Danish drummer Alex Riel's career as both accompanist and leader has spanned six decades of jazz, pop and rock. Born in Copenhagen on September 13, 1940, Alex Poul Riel learned to play the drums as a teenager and developed a passion for jazz. He became interested in swing and closely followed the evolution of bebop. He was only in his early twenties when he began frequenting studios to accompany Scandinavian and American artists visiting Denmark, where the jazz scene was very much alive. He took part in the recordings of the Danish Radio Jazz Group founded and directed by Erik Moseholm, accompanying Lars Gullin, Birgit Brüel, Roland Kirk, Sahib Sihab, Dexter Gordon, Bill Evans and Palle Mikkelborg, before forming his own trio in 1965 with double bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen and pianist Kenny Drew. The same year saw the start of a long and fruitful association with Ben Webster, until the American saxophonist's death in 1973. At the same time, Alex Riel turned to psychedelic rock and joined the successful band The Savage Rose, with whom he recorded seven albums between 1967 and 1972. During the 1970s, the drummer became inseparable from folk singer and guitarist Sebastian, whom he accompanied until the early 1990s, between sessions with Jackie McLean, Steve Kuhn, Tubby Hayes, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Warne Marsh, Zoot Sims, George Adams, Archie Shepp, Toots Thielemans and Kenny Dorham. He also collaborated regularly with the Peter Herbolzheimer Rhythm Combination & Brass, Stéphane Grappelli and Jean-Luc Ponty, before contributing to the 1985 album Daylight by jazz rock and fusion group Santa Cruz, whom he reunited with in 2005 for Cruzing (recorded live) and in 2009 for When the Sun Goes Down. Meanwhile, Alex Riel formed a quartet with Jesper Lundgaard, Kenny Werner and Jerry Bergonzi, which produced the albums The Riel Deal (1996) and Riel Time (2008). Other leader recordings include Emergence! Live at Fashing (1994), UnRiel! (with Michael Brecker, Mike Stern and Eddie Gomez, 1997), D.S.B. Kino (1998), Reliatin' (2000), Live at Jive (in quartet with Lutz Büchner, 2001), Get Riel (2008) and Live at Stars (with Charlie Mariano, 2008), among collaborations with numerous artists including Hanne Boel, Karin Krog, Niels Lan Doky and The Doky Brothers, Enrico Pieranunzi, Bob Brookmeyer, Jan Lundgren, Cæcilie Norby, the NDR Big Band, Benjamin Koppel, Youn Sun Nah, Ketil Bjønstad, Lasse & Mathilde Mathilde, Ulf Meyer and Christian Sands. In 2013, Alex Riel teamed up with another drummer, Stefan Pasborg, for the album Drumfaces, produced with a jazz fusion band, and in 2021, recorded the nostalgic album Our Songs, featuring jazz and pop standards, as a trio with Bo Stief and Carsten Dahl. After a musical career spanning six decades, Alex Riel died on June 9, 2024 at the age of 83.
