radio appearances.
Axel Zwingenberger toured, played concerts and recorded with greats such as Big Joe Turner, Lionel Hampton, Sippie Wallace, Mama Yancey, Bill Wyman, Champion Jack Dupree, Jay McShann, Vince Weber, The Mojo Blues Band, Lila Ammons, Big Jay Mc Neely and many more. Also the band project "The ABC&D of Boogie Woogie" with Axel, Ben Waters, Charlie Watts and Dave Green, received great international acclaim. As co-founder of the Boogie Woogie scene in Germany, Axel Zwingenberger meanwhile is a musical role-model throughout the world, and he is the mentor for many up-and-coming talents.
Axel Zwingenberger’s hobby is the photography of steam locomotives and everything, which is connected to these steel colosses. In the autumn of 2000, he issued his photo book "Vom Zauber der Zuege" with over 200 of his night photos, together with a music CD with Blues and Boogie Woogies about railroads, as well as a CD with steam train sounds.
In 2004, the Austrian post authorities issued a postage stamp series "Axel Zwingenberger plays Boogie Woogie" and a second with his train photography. Two years later, he started a foundation in the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz for the preservation of historical trains, such as loco 18 201, the fastest operable steam engine in the world, or the former East-German government train, all of them acknowledged as cultural monuments now. More informations you’ll find under: www.kultur-auf-schienen.de
In 2007, he was inducted into the Boogie Woogie Hall Of Fame in the U.S.
For more infos see Axel Zwingenberger’s website www.boogiewoogie.net