Flo Stoffner

E-Gitarre

Dave Gisler

&quot;Free improvisation at its best&quot; is what Swiss guitarist Flo Stoffner embodies in a unique way. His way of playing and deconstructing the guitar is unmistakable and unique and has been described as &quot;some kind of autopsy of the guitar sound&quot;. Solo or in collaboration with musicians such as John Butcher, Chris Corsano, Paul Lovens, Rudi Mahall, Albert Cirera and Hans Koch, but also with spoken word artist Anna Frey or with Anna &amp; Stoffner, he has become one of the outstanding figures of the European improvisation scene. Looking back as well as forward, he raises the banner of instant composing and proves again and again how alive, surprising and up-to-date the tradition of free improvisation is today.

Sélène Saint-Aimé String Trio

Violin

Vocals

Cello

Bass

Sélène Saint-Aimé only appeared on the music scene a few years ago and has already developed a strong, independent voice. With a father from Martinique and a Franco-Ivorian mother, she describes herself as an “Afro-descendant”. Accordingly, her musical identity is clearly cosmopolitan, as she is influenced by both her roots and her travels. In this exclusive concert series, she will reinterpret songs from Louisiana, the Antilles and La Réunion and get to the bottom of her Creole identity. She will be accompanied by French violinist Thèo Ceccaldi, who has already won a Victoire du Jazz as “Revelation of the Year” and demonstrated his versatility with the French-Ethiopian project “Kutu”; and Guillaume Latil, one of the most sought-after jazz cellists.

Lea Maria Fries

Leitung

Piano

Drum Kit

Album Release «Cleo»

A fascinating voice reminiscent of Mélanie De Biasio and Beth Gibbons: Lea Maria Fries (et.nu, 22° Halo) is releasing her first solo album &#x27;Cleo&#x27; on 4 April 2025. On it, the Swiss singer confidently tells of an artist&#x27;s intimate search for her future, maturity and sensitivity. It is about encounters with the world, about being a woman in society and culture, and about becoming a queen like the one who has inspired her since childhood: Cleopatra. Strong, soulful, powerful, fresh and full of surprises, &#x27;Cleo&#x27; captivates the listener with every note.

Dr.O.G.E

Orgel

Two musicians invent a new state of intoxication: no drugs, just drums, organ and electric guitar. Valeria Zangger, Dominik Blum and Dave Gisler leave times and styles behind when they create their music. Motifs, essences and quotations are taken from the pool of rock, pop and their own musical worlds and catapulted into new dimensions through improvisation. The result can be a cross between Pink Floyd and free jazz, or a noise prayer with Jimi Hendrix and Arnold Schoenberg. This trio was initiated by drummer Fredy Studer, who died unexpectedly in August 2022. Valeria Zangger is now on board, with a stylistic spectrum ranging from pop music to experimental and free improvisation. The interweaving of the most diverse musical hallucinations characterises the trio and is the chemical formula for their explosive fuel. What they have in common is the desire to create energetic sound processes inspired by the history of rock and jazz, which vibrate atmospherically in the free play of encounters and can grow into powerful vibrations.

Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Theo Bleckmann

Altsaxophon

Saxophon

Baritone Saxophone

Trumpet

Trombone

Bassposaune

Tuba

Flugelhorn

Guitar

Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Theo Bleckmann 

Ed Partyka and Theo Bleckmann have worked together on several projects in Germany and Finland since 2007, and as Theo is the new jazz vocal teacher at the ZHDK, a collaboration with the ZJO was but a matter of time. Originally this was supposed to happen last season, but unfortunate circumstances made a postponement necessary. Ed Partyka will arrange Theo&#x27;s own compositions as well as a broad repertoire ranging from jazz standards to songs by Kate Bush for Theo&#x27;s unique voice and combine them with the many interesting instrumental textures and timbres of the Zurich Jazz Orchestra. A very special vocal jazz concert. Theo Bleckmann is a multiple GRAMMY®-nominated singer, composer and ECM recording artist who has recorded more than 17 albums and collaborated with artists such as Ambrose Akinmusire, Sheila Jordan, Kneebody, Ben Monder, John Hollenbeck, Phil Kline, David Lang, Ulysses Owens, Bang on a Can All-Stars and, most notably, Meredith Monk since 1994. Bleckmann was interviewed by Terry Gross on the NPR program Fresh Air and appeared on the David Letterman Show with Laurie Anderson. He consistently tops the DownBeat polls, and in his home country of Germany he was awarded the prestigious JAZZ ECHO by the German Phono Academy.

Tomorrow Tribal Quartet

Keyboards

Lucas Niggli – GLUT4

Tomorrow Tribal&#x27; stands for playing, for risk, for immediacy - and at the same time for maximum precision. Lucas Niggli&#x27;s commissioned work for the Tomorrow Tribal Quartet, which includes himself on drums as well as Brian Archinal (no-input mixer, vibraphone, megaphone, percussion), Gilles Grimaître (piano, Korg organ) and Sascha Armbruster (soprano saxophone, tubax), is based on a set of 16 playing cards that dictate the dramaturgy of the music. Each card depicts a specific musical motif, inspired by the four musicians playing together and by unique expressions in different, sometimes obscure, languages. Lagom&quot; (Swedish for &quot;not too much and not too little, just right&quot;), &quot;Ukiyo&quot; (Japanese for &quot;living in the moment&quot;) or &quot;Kephaloporosis&quot; (ancient Greek for a usually temporary state of mental confusion after intense stress) head the motif cards; these are terms that have no literal translation - they are as unique as the four musicians&#x27; musical languages. Each member of the quartet has all 16 cards and can play each one once. There is a playing table in the middle of the Boiler Room. When a new card is played, the other musicians can decide whether to jump straight to the new motif, &#x27;morph&#x27; from the old to the new, or not react at all. The piece thrives on spontaneous, intuitive musical action, so every performance will be unique. Only the groovy, melodic final canon, which the quartet will enter just before the end of the 45-minute performance, has been composed. Tomorrow Tribal will be an explosive and playful musical frenzy, full of surprises - and the odd joker will be thrown in for good measure.

Ashley Henry

Here, structures are broken up and boundaries are explored! London-based pianist and singer Ashley Henry mixes jazz with neo-soul, hip-hop and R&#x27;n&#x27;B in his compositions. The result is a groovy sound that offers room for breakbeats as well as Henry&#x27;s lyrical and playful piano solos. In a short space of time, Ashley Henry has developed from a newcomer to an important voice in the British jazz scene.

Zürich Jazz Kollektiv feat. Alex Sipiagin

Sopransaxophon

Tenorsaxophon

Flute

Victoria Mozalevskaya

The Zürich Jazz Kollektiv is a new contemporary jazz ensemble born out of the desire to create a creative network of local musicians to represent, cultivate and develop contemporary jazz in Switzerland. The ensemble sees itself as a platform for musical innovation and collaboration that both enriches the genre and strengthens and inspires the community of local jazz musicians. The collective&#x27;s music is penned by its founder, tenor saxophonist Victoria Mozalevskaya, and unfolds through the ensemble&#x27;s collaborative vision in energetic live performances and sophisticated arrangements. Joining them for the grand opening is none other than Alex Sipiagin, a longtime member of the big bands of Charles Mingus and George Gruntz and a fellow musician with jazz greats such as Dave Holland and Randy Brecker.

Jacob Karlzon, Benjamin Koppel, Scott Colley, Magnus Öström

Portable Infinity

Portable Infinity is the name of the Scandinavian-American project. The All-star quartet not only has jazz history with it, but also personal meetings with greats such as Pat Metheny, Herbie Hancock, John Scofield and Esbjörn Svensson. A lot is connected here: the long experience, the openness to new things and the pure desire to play. “As a child I was always inventing something,” says Benjamin Koppel. “I invented a whole world and a language for this world. I use all that in my music.” The Danish saxophonist and award-winning novelist is a defining figure of European jazz, always in exchange with the American tradition. In the quartet he meets the magically grooving drummer Magnus Öström – a former member of the legendary EST, the incredibly versatile bassist Scott Colley and the energetic pianist Jacob Karlzon, for whom every concert is an event: “For me, performing live in front of an audience is the original place for music, an ecstatic experience for both sides.”

Zurich Jazz Orchestra

Tribute to Bill Holman 

Big band musicians around the world mourn the passing of master composer and arranger Bill Holman, who died on May 6, 2024 at the age of 97. His long and prolific career spanned seven decades and produced hundreds of compositions and arrangements that have become beloved core repertoire of big bands and favorites of their audiences around the world. The last time Bill Holman was in Switzerland (2014), he conducted a concert of his music with the Zurich Jazz Orchestra, which remains one of the most memorable performances in the ZJO&#x27;s long history. Our musical directors Daniel Schenker and Ed Partyka met in 1996 as members of the Generations Festival Big Band in Frauenfeld, which was conducted by - you guessed it - Bill Holman. The Zurich Jazz Orchestra will celebrate the wonderful music and long life of Bill Holman on March 27, performing some of his most popular works as well as some rarely heard gems that highlight the orchestra and its outstanding soloists.

Mark Lettieri

Mark Lettieri is both an extremely versatile guitarist and a very busy man. At home in virtually every genre, he is currently one of the most sought-after studio musicians and has toured with a number of major artists. In 2008, Lettieri became an integral part of the jazz/world group Snarky Puppy, where he contributes as guitarist, arranger and composer. Outside of Snarky Puppy, Lettieri has released five albums as a leader, and in 2018 Lettieri joined forces with Vulfpeck offshoot The Fearless Flyers, which includes Vulfpeck&#x27;s Cory Wong and Joe Dart on guitar and bass, respectively, and drummer Nate Smith (Chris Potter, Pat Metheny). His most recent recordings include David Crosby, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Adam Levine, Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond, Tori Kelly, Ledisi, Tamela Mann, Eric Roberson, Lecrae, Lupe Fiasco, Keyshia Cole, Xzibit and numerous radio and TV jingles.

Ingoma Busuku

Jonas Ruther

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. On the subsequent tour in South Africa, they also performed with singer Paras Dlamini. This tour will be his first appearance in Europe. The band&#x27;s name &#x27;Ingoma Busuku&#x27; also comes from the South African singing tradition and means &#x27;song of the night&#x27; in isiZulu, referring to the lyrics, which are deeply rooted in the Zulu tradition and at the same time reflect universal themes such as love, spirituality and connection to the ancestors. The band combines these with groovy rhythms, spiritual melodies and fine improvisation. During their tour of South Africa, the band recorded their first album, &#x27;Isambulo&#x27; (2022), produced by none other than Nduduzo Makhathini.

Millà – Guy – Niggli

Lucas Niggli – GLUT3

This brand-new trio takes a completely contemporary approach to jazz&#x27;s loaded yet magnificent instrumental formula: the piano trio. Perhaps comparable to the symbolism of the string quartet in classical music, is still an enormously rich playing field in terms of colour and interaction possibilities. In this constellation, however, not only do three improvisers who have been washed in many waters and one improviser who is yet to be discovered in this country meet, all of whom are also among the innovators in the way they play their instruments, but three musicians who are also active as composers in the field of contemporary music, performance and current forms of jazz. The pianist is not accompanied by a rhythm section, and the established roles are constantly dismantled, resulting in an extremely agile, intense trio music, characterised by a high level of formal awareness, nimble turns, beautiful sounds, wit and a discipline that gives the improvisations a special urgency. The well-rehearsed duo Barry Guy – Lucas Niggli, which can already look back on 25 years of history (in the trio Demierre – Guy – Niggli, in the quintet Lucas Niggli BIG ZOOM, in Barry Guy&#x27;s London Jazz Composers Orchestra, in the trio with Maya Homburger and in the &quot;HexenTrio&quot; with the legendary Canadian pianist Paul Plimely) is once again expanded into a triangle and finds a congenial partner in Jordina Millà for a dance on a tightrope without a net or false bottom.

Dimitri Howald & the Amnis Band Extended

Viola

Album Release «Southern Return»

Guitarist Dimitri Howald lets himself drift on his third solo album Southern Return - with a curiously yearning music that brings together the most diverse influences from jazz, new wave and tropicalismo to create a very personal mixture. Drive off - to where the forests give way to palm trees and the landscapes are vast and tropical. The times, places and influences overlap in these 12 very personal pieces of music, which Dimitri Howald recorded all by himself: We hear Brazilian tropicalismo influences, light and delicate jazz guitar figures, harmonies that radiate an untranslatable saudade, while the wave drum machine sets the pace at times, as on earlier albums. Dimitri Howald recorded Southern Return over the course of three years. He plays with the individual musical elements, tinkers, sings, warms - and breaks the idyll with analog synth sounds that emphasize the shadows or with pieces that lead right into the youthful grunge band cellar. Slight melancholy, longing, unfulfilled and as yet unrealized dreams: all this resonates delicately in this music. The concert will be played with reinforcements, i.e. Howald&#x27;s Amnis Band will be stretched out and enlarged. His quartet, consisting of Stefan Schischkanov, Toni Schiavano and Flo Reichle, will be joined by Michael Haudenschild, Sebastian Lötscher, Nao Rohr and Cégiu for a truly extended evening.

Mammal Hands

Sometimes meditative, sometimes cinematic, with rhythmic elements that evolve, complement each other and develop into a driving maelstrom: Mammal Hands play a driving fusion of jazz and electronica that never loses its accessibility despite its complexity. On the contrary, the trio&#x27;s energetic live performances can put you in an almost trance-like state. The band is now on the road with their fifth album &quot;Gift from the Trees&quot; (2023) - a must for all fans of Portico Quartet, Gogo Penguin or Grandbrothers.

Nicole Johänntgen

Percussion

Album Release «Labyrinth II»

Nicole Johänntgen&#x27;s Labyrinth is groovy, experimental, sometimes melancholic and here and there you can hear the flair of the Motown era of the 70s. After the successful and energetic evening in spring 2024, Johänntgen, Hansen and Stauffacher return to Moods - this time with the sequel - Labyrinth II. When the saxophonist creates music, she likes to look deep, reflect and feel life. While the unconventional line-up of saxophone, tuba (Jon Hansen) and percussion (David Stauffacher) offers unexpected new possibilities, Nicole Johänntgen remains true to her soulful, expressive and virtuoso playing, in which saxophone and vocals alternate in unexpected, artistic ways. This concert recording was made with the support of Migros Culture Percentage.

Franziska Bruecker & Dave Gisler

This duo combines tradition and innovation in a fascinating way. Gisler&#x27;s melodic and harmonic sophistication weaves a thread through jazz tradition, while Bruecker&#x27;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.

SOYUZ (СОЮЗ)

Fender-Rhodes E-Piano

SOYUZ is a creative collective from Minsk, Belarus, that combines the rich sounds of classical Brazilian music with a modern, global perspective. ‘Force of the Wind’, the third album of the trio consisting of Alex Chumak, Mikita Arlou and Anton Nemahai, builds unexpected bridges between the Música Popular Brasileira of the 70s and today&#x27;s Belarus. With a mixture of Russian and Portuguese lyrics, cosy-warm sounds and jazzy-groovy beats, SOYUZ create emotional compositions and wonderful, nostalgic moments that transcend language.

Schrödingers Katze

Electronics

Album Release «Unscharf»

Galactic Rhodes sounds and booming Moog basses, driving drum beats, and it doesn&#x27;t really matter whether it&#x27;s jazz, rock or electronic music. Under the name Schrödingers Katze, Simon Althaus and Manuel Pasquinelli - two musical border crossers without stylistic blinkers - play science fiction pop for a lost but somehow still beautiful world. And so the band will take us on a playful, atmospheric and above all groovy musical journey from which there is no escape.

Raphael Jost's Swingin' Christmas

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. Thomas Gansch

Director

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.

Dominique Fils-Aimé

Dominique Fils-Aimé is back with a new album and after several attempts finally plays the Moods stage for the first time. Following her successful trilogy of albums that traced the history of African-American culture and history and even earned her a JUNO for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year in 2020, comes her latest record, &quot;Our Roots Run Deep,&quot; which will be released in September 2023 on Ensoul Records. Inspired by soul icons such as Billie Holiday, Etta James and Nina Simone, the Canadian with Haitian roots tells of the wellspring of her soul and holds the audience with her voice in a soothing sonic embrace.

Nubiyan Twist

Acclaimed by the press and critics, celebrated by fans, part of the crème de la crème of British jazz, Nubiyan Twist from Leeds bring together virtuoso musicians, experienced producers and inspired composers under the direction of Tom Excell. Together they create an unmistakable, infectious big band sound with influences from jazz, hip hop, Afrobeat, Latin, soul, reggae and dance music – a captivating, powerful musical experience.

Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Ola Onabulé

Horn

Vocal Artistry Series

If little more than a year passes before the ZJO invites a guest for a second time, the premiere must have been a complete success: In November 2022, British-Nigerian vocalist and songwriter Ola Onabulé performed with the ZJO for the first time. He is a virtuoso, self-effacing singer and a lyricist with today&#x27;s world in mind and history in the back of his mind. The topics of his songs hardly leave anything out, from basic human love of life to political content. In doing so, he refrains from stereotyping, which makes his work more elaborate, but his songs all the more authentic.

Regie

Best of: Arranging Jazz

The art of jazz arranging has been around for 100 years. The Zurich Jazz Orchestra will trace the development of this art form for big band - a best-of program as a look back at our season theme The Art of Arranging. The journey begins in the 1920s, continues with the swing and big band era of the 1930s and 1940s and leads into the post-war period. Influential arrangers such as Bob Brookmeyer, Gil Evans, Carla Bley, Billy Strayhorn, George Gruntz and Mathias Rüegg will be in the spotlight and show how &quot;The Art of Arranging&quot; has developed over the past 50 years.

Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Karolina Strassmayer

Gil Evans' «New Bottle Old Wine»

The Zurich Jazz Orchestra will present the complete program of the original arrangements of Gil Evans&#x27; classic album New Bottle Old Wine from 1958, with alto saxophone soloist Karolina Strassmayer interpreting the parts originally played by Cannonball Adderley. Compositions such as King Porter Stomp, St. Louis Blues and Round Midnight will be heard. Before Strassmayer became the first woman to join the WDR Big Band in 2004, she was part of the New York jazz scene for over 15 years and played with Chico Hamilton and the Diva Jazz Orchestra. Today she is a professor of jazz saxophone at the Folkwang University in Essen, where she founded and still directs an empowerment program for women in jazz. The second set of the concert features jazz standards arranged by Ed Partyka for the outstanding soloists of the ZJO and orchestrated for the same unique instrumentation as Gil Evans: Trumpets and trombones are reduced from four to three each, with horn and tuba used instead. The piano is missing entirely and the saxophones are largely replaced by flutes and clarinets.

Almost exactly ten years have passed since Thomas Gansch&#x27;s first performance with the ZJO. Today he is a good friend of the band and a favorite of the ZJO audience. The basic concept of the evening therefore remains the same: musical fireworks, fun, unconventional. This year, the Austrian trumpeter will celebrate the music from his folk crossover album Alpen &amp; Glühen with the ZJO. Ed Partyka will enrich Thomas Gansch&#x27;s original compositions inspired by folk music, which were originally performed by a chamber ensemble, with jazz sounds and big band power.

Jazz

Rap / R'n'B / Brass

Experimental

Jazz Experimental

Soul / Blues / Funk

Rap / R'n'B

Pop / Rock / Singer / Songwriter

Jazz Modern Creative

Global Sounds

Electronic / Party

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Flo Stoffner

Dave Gisler

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