Biography of Kai Warner
taken from Wikipedia
Kai Warner or Werner Last
was born on October 27, 1926.
Born in Bremen, Warner
took piano lessons from Ernst Weelen and received theory
instruction from the Reger and Humperdinck student Richard
Bulling.
After the war, Werner Last appeared as a
trombonist along with his brothers Hans (bassist, later known as
James Last) and Robert Last (drummer) in Bremen music halls and
in the American clubs in the vicinity of Bremerhaven. At this
point, he was discovered by the composer and manager Friedrich
Meyer and hired for the newly-formed dance orchestra of Radio
Bremen. The Last brothers became well-known as members of the
Last-Becker Ensemble. Werner Last found his first success as an
arranger. After the disbandment of the Bremen dance orchestra in
1948, he played for a time in a 12-man band, then went to seek
his fortune in the USA. Before this, he married the 18-year-old
Hjördis Harlow, an American of Norwegian descent. From this
marriage came two sons, Steven and Werner.
In the USA,
Werner had to make his living as a casual labourer for several
months before he was admitted into the New York musician's
union. As a trombonist, he belonged to several renowned big
bands. As well, he studied music theory at New York University
with Schillinger professor Rudolf Schramm.
In 1958,
Werner Last returned to Germany and arranged numerous film
scores. In 1966 he signed a contract as a producer with Polydor;
he discovered and produced Renate Kern. As Kai Warner, he
started his own orchestra, which included many musicians who
played with James Last (such as his brother Robert Last, who had
already played drums on the earliest James Last sessions). In
1975, Kai Warner switched from Polydor to Philips.
Besides his LPs like
Pops For Minis,
Happy Together,
Goldtimer 1
and 2, his name is forever linked with the
Go-In series, which
continued later on Philips under the name
Go-In Party.
Other albums: So In Love,
Love Songs,
Romantic Songs,
Wer recht
in Freuden tanzen will,
Warner Plays Wagner,
Golden Violins,
Volkslieder Festival,
On The Road To Philadelphia,
Swingin'
Johann, Salsoul Explosion,
A Glass Of Champagne,
Dance To The
Beatles,
Zum Tanz Marsch Marsch,
Polka wie noch nie,
Oriental
Nights,
It's Country Time, and naturally the Christmas album
Christmas Party.
He also made several recordings with his
Kai Warner Singers, a mixed choir made up of six women and six
men often accompanied only by a rhythm section, like Ray Conniff
used to do it in his 70s albums.
He died in Hamburg aged
55 on July 9, 1982.