Over the years, the Pilgrim quintet led by Zurich tenor saxophonist Christoph Irniger has matured into one of the most exciting ensembles in young European jazz. About a year ago the band released its fifth album Ghost Cat on Intakt Records. In their brilliantly thought-out, yet generously open music, the quintet uses ambiguity as a tool. Some compositions are freely improvised while others are fully notated, but most lie in between, with a flexibility that reflects a life of freedom where informed decisions are made on the fly. The accompanying soundtrack oscillates between enigmatic self-reflection and wild eruptions, with the musicians creating a full, dense all-round sound that is difficult to categorize.

“Ghost Cat (Intakt Records, Switzerland), by Christoph Irniger, is more than just Euro Jazz. It's prog-rock, world music, folk music, ambient in spots, and avant-garde in other spots. Irniger plays a mean tenor sax, leading this amazing quintet through corridors of sound that's like an amusement park funhouse. The circuitous route they take to get from Point A to Point B is where the fun lies. Irniger produced, arranged, and wrote five of the six. Bravo!”- US Magazine Goldmine