What is beyond dispute: in the autumn of 1969 drummer/cook Hermann Kügler, who ran the jazz club „Allotria“ in Munich’s suburb of „Maxvorstadt“ (not: „Schwabing“!), brought trumpeter Gerhard Vohwinkel from the Spree City Stompers of Berlin into the Bavarian metropolis. His purpose was to create the musical program and assemble a house band for the club.
But here it already is murky. Who was part of the of the original group? Somehow, out of the melting pot of Munich’s jazz scene, a band crystallized , which was initially called „The Allotria Stompers“ and which in the course of the following year evolved into „The Allotria Jazz Band“. It was clear early on who made up the front line. Next to Gerhard Vohwinkel was trumpeter Claus Walter „Hepps“ Herbertz, trombonist Fritz Stewens, and clarinetist and alto-saxophonist Rainer Sander. Achim Scherz quickly became the obvious choice as pianist.
The positions of banjo and bass didn’t permanently go to Cornelius Griebel and Helmut „Heli“ Wörsching until the spring of 1970. A broken left foot put Hermannn Kügler out of commission for a long time, so Jochen Mayer became the first permanent drummer of the band.