Polarbaeren

Saxophon

Flute

Bass Clarinet

E-Gitarre

Synthesizer

Bass

Drum Kit

Polarbaeren are four young musicians who set out to shatter the conventions of what new jazz should and shouldn&#x27;t do. Whirling, abrupt, straightforward, with powerful beats and insane creativity, the band captivates their listeners and wraps them up in a snowstorm of sounds. The concert took place as part of the ZKB Jazz Prize.

Raphael Jost's Swingin' Christmas

Vocals

Trumpet

Piano

teilbestuhlt / partially seated

Shortly before Christmas, Moods invites you to its traditional &quot;Swingin&#x27; Christmas Night&quot;. Who doesn&#x27;t know them: &quot;Let it Snow!&quot;, &quot;Winter Wonderland&quot; or &quot;Santa Claus Is Coming To Town&quot; and all the others - the songs that Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett brought to the radios at Christmas. Raphael Jost&#x27;s band brings out all these wonderful Christmas classics and spices them up with their own arrangements. Accompanied by a glass of red wine and of course lots of peanuts. A swinging start to the Christmas holidays!

Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Sandy Patton

Altsaxophon

Tenorsaxophon

Baritone Saxophone

Trombone

Bassposaune

Guitar

Director

Hommage an Sarah Vaughan: «The Divine One»

In 2024 we will celebrate the centenary of the birth of Sarah Vaughan, one of the greatest jazz singers in history. Her career spanned almost five decades and she performed with a wide range of top jazz musicians and big bands. She won two Grammy Awards and was nominated for nine. In 1989 she was named an NEA Jazz Master and critic Scott Yanow wrote that she was &#x27;...one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century&#x27;. Sarah Vaughan began her professional career in the early 1940s as a singer in the big bands of Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine, where she met and sang with such jazz innovators as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. For most of her highly successful career she played in small jazz groups, but she returned to big bands on several occasions and in 1954 began a fruitful artistic partnership with Count Basie that lasted for decades. The last album Sarah Vaughan recorded with the Count Basie Orchestra was &#x27;Send In The Clowns&#x27; in 1981, and Sandy Patton has preserved the Count Basie Orchestra&#x27;s original arrangements, which she has generously shared with the Zurich Jazz Orchestra. These original arrangements will form the core of the programme, and we will play some classic Count Basie instrumentals to complement the wonderfully swinging vocal charts. As always, the great ensemble playing and excellent soloists of the Zurich Jazz Orchestra will be featured.

Kyoto Jazz Massive ft. Vanessa Freeman & Echoes Of A New Dawn Orchestra

Percussion

Keyboards

Spirit Music Society & Moods present

The cross-genre project Kyoto Jazz Massive, founded by the Okino brothers and discovered by Gilles Peterson, is celebrating its 30th anniversary with new album release and a refreshed line-up. Under the direction of Shuya Okino, with Vanessa Freeman on lead vocals, KJM will be supported by the powerful Echoes Of A New Dawn Orchestra, showcasing their unique crossover vision from jazz-funk, broken beat, and soulful house to cosmic grooves and everything in between! After a highly energetic night in late December 2023, they are back to rock Zurich out of its socks.

RUTHER LANA & MISS C-LINE feat. Gaston Bandimic

Sampler

Jonas Ruther

RUTHER LANA &amp; MISS C-LINE is a trio from Switzerland, formed by drummer Jonas Ruther with MISS C-LINE rap, vocals and FX, François Lana on synthesiser and sampler. With influences from modern rap and beat culture, combined with collective improvisation and complex psychedelic sound structures, the three strong personalities create a very intense musical experience on stage. For his Carte Blanche, Ruther invites the Senegalese rapper Gaston Bandimic, who raps in Wolof and ignites an impressive rhythmic fire live.

DakhaBrakha

Cello

Accordion

Derbouka

Clear the stage for the musical fireworks known as DakhaBrakha! The Ukrainian sound rebels tear down traditional boundaries and create a storm of sound that pulsates between folklore and avant-garde. A wild fusion of ethno chaos and experimental passion. From hypnotic rhythms to powerful vocals. There are no taboos. DakhaBrakha make the stage shake and take the audience into a collective trance that questions everything. Supported by the SüdKulturFonds.

Camilla George

Leitung

Camilla George is a visionary saxophonist, composer, bandleader and innovator. Her strong cultural roots and love of fusing African and Western Music has informed her own unique style, a key reason why she is a firm fixture on the new London Jazz scene, alongside peers such as Nubya Garcia and Shabaka Hutchings. Her music is a hypnotising blend of Afrofuturism, hip hop and jazz, with a politically minded subtext that has a powerful connection to her Nigerian identity, lineage and heritage, reflecting African history, culture and slavery. Her most recent album, ‘Ibio Ibio’, is a tribute to her tribe the Ibibio people of South Eastern Coastal Nigeria. The album features an incredible lineup, including Daniel Casimir, Sarah Tandy, Winton Clifford, Renato Paris, Sheila Maurice-Grey, Rosie Turton, Shirley Tetteh, hip hop drummer, Daru Jones, Birmingham based rapper, Lady Sanity and Sam Jones. Recent notable performances include North Sea Jazz Festival, where Camilla performed with both her own group and as a featured artist in the ‘Diaspora Suite’ performance; Jazz a Vienne, where Camilla also sat in for a guest spot with Marcus Miller; EFG London Jazz Festival, Jazz In The Park Romania, Brosella and Jazz Onze Lausanne. This concert recording was made with the support of Migros Culture Percentage.

Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Dave Taylor & Daniel Schnyder

Tuba

Flugelhorn

Dave Taylor has been the world&#x27;s most influential bass trombonist since he emerged on the New York music scene in the late 1960s. His unmistakable bass trombone sound can be heard on hundreds of albums, including recordings by Duke Ellington, The Rolling Stones, Barbara Streisand, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Wynton Marsalis, Blood Sweat &amp; Tears, Tina Turner, Gil Evans, Bob Mintzer Big Band and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra. Dave has also performed worldwide as a soloist with major symphony orchestras and encourages composers to write new and challenging music for the bass trombone. One musician who has a long and close artistic partnership with Dave is the Swiss composer and saxophonist Daniel Schynder, who will contribute a set for this concert and also perform as a soloist. For the conductor of the Zurich Jazz Orchestra, Ed Partyka, this project fulfills a long-cherished wish: Dave Taylor has been an idol of mine since I met him in the 1980s when he played with the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band (still one of the most impressive live concerts I&#x27;ve ever heard!). I&#x27;m thrilled that we can finally realize this dream with the Zurich Jazz Orchestra. The second set will be newly composed by Ed Partyka and arranged for Dave Taylor and the Zurich Jazz Orchestra.

Tromboranga Orchestra

Timbales

Bongos

Congas

Tromboranga stands for the raw power of salsa music from the 60s and 70s. One of the band&#x27;s trademarks is its three-piece trombone section. The instrument that strongly influenced salsa through Willie Colón or Jimmy Bosch and reflected life in New York&#x27;s El Barrio. Tromboranga play and arrange their music in this tradition, setting new accents and inviting you to dance. After more than 10 studio albums, they have become one of the most important ambassadors of this genre, also in the Big Apple and Cali, the capital of salsa.

Balthvs

jazzhane & Moods present

BALTHVS is one of the positive results of the pandemic! The three musicians used the time of standstill to form a band in 2020. Since then, the psychedelic funk trio from Bogotá has already released over 30 singles and three albums, on which they cross genre boundaries and fuse influences from cumbia, surf rock and funk. And they don&#x27;t intend to stop there: In addition to their many releases, they are also busy conquering the world&#x27;s stages and thrilling audiences with their energetic live shows.

Ayyuka

Active since 2001, Ayyuka was one of the first bands to look back to the Turkish music of the 70s and create a new, unmistakable sound from it. Immediately after their debut album in 2007, Ayyuka shared the stage with Sonic Youth and Jonathan Richman; their third studio album Sömestr is considered a cult album among record collectors. Inspired by international names such as Dick Dale or John Frusciante as well as local heroes such as Erkin Koray or Orhan Gencebay, their music sounds guitar oriented, their fascination with film music and improvisation provides surprising twists and turns. The worldwide hype of their single Yukadans is now followed by their EP Zaman Ziyan, which leads the listener through a kaleidoscope of musical landscapes with borrowings from genres such as Afro-Beat, Funk, Boss Nova or Arabesque.

Bruno Spoerri: The Acoustic Side

Both Sides Now

This year Bruno Spoerri is celebrating his 70th stage anniversary in Zurich - in 1954 he was awarded first prize at the Zurich Jazz Festival. The concert on November 12th will show two sides of his work; the first part with an acoustic jazz group, the second with technoid electronics. The versatility of singer Marianne Racine is hard to beat and her all-round musicality repeatedly leads to astonishing performances. Swing and solo flights of fancy are provided by a dream team of the younger generation: bassist Patrick Sommer &amp; drummer Andreas Wettstein with their famously - rapturously groovy interplay; Lucerne pianist Lukas Gernet with attentively sensitive sounds and singable melodies. In short: this quartet is bursting with joy of playing, humor and solid craftsmanship.

Bruno Spoerri: The Electronic Side

Synthophone

Electronics

This year Bruno Spoerri is celebrating his 70th stage anniversary in Zurich - in 1954 he was awarded first prize at the Zurich Jazz Festival. The concert on November 12th will show two sides of his work; the first part with an acoustic jazz group, the second with technoid electronics. Piet Jan Blauw began his career as a visual artist, while also working as a percussionist. Early on he made objects and then began to build electronic instruments and art installations. Numerous installations and performances in Europe, the USA and Mexico followed. His performances are both auditory and visual experiences. Gabriel Schiltknecht is a percussionist with heart and soul. His musical career began with the formation SCHILDPATT. After training as a primary school teacher, he taught at the Swiss School in Accra/Ghana, played with important local musicians and acquired a wide-ranging knowledge of the drumming tradition.

Rachel Z feat. Omar Hakim & Jonathan Toscano

&quot;Sensual&quot; is an album that pushes the boundaries of contemporary music, blending elements of jazz, rock, folk, and world music to create a truly unique and captivating sound. Rachel Z, a virtuoso pianist known for her expressive playing and innovative compositions, takes the lead in crafting the album&#x27;s healing melodic mantras and harmonies. On her release tour she will be accompanied by Omar Hakim and Jonathan Toscano. Omar is a legendary drummer with a career spanning over four decades, brings his unparalleled rhythmic expertise to the project. His dynamic and versatile drumming style adds a layer of depth and intensity to each track, creating a captivating groove. Jonathan is a talented bassist known for his melodic and intricate bass lines, complements the ensemble with his impeccable sense of timing and musicality. His contributions add a rich and vibrant texture to the album, enhancing the overall sonic experience. Together, Rachel Z, Omar Hakim, and Jonathan Toscano create a musical synergy that is reflective of the their 10 year friendship. Their collaborative efforts on &quot;Sensual&quot; result in a collection of songs that are sensual, evocative, and deeply moving. From intimate ballads to infectious grooves, each track takes you on a sonic journey that will awaken your senses.

Andrea Bignasca

Album Release «Stranger»

Ticino singer Andrea Bignasca is returning to Moods with his fourth album: «Stranger» will be released in October 2024 and tells stories of creating and writing songs, of becoming a father and love; and of the fears, doubts and joys that all these things bring with them. Bignasca&#x27;s sound has evolved since his debut album «Gone» in 2015 and has become a little more refined, with 80s drums and synths creeping in at times. Nevertheless, the songwriter remains true to himself and combines blues, rock and pop into catchy songs with his raspy voice.

Lotus Crash

Clarinet

Album Pre-Release

Two wind instruments and a rhythm section: the quartet Lotus Crash likes to experiment with this line-up without a harmony instrument, makes use of contemporary instrumental techniques and gives free rein to their joy of improvisation. Their repertoire includes original compositions as well as selected pieces by their favourite musicians such as Andrew Cyrill, Roscoe Mitchell and Adam Lane. Creative jazz that can also be a little unconventional from time to time.

Jasmine Myra

Harp

Jasmine Myra is a saxophonist, composer and bandleader from Leeds and is part of the city&#x27;s vibrant, creative and cross-genre music scene, which is bursting with young talent. Her euphoric and uplifting sound draws influences from Bonobo, Ólafur Arnalds and Kenny Wheeler, artists whose music shares an emotive quality that you can also hear in Myra’s own compositions. This concert recording was made with the support of Migros Culture Percentage.

Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Nikki Iles

Composition

Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Nikki Iles 

«Female Composers» Series 

Award-winning jazz pianist and composer Nikki Iles was a founding member of the Creative Jazz Orchestra and has worked with Mike Gibbs, Vince Mendoza, Kenny Wheeler and Anthony Braxton. She has freelanced with Art Farmer, Julian Arguelles, Claire Martin and Christine Jenson and has been in the studio with Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone, Tina May, Rufus Reid, Stan Sulzmann and Dave Holland. Although she is known as a pianist, composing is and remains very important to her. Recently, she has received various commissions for compositions from renowned big bands all over the world. Nikki Iles is Professor of Jazz Piano at the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Some time ago, the ZJO launched the «Female Composers» series. The ZJO is particularly pleased to be working with Nikki Iles this season. This is the British composer&#x27;s first appearance as conductor of an orchestra in Switzerland.

Benin International Musical

The Benin International Musical combines traditional rhythms and songs from the voodoo culture with electronic melodies, trip-hop grooves, hip-hop and rock from Benin&#x27;s trendy club scene. With their project, the collective aims to revive the diverse musical heritage of their ancestors and make it accessible to a wide audience. The traditional voodoo culture, which was spread in the wake of slavery, may be unknown to many, but it laid the foundations for musical movements such as jazz, blues, salsa and hip-hop. A groovy homage to a rich cultural history! Before and after the concert, DJ Voilà Tim will play a selection of African grooves. Supported by the SüdKulturFonds. This concert recording was made with the support of Migros Culture Percentage.

La Sonora Mazurén

La Sonora Mazurén are the latest representatives of Bogotá&#x27;s lively alternative music scene. The seven musicians are influenced by traditional rhythms and sounds from Ecuador, Colombia and Peru and enrich them with synths and electric guitar. This is how they have developed their very own sound, which can be described as trippy cumbia, psychedelic chicha or African fuzz. A must for lovers of bands like the Meridian Brothers and for anyone curious to discover the new Tropsychedelica sound of Colombia. Supported by the SüdKulturFonds.

BALKAN MOODS

Kaval

Theodosii Spassov, Atanas Ourkouzounov, Dimitar Ivanov, George Vassilev, Irina-Kalina Goudeva

Balkan Moods is a group of five renowned soloists from Bulgaria centred around the kaval player Theodosii Spassov. The instrumentalist and composer is known for his virtuoso and innovative playing on the traditional kaval flute - one of the oldest instruments in Europe - and for his ability to combine different genres. The love of cross-genre music has also brought this quintet together: Their repertoire is made up of works by contemporary composers from Bulgaria and Serbia, combining traditional Balkan music, classical music and jazz. 

Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Thomas Gansch

The long-standing and very fruitful partnership between Thomas Gansch and the Zurich Jazz Orchestra will continue this year. In addition to repertoire from the past, there will also be new arrangements written by Ed Partyka especially for this concert, presenting Thomas Gansch as a composer and multi-instrumental soloist, but also as an amiable &#x27;enfant terrible&#x27;. One thing is certain: the wonderful musicians of the ZJO will provide some musical surprises. It is also certain that the band and the audience will experience an unforgettable evening.

Elina Duni Trio feat. Rabih Abou-Khalil

Jurykonzert

Born in 1981 as the daughter of a writer and a director in the Albanian capital Tirana, Elina Duni first appeared on stage at the age of just five. A lot has happened since her first musical steps on radio and television: today, Elina Duni is an ECM artist and, since 2017, a laureate of the Swiss Music Prize. In this ZKB Jazz Prize Special, the oud virtuoso Rabih Abou-Khalil meets the Elina Duni Trio with Marc Méan and Matthieu Michel. A unique constellation that will probably bring some golden moments. The concert took place as part of the ZKB Jazz Prize.

Zurich Jazz Orchestra Funk Night

Joseph Bowie’s Big Band Funk - The Legendary Music of Defunkt

Joseph Bowie is the brother of the big band musician Byron Bowie and the co-founder of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Lester Bowie. Joe himself founded the punk-funk-jazz group Defunkt in 1978. The band released several genre-bending albums in the 1980s, and their music has been called one of the most adventurous sounds of the last quarter of the 20th century. Over the past 20 years, Joe Bowie has also worked to adapt this music for big band. One of the arrangers Joe has worked with since 2011 is Ed Partyka. The ZJO is looking forward to an energetic evening of danceable hits from the long history of Defunkt.

Orchestra Baobab

Moods Summer Special

Last year, Orchestra Baobab, one of Africa&#x27;s greatest bands, celebrated its 50th anniversary. Its story begins in the heart of Dakar&#x27;s medina in Senegal in the late 1960s and stretches around the world and into the 21st century. The group of singers and musicians from all over the continent play a mixture of Afro and Latin American styles, international pop and traditional griot music. After last year&#x27;s sold-out concert, the band returns to Moods this August. Before and after the concert, DJs Afreekaya &amp; Voilà Tim will be spinning some tunes.

Schmidi Schmidhauser & The Hasta Luegos

Abschiedskonzert

What luck: Mrs. Schmidhauser buys a guitar but doesn&#x27;t find enough time to practice. So she gives the instrument to her boys. Beat and Jürg don&#x27;t waste much time and start rocking. Some time later Beat, meanwhile matured to Schmidi, plays his first gig at the age of 14. Today, about 1500 concerts and 46 years later, Schmidi delights us for the last time live on stage, because – and to our regret – &quot;it&#x27;s enough of a good thing.&quot; From now on, he wants to devote himself to things that have came up short in all these years. Schmidi has experienced indescribable things on a thousand and one stages, on the road with &quot;Stop the Shoppers&quot;, &quot;HOT DC&quot;, &quot;Los Hobos&quot;, &quot;Chica Torpedo&quot;, &quot;Traktorkestar&quot;, &quot;Oso loco&quot;, with Polo, Kuno, Endo, Büne, Sina, Lo &amp; Leduc - and again and again with Jürg/Jiri, the beloved brother. So then: clear the stage!

Evelinn Trouble Orchestra

Violin

Viola

Evelinn Trouble

One year after her fifth studio album &quot;Longing Fever&quot; won the &#x27;Indie Suisse Album Of The Year Award&#x27;, Evelinn Trouble is back on tour with her band. Evelinn Trouble, known for her creative restlessness, her virtuoso voice and her idiosyncratic songwriting has added an exciting pop work to her discography with &quot;Longing Fever&quot; - a break with her psychedelic era but still unmistakably Trouble. It&#x27;s an exciting album that traverses highs and lows with fervour, ranging from Beatlesque love songs to euphoric melodies buoyed by distorted hip-hop. Unexpectedly, new sounds of string instruments join the otherwise dark sound universe of the singer: a string trio expands the band to the &quot;Evelinn Trouble Orchestra&quot;. This concert recording was made with the support of Migros Culture Percentage.

Yarima Blanco Y Son Latino

Tres

Yarima Blanco is an outstanding Tres Cubano player and one of the few outside of Cuba to master this unique three-stringed instrument. With her own septet, Son Latino, she combines various Cuban styles with Latin American influences. Her electrifying performances showcase not only her impressive technique on the tres, but also her powerful voice and charisma. Blanco perfected her skills during several years of study in Cuba and quickly became a sought-after artist, also making waves on the international jazz scene with the orchestra ANACAONA. Pancho Amat, international master of the tres cubanos, describes Blanco&#x27;s talent as exceptional. This concert recording was made with the support of Migros Culture Percentage.

Summer Pearl

From her hometown of London, singer Summer Pearl is currently taking the music world by storm. Her sound of jazz, soul, hip-hop and dub, is reminiscent of the one of the great Erykah Badu, both powerful and touching at the same time. Summer Pearl herself describes it as &quot;a meditation on my past and a reflection of our present. It is both a personal and political message exploring black and female liberation and love gained and love lost.&quot;

Alina Amuri + Special Guests

Sousaphon

Album Release im Moods

Alina Amuri&#x27;s record launch will take place as part of the Schiffbaufest. The concert is free of charge, but we ask our guests to reserve a ticket via the link in order to have guaranteed admission. With different cultural influences and a lively and bold message, Alina Amuri manages to create magical musical moments. Born in DR Congo Kinshasa and raised in Switzerland, the singer and multi-instrumentalist has developed her own homemade style between Afro, Neo Soul and Trip Hop in the last ten years. An unforgettable voice meets Congolese percussion joy and surprising flute interludes, releasing forces where optimism returns and dancing becomes inevitable. A sound that creates a new sense of togetherness and the promise that everything will be alright. Alina Amuri&#x27;s music combines influences from Lauryn Hill, Nina Simone and Alicia Keys with a fresh, lively twist. Alina has already been selected for SRF 3 Best Talent, has been nominated for the most important Swiss music award (Swiss Music Awards) and won the Swiss Live Talent Award with her last album (Chasing Traces). At this concert Alina Amuri will present her next studio album Back To You. It is the most personal record so far and tells about her journey back to her birthplace Kinshasa, back to her family roots.

Rap / R'n'B / Brass

Experimental

Jazz Experimental

Jazz

Soul / Blues / Funk

Rap / R'n'B

Pop / Rock / Singer / Songwriter

Jazz Modern Creative

Global Sounds

Electronic / Party

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Polarbaeren

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