Jaki Liebezeit facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jaki Liebezeit
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Jaki Liebezeit, December 2011
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Hans Liebezeit |
| Born | 26 May 1938 Ostrau, Saxony, Germany |
| Died | 22 January 2017 (aged 78) Cologne, Germany |
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| Occupation(s) | Musician |
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| Years active | 1961–2017 |
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Jaki Liebezeit (born Hans Liebezeit; 26 May 1938 – 22 January 2017) was a German drummer. He was a founding member of the experimental rock band Can. People called him "one of the few drummers to convincingly mix funky and thoughtful styles."
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Early Life and Challenges
Hans "Jaki" Liebezeit was born in a village called Ostrau in Germany. His father, Karl Liebezeit, was a music teacher. He taught Jaki to play the accordion and violin. Jaki loved his father's accordion his whole life. His father had to stop teaching music during the Nazi period. He died in 1943.
Jaki's early life was very hard. His family lived in poverty. They had no running water at home. They ate vegetables from their garden. Jaki walked several kilometers to school every day. When the Russians started to take over East Germany, his mother took him west. They went to live with her family in Hannoversch Münden. This happened just before the border closed in 1945.
A Career in Music
In the mid-1960s, Jaki was part of Manfred Schoof's quintet. This group played early European free jazz.
Joining the Band Can
Later, Jaki became interested in new music styles. He joined the band Can, which played psychedelic music. His drumming was very important to the band's sound. People especially admired his playing on the song "Halleluhwah" from the album Tago Mago.
Liebezeit was known for his amazing "metronome" drumming style. Other members of Can joked that he sounded "half-man, half machine." This meant his drumming was incredibly steady and precise.
Other Music Projects
In the late 1970s, Jaki played drums for Michael Rother's solo albums. He used a special beat called the "Motorik beat."
In 1980, he joined a band called Phantomband. He also started drum groups like Drums off Chaos. Jaki recorded with many other musicians. These included Jah Wobble and Philip Jeck. He also played drums and percussion as a guest on many albums. Some famous albums he worked on were Depeche Mode's Ultra and Brian Eno's Before and After Science.
In his later years, he worked with Burnt Friedman on the Secret Rhythms albums. He also played with Schiller on their Atemlos album.
Jaki also worked on the Cyclopean EP. This project included Irmin Schmidt from Can. He recorded an album called Flut with Hans Joachim Irmler of Faust in 2014.
From 2013, he recorded three albums with British singer-songwriter Robert Coyne. These albums were The Obscure Department, Golden Arc, and I Still Have This Dream.
Later Life and Legacy
Jaki Liebezeit died from pneumonia on 22 January 2017.
A special concert was held to honor him. It took place at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne on 22 January 2018.
