In the past, here in Austria / Europe children normally grew up with Austrian Folk music or with Classical music. In the 1960s and 1970s, young people got a lot of problems with their parents when they wanted to leeave this tradition. You know, during the early 1970s girls and boys of my age got hypnotized by the worldwide Pop and Rock craze. I also listened to this stuff but I always missed something, but I didn´t know what.
 
One day in 1970 my mother selected a "wrong" station on her small transistor radio. And for seconds I heard a new sound - the sound of Jazz. Soon she turned off the program. Too late, ´cause I was plugged into the Jazz thing. Next Saturday I was alone at home and I turned on the radio. This time Austrian Radio Jazz-guru Walter Richard Langer (we became good friends years later) celebrated his Jazz program "Vocal, Instrumental, International" always on thuesday, thursdays and saturdays from 10 to 11 a.m. on Austrian Broadcast ORF. I remember exactly when he played "Blues After All" from Jimmy Smith´s well known Blue Note album "House Party" (BLP 4002/BST 84002). That was the first time I heard a Hammond Organ as a leading solo instrument. Never before I had listened to a sound like that. I was so impressed and I turned the volume switch to full power like in trance.
My mother just came back from shopping. She ran into the house and cried into my ear: "Are you crazy now boy"? She turned off the radio. And it was too late again, because I was completely infected by the Hammond Jazz-virus for the rest of my life. I just turned around and I said : "Mom, I have to be a Jazz-organist". But it was a long way until I came out with my first trio in 1978, because my parents were absolutely unhappy with this idea. I really had to fight for my new ideal over the next years. But it worked! You know I was born under the sign of Capricorn. And Capricorns never give up! You can read the rest of the story in my bio on www.tcpfeiler.com.

T.C. Pfeiler