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Album Review: Buechi/Hellmüller/Jerjen – «pink mountain sagas»

Florian Bissig12-05-20241 min. read

On her second album as part of a trio with Rafael Jerjen and Franz Hellmüller, Sarah Buechi, a singer from Glarus, concentrates entirely on her own compositions.

Sarah Buechi's songs, which she writes in English with sprinklings of Swiss dialect, take up a variety of legends, motifs and figures from the Alpine region, from Valais to the Bernese Oberland and the Engadine. The focus on folk music is complemented by Kristina Brunner on the Schwyzerörgeli and Andreas Gabriel on the violin, as well as the occasional addition of alphorn and hammered dulcimer. Natural tones and other sounds familiar from the Swiss Alps are condensed into a highlight of the album in the only piece not penned by Buechi, the folk song «Du fragsch mi wär i bi». But «Pink Mountain Sagas» also bears witness to other facets of Buechi's receptive world music profile. The singer has integrated influences from Europe, the USA and India into her own personal style, with which she has long since matured into an independent voice with a high recognition value. She leaves a strong mark on her ensemble's music with her unique vocal technique and phrasing as well as her compositional skills. Nevertheless, there is still enough room for her fellow musicians to contribute to the sound universe with the diversity of their respective backgrounds. Buechi's vocal lines are at times closely accompanied and carried by Hellmüller and Jerjen, at other times open and contrasting. The interplay in the core trio is somnambulistically coherent, atmospheric and stylistically confident.

Florian Bissig, jazz'n'more
This article appeared in the Nov/Dec 2024 issue of Jazz'n'more magazine. More info & subscriptions jazznmore.ch

«pink mountain sagas» at Moods

  • feat. Kristina Brunner, Andreas Gabriel & Luciana Brusa

    • Buechi/Hellmüller/Jerjen - «pink mountain sagas»

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