Back to overview
Magazine

"Jazz lives from the moment"

Marian Märki05-13-20266 min. read

Together with the Swiss label UNIT Records, Moods is launching the new concert series "UNIT live!". But what is the idea behind it? We spoke to the artistic directors of UNIT Records about it.

On May 23, Moods will host a premiere - the debut of the new concert series "UNIT live!". This format is intended to bring the entire spectrum of jazz from UNIT Records to the Moods stage. But why does a label organize its own concerts? What is the focus? And why is Moods one of the chosen clubs? We asked Luca Sisera and Andreas Waelti, the artistic directors of UNIT Records, precisely these questions.Luca and Andreas, it's rather unusual for a label to organize its own concert series. What is the idea behind "UNIT live!"?Luca Sisera: Jazz is probably the most immediate of all forms of music. It is created in the moment, in risk, in the interaction between musicians, space and audience. A jazz label that only releases recordings therefore always has something slightly paradoxical about it. A recording can document, preserve, make visible - but it ultimately remains a fragment of a living event. Only when musicians enter unknown musical territory together in front of an audience does the special intensity that defines this art form emerge. With UNIT live! we want to take precisely this idea seriously. We see the live experience not as a supplement to the label, but as its actual core. At the same time, of course, the reality is also a practical one: musicians have to publish in order to remain visible. At the same time, they are existentially dependent on concerts - because neither streaming nor record sales can sustain a musical existence today.Andreas Waelti: The idea is actually quite logical: creative music is always created in a dialog, and that usually happens live. If we want to accompany our artists as a label and support them in their artistic processes, then our work doesn't end with the release of an album. Our aim is to bring the music directly to interested people via different channels - and the live segment is definitely part of this. We are also convinced that live music will be more important again in the future. That's why UNIT live! was part of our idea of how a music label should function in the current times right from the start.What characterizes this concert series? What is the focus?Luca Sisera: We not only want to document exceptional artistic voices, but also give them a resonance space. The concert series is intended to support musicians in making their work visible in the long term and to further their artistic development. At the same time, however, we are also concerned with a curatorial approach. UNIT has a deliberately broad understanding of jazz - as an open, contemporary art form that crosses stylistic boundaries and combines different musical languages. Accordingly, we are not looking for spectacular effects, but concerts with depth, personality and artistic independence. UNIT live! should be a place where musical risks are welcome and real encounters can arise - between musicians as well as with the audience.Andreas Waelti: UNIT live! brings musicians and scenes together and promotes their exchange through long-term collaborations with clubs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. What is important to us is that we do not work with changing venues, but are interested in realizing long-term partnerships. Clubs such as Le Singe in Biel, Porgy & Bess in Vienna or BeJazz in Bern are reliable partners for us, with whom we want to build up a shared audience and actively promote the creative music scene. The concept of Label Nights is an important element in this: we sometimes organize concerts with two UNIT acts - with a formation that has a regional connection and an act from another language region or neighbouring country, which can thus present itself to a new audience. This creates a network within the scene that supports and sustains each other. And, of course, we see great added value in the networking of the different scenes and ideally hope that this will also provide new creative impetus.Moods is one of the venues you chose for this collaboration. Why did you choose Moods?Luca Sisera: Jazz thrives on the moment - and for musicians to really draw on their full potential at the decisive moment, they need a worthy setting. This often has less to do with the size of a venue than with atmosphere, support and a tangible passion for this art form. This is exactly what Moods has to offer. For us, Moods is one of the most important and most beautiful jazz clubs in Europe. There is a great openness towards different aesthetic approaches and an honest curiosity about contemporary music. UNIT also understands jazz as a very broad concept. Our releases range between contemporary jazz, improvised music, experimental forms and electronic influences. We also feel this openness in the Moods program. That's why this collaboration feels very organic to us.Andreas Waelti: Moods has a long tradition and is clearly one of the most important jazz clubs in Switzerland. For us, this is not a question of prestige, but of attitude: if you seriously say that you want to strengthen and network the jazz scene in Switzerland, then there is no way around Moods for us. It allows us to reach an audience that is curious, open-minded and music-loving - all things that we as a label are looking for. At the same time, Moods is a place where jazz, world, funk, soul, pop and electro concerts are held almost every day. This fits in with our understanding of a new, open, lively and future-oriented music scene.The first edition will soon be here. What can the audience look forward to?Luca Sisera: Although UNIT works internationally, we are deliberately starting with one of our most important focal points: the Swiss scene. The first edition will present two intimate duo concerts - musical formats in which closeness, trust and improvisation can unfold with particular intensity.Andreas Waelti: We are delighted to be able to open the series with two wonderful formations, both of which reflect the vision and musical diversity of our catalog. The two gifted instrumentalists Christoph Irniger and Marc Perrenoud will present their newly released album "New Lines", while Tschopp x Lang - with Charlotte Lang and Matthias Tschopp - will present the music of their saxophone duo to the audience at Moods for the first time. It is also special that we were able to give this duo a little creative boost last fall through the video series "UNIT Strong Concerts" initiated by us - so it is all the more wonderful to be able to experience the two saxophonists together on stage at Moods.And what are you personally looking forward to?Andreas Waelti: To be honest, the moment when the audience realizes that something is happening between the acts - a conversation, an encounter, a shared moment. That is the core of what we are building: not an event that is consumed, but a community that grows together. Moods has the energy for this. And we are looking forward to opening a new chapter of UNIT live! there.Luca Sisera: To two musical dialogs in a class of their own. There is something incredibly honest about duo formations: there is no hiding place, no great dramaturgy from the outside. Every musical decision is immediately audible. It is precisely from this that an enormous intensity can arise. I am looking forward to two concerts that will be both intimate and full of energy - full of nuances, spontaneous musical twists and turns and mutual listening.

UNIT live! at Moods

  • UNIT live!

    • Tschopp X Lang

      JazzContemporary JazzExperimental Jazz
    More

  • UNIT live!

    Album Release «New Lines»

    • Christoph Irniger - Marc Perrenoud

      JazzContemporary Jazz
    More