Carte Blanche
Jonas Ruther
RUTHER LANA & MISS C-LINE feat. Gaston Bandimic
Rap / R'n'B / BrassJazzRapExperimental Jazz
Carte Blanche: Jonas Ruther
Jonas Ruther loves to photographs, is the main curator of the concerts at Kulturlokal Rank since 2020, is the father of two daughters and an absolute tea nerd with a penchant for Pu-Erh. The Zurich percussionist is one of the nine musicians who has received a Carte Blanche in the 24/25 season. His concert evenings are groovy, emotional, meditative and immersive. In an interview, he told us more about his projects.
He prefers to be in collectives, says Jonas Ruther. He prefers them to bands in which someone takes the lead, writes the music and says how it should go. Besides The Jazz Trio, these are currently divr (with Philipp Eden and Raphael Walser), Simon Spiess Quiet Tree (with Simon Spiess and Marc Méan) and HELY (with Lucca Fries). "It's more about finding out what the common intersection is, and then that becomes the music". This collaborative approach that Jonas Ruther pursues in his music is also the common thread of his Carte Blanche evenings, which he is organising this season at Moods and Kunstraum Walcheturm.
05.12.2024: RUTHER LANA & MISS C-LINE featuring Gaston Bandimic
RUTHER LANA & MISS C-LINE is a trio that drummer Jonas Ruther formed just over a year ago. For Jonas Ruther, who was influenced in his youth by musicians such as House of Pain, Ice-T and the Beastie Boys, this project is in a way a return. During the pandemic, he realised that he had never played hip-hop himself. So he started playing along with hip-hop cyphers, experimenting with MCs and combining these experiences with his love of improvised jazz.Initially, the RUTHER LANA & MISS C-LINE project was based on his own beats, but each member now contributes their own ideas, which has made the band a lively, equal collective. "It is like planting a seedling," says Jonas, describing the creative process. Together, Jonas Ruther (drums), François Lana (synthesizer) and Carolina (melodies and lyrics) create a unique combination of hip-hop and jazz improvisation, characterised by complex rhythms such as 5-over-4 or 7-over-4. And it is super impressive how Carolina raps over these sophisticated beats.A special highlight of the concert at Moods is the first-time collaboration with Gaston Bandimic, a rapper from Dakar, Senegal, who lives in Lyon. Jonas discovered Gaston Bandimic via Instagram and invited him to Zurich as part of his Carte Blanche series - even though they had never met in person. Their performance will be an exciting experiment, with all the musicians rehearsing together for the first time on the day of the concert.RUTHER LANA & MISS C-LINE will record their first album in summer 2025 - we're already looking forward to it!10.01.2025: «deep dive» with Ganesh Geymeier, Anna Papst and Chantal LeMoign, and divr
Dive in and let yourself drift...What is already divr's musical programme will be presented in large format on this evening. The idea of the evening: an immersive experience in which music, spatial design and performance form a unity. From a solo set by saxophonist Ganesh Geymeier, past a performative theatre text by Anna Papst, read by Chantal LeMoign, to a final set by divr. It will be particularly exciting to see what the curatorial duo MADAM, consisting of Marco Mercuzio Peron and Mara Miccichè, will create in the Walcheturm space.The musicians in the trio, Philipp Eden (piano), Raphael Walser (bass) and Jonas Ruther (drums), have actually known each other for a long time. They first formed the rhythm section of another band. What was first tested in long, spaced-out outros of that earlier project is now called divr - like a diver. "It is really music to dive into. There is a lot of repetition and looping, like in an undertow," explains Jonas Ruther. The music is created through real-time composition, where the individual strengths and characteristics of the musicians flow into the mindful, creative process and unfold. Always in motion, changing, beautiful - like in a wide river or on the high seas.Their debut album was released in February 2024 on We Jazz Records. It's worth a listen!23.02.2025: Ingoma Busuku
The story of Ingoma Busuku began with an initial contact between Jonas Ruther and South African saxophonist Linda Sikakhane. Mediated by Nduduzo Makhathini, the two had originally planned to tour Switzerland in 2020.However, due to the pandemic, the tour had to be postponed several times before finally taking place in 2022.The chemistry between the musicians was instant and another collaboration was inevitable.On the following tour in South Africa, they also performed with singer Paras Dlamini. "It's so intense!" says Jonas Ruther enthusiastically about Paras Dlamini's moving voice, which he wants to introduce to the local audience as part of Carte Blanche.The concert at Moods will be Dlamini's first performance in Europe. The band's name, Ingoma Busuku, also comes from the South African singing tradition and means "song of the night" in isiZulu, referring to the lyrics, which are deeply rooted in the Zulu tradition while reflecting universal themes of love, spirituality and connection to the ancestors. The band combines these with groovy rhythms, spiritual melodies and fine improvisation. There is already a foretaste of the concert: during their tour in South Africa, the band recorded their first album, 'Isambulo' (2022), produced by none other than Nduduzo Makhathini.The team faced challenges such as daily power cuts, which made recording an adventurous experience. Recorded over three days in a Cape Town studio, most of the tracks on the album are first takes - a testament to the group's impressive musical synergy.With this line-up, it's a musical journey well worth taking!Jonas Ruthers Carte Blanche-Abende
Carte Blanche
Jonas Ruther
MADAM
Experimental
Carte Blanche
Jonas Ruther – «deep dive» im Kunstraum Walcheturm
Ganesh Geymeier Solo
JazzJazz Modern Creative
Carte Blanche
Jonas Ruther – «deep dive» im Kunstraum Walcheturm
«Boah, das Meer»
Experimental
Carte Blanche
Jonas Ruther – «deep dive» im Kunstraum Walcheturm
divr
Jazz Modern CreativeContemporary Jazz
Carte Blanche
Jonas Ruther
Ingoma Busuku
JazzJazz Modern CreativeGlobal Sounds
