Attila Zoller
b. 13 June 1927, Visegard, Hungary. Zoller learnt to play the violin and trumpet as a child and only turned to the guitar when he chose to make a career in music. He played in a variety of bands in Budapest after the war before political unrest at home sent him to Austria and then, in the mid-50s, to Germany. There he played with Hans Koller and accompanied visiting Americans like Oscar Pettiford. In 1959 he won a scholarship to the Lennox School of Jazz and went to the USA. He is a technically skilful guitarist who performs in a restrained style with a keen harmonic sense which sometimes reveals his east European background. He joined Chico Hamilton's Quintet in 1960 and then played with Herbie Mann until 1965. He performed in a group specializing in modal jazz with Dave Friedman before playing with Red Norvo and then Benny Goodman. In 1968 he was a co-leader in a trio with Albert Mangelsdorff and Lee Konitz. In the early '80s he played with Jimmy Raney. In 1971 he had patented a bi-directional pick-up for the guitar and later developed a magnetic pick-up which could be used with a vibraphone.