Carte Blanche

This duo combines tradition and innovation in a fascinating way. Gisler's melodic and harmonic sophistication weaves a thread through jazz tradition, while Bruecker's unconventional voice and lyrics catapult the whole thing to a new level of abstraction and experimentation. Together, they are a duo that knows its roots, yet continues to discover and redefine new creative forms of expression.

Over the years, the Pilgrim Quintet, led by Zurich tenor saxophonist Christoph Irniger, has developed into one of the most exciting ensembles in the young European jazz scene. On the occasion of Dave Gisler's Carte Blanche at Moods, the well-rehearsed band will be joined by the unique singer Yumi Ito, who is regarded as one of the most outstanding representatives of vocal improvisation. Their connection is storytelling, creating an all-encompassing sound that defies categorisation. Some compositions are freely improvised, others are fully notated, but most are somewhere in between, with a flexibility that reflects a life of freedom where informed choices are made spontaneously.
The sound is correspondingly varied: an amalgam of all kinds of styles, small or large, bright or dark. An experience of feelings and images that Hannah Gottschalk translates live into sound-reactive visual performances characterised by abstraction and an interplay of artistic intention and improvisation.