The Viennese jazz guitarist has been one of the absolute world leaders in his genre for decades. In the 1960s he began to shape Austrian rock history with formations such as The Slaves and Gipsy Love before moving to the USA and to jazz. Today he is considered the grand seigneur of the domestic scene.
Leading rock guitarist
Born on July 4th, 1950 in precarious circumstances as the child of two concentration camp survivors in Vienna, Ratzer taught himself to play the guitar at the age of ten. From the age of 13 he was regularly on stage with legendary bands such as the Vienna Beatles (1964-1965), C-Department (1969-1971) and Gipsy Love (1971-1972). These years allowed Ratzer to become one of the most famous rock guitarists in the German-speaking world.
Made music with Chet Baker
From 1972 to 1980 he lived in the USA, where the sought-following studio and live musician worked with the likes of Chaka Khan, Chet Baker and Steve Grossman. From the early 1980s, further collaborations followed with high-ranking jazz musicians such as Fritz Pauer and Franz Koglmann, the Wienerlied legend Karl Hodina and also with his cousin, the Viennese world and jazz artist Harri Stojka.
From 1999 to 2003, Ratzer worked for four years as a visiting professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, before moving to the Vienna Music Institute (VMI) as a lecturer in 2004.
