Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Thomas Gansch

Regie

Trumpet

Saxophon

Trombone

Tuba

Guitar

Piano

Bass

Drum Kit

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.

Nina Reiter MetaLogue

Vocals

Arrangement

Flugelhorn

Clarinet

Flute

Album Release «evolving»

The newly formed 10-piece ensemble MetaLogue, led by singer Nina Reiter, is reviving the music of Lucerne composer Mani Planzer, who died in 1997 and was almost forgotten. As a musician, composer, organist, teacher, choirmaster and big band leader, Planzer had a decisive influence on the cultural landscape of Central Switzerland. He was awarded the Lucerne City Prize for Art and Culture in 1981 and the Lucerne Living Space Prize posthumously in 1998. The band name &quot;MetaLogue&quot; refers to Planzer&#x27;s penchant for wordplay and symbolises the symbiosis of the various elements that come together in this project. On the one hand, it is the young musicians who bring Planzer&#x27;s music into the light of the present and allow the audience to participate in a musical dialogue that takes place far away from the mainstream. On the other hand, it is the lyrics of singer Nina Reiter, who picks up on Planzer&#x27;s pioneering spirit in the synthesis of jazz and poetry, thus creating a meta-level to the previously instrumental compositions. On the occasion of the upcoming anniversary – Planzer would have celebrated his 85th birthday in 2024 – the Mani Planzer Big Band and the MorschAchBlasorCHester will pay tribute to the musical bridge-builder, trailblazer and pioneer with works arranged by Nina Reiter.

Zurich Jazz Orchestra

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.

Caroline Chevin ft. Rose Ann Dimalanta

Percussion

Two extraordinary musicians, whose paths have crossed again and again over the years, are fulfilling their wish to perform together for the first time: Caroline Chevin is known for her strong voice, her soulful songs that tell authentic stories. On top of this comes her top-class entertainment, with which she captivates every audience. Rose Ann Dimalanta, internationally sought-after pianist, singer and composer, known from her performances with Prince and in this country with Seven, commands the stage with her virtuoso playing. Her musical versatility makes her a fascinating artist. The collaboration between the two musicians promises a great musical synergy. They will play songs that have made them what they are today and tell each other stories from their musical lives. The two will be accompanied by the coriphiles Oli Keller on guitar and Jwan Steiner on drums.

Çiçek Taksi

Accordion

Album Release «Bin Dilde»

Even if you don&#x27;t understand the lyrics, the music of Çiçek Taksi goes straight to the heart. The band, which the Turkish-Kurdish-Swiss singer Selin Dettwiler founded with three musician friends in Bern, dedicates its new album to the love of poetry; a love that knows no language barriers. Bin Dilde - in a thousand languages – is about love, repression, pain and hope, all woven into the songs. The Turkish poems that the band members collected as the basis for the songs were written by people living in Switzerland. They provide touching insights into arriving in an unknown place and tell of the very different circumstances that led to a departure to new homes in the writers&#x27; country of origin.

BCUC

Congas

Bass Drum

Moods & On The Corner Records present

BCUC stands for Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness. Their music is made up of indigenous funk, hip-hop and punk energy. But instead of trying to classify and analyze the music, you should simply visit a live show: An absolute stunner! In recent years, BCUC has played with legends such as Femi Kuti and Saul Williams, fascinated audiences at the most important European festivals (Glastonbury, Roskilde, Womad, Fusion, Sziget and many more) and also won the prestigious Womex Artist Award. And should anyone still have any doubts as to whether it&#x27;s worth it: “without a doubt the best live act I saw” - Gilles Peterson “Loved their set, it was one of my highlights of a great weekend” - Nick Dewey, Glastonbury Festival “guaranteed to touch untapped corners of your soul” - Okayafrica “the most impressive newcomers this year” - The Guardian It all started in a shipping container in Soweto, South Africa, where the band members of BCUC met. The shipping container was converted into a community restaurant and stands next to the church where Desmond Tutu organized the escape of the most wanted anti-apartheid activists. This historical background is echoed in BCUC&#x27;s music: Their music is a hedonistic trance, but also as a weapon for political and spiritual liberation. The concert ticket is also valid for the party afterwards.

Raphael Jost Quintett

Singer and pianist Raphael Jost sees himself as a modern-day crooner. His songs are snapshots of his life, catchy and always cleverly packaged, and he never fails to surprise with his powerful, warm voice. At Moods, Jost will be presenting his newly formed quintet for the first time, as well as lots of new music, including fresh original compositions that have been created and matured over the past few months. Jost will be joined by Bastien Rieser on trumpet and Alex Hendriksen on tenor saxophone, Raphael Walser on double bass and London drummer Luke Tomlinson. The five musicians are united by their boundless joy of playing and their love of the jazz tradition.

Golnar Quintet

Moods & jazzhane present

Born and raised in Tehran, the Iranian-Canadian singer and multi-instrumentalist Golnar Shahyar understands music as a political act. Drawing equally from the traditions of Southwest Asian, North Africa, and contemporary music of Europe and America, she creates an extraordinary mixture of languages and styles. She dedicated her last tour to the slogan Woman* Life Freedom in the light of the ongoing revolution in Iran. With her current song &#x27;Tell my mother she has no daughter anymore&#x27; she touched thousands of Iranians at home and abroad. With the festival pass for CHF 80, you can visit both evenings of the Nowruz Festival 2024: https://discover.smeetz.com/de/product/b2b/nowruz-2024-festivalpass?referrer=preview&amp;productId=65277 Supported by the Südkulturfonds.

Inner Unity Ensemble & Sakina Teyna

Cello

Defying the colonialist term &quot;World Music&quot;, the Inner Unity Ensemble connects musicians of the diaspora with a very diverse set of backgrounds to (re)create music across cultural, regional, and genre borders. Their music is defined by modal and microtonal concepts found in Iranian Radif or Arabic and Turkish Maqams blended with various harmonic concepts in European classical music or jazz. Welcoming rhythmic accents and melodic harmonies as rich as their very own diverse heritage, the band features musicians from Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the Kurdish regions, and Italy. For the first time and perfectly fitting to the Nowruz festival, the Inner Unity Ensemble will also welcome Sakina Teyna, a Kurdish-Alevi singer from Varto in Turkey. With the festival pass for CHF 80, you can visit both evenings of the Nowruz Festival 2024: https://discover.smeetz.com/de/product/b2b/nowruz-2024-festivalpass?referrer=preview&amp;productId=65277 Supported by the Südkulturfonds.

Florian Favre

Euphonium

Violin

Composition

Album Release «Idantitâ # revisited»

After the success of his solo album Idantitâ, released in 2022, the Fribourg pianist continues to reshape his folklore, this time proposing a revised version in which he invites other musicians to mingle with this identity, to break down barriers even further and propose a musical crossover that multiplies imaginary potentials. This colourful project in chamber music format brings together artists with different influences: violinist Baiju Bhatt, singer Claire Huguenin, guitarist Louis Matute, cellist Lucie Gockel and euphonist Raphael Rossé.

Christoph Grab’s REFLECTIONS feat. Alex Sipiagin

Album Release «Oneness»

The Swiss jazz critic Peter Rüedi praises Christoph Grab&#x27;s ensemble REFLECTIONS as &quot;top-notch, both in the solo flights of all the participants and in the arranged passages&quot; – an ensemble whose interplay is now so harmonious that it has grown into a single organism. Hence the title of their latest album &quot;Oneness&quot; (2024 Lamento Rec), whose meaning also includes being one with the world, empathy and a model for constructive interaction with one another – all qualities that are particularly relevant in today&#x27;s world. As on the previous album &quot;Live at Haberhaus&quot; (Lamento Rec), the music on &quot;Oneness&quot; is based on compositions by Thelonious Monk, to which Christoph Grab adds his own twist through his arrangements. The result is a vibrant, inspired album that shows how iconic material from jazz history can be used to create something new and unheard of. As a special treat, the band has invited none other than Russian-American trumpeter Alex Sipiagin to join them at Moods. It promises to be a unique evening.

Quiet Tree

Synthesizer

Quiet Tree is a Swiss trio consisting of Simon Spiess (saxophone / reeds), Jonas Reuther (drums) and Marc Méan (piano &amp; synths). Their music is rooted in the rich, mercurial soil of this thing we tend to call jazz. Unpacking the tree metaphor a bit further: the crown of this elegant being reaches for, and opens up into, the sprawling cosmic dimensions of the unsound, all types of potential sonic after-futures and echoes of worlds beyond! The band describes their music as an 80s-pop-type sort of warmth, but with a space-jazz approach lifted and transported back somewhere around the year 2040. The project’s key focus is working with the song-form. Every member is responsible for submitting compositions and every piece that makes the final cut, gets a mild improv-based facelift every time it gets played. Their manifesto reads: To tell rich stories using sound, capture colour and energy with melodies. Make sure to leave ample space for every instrument to breathe! Everything is possible as long as it expresses a core unity. Transpose the awareness of space to listeners, because you can never go wrong with making extra space for others.

MISS C-LINE & The Rabidz

Keyboards

MISS C-LINE is an up-and-coming neo-soul singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist from Bern/Basel. Her music blends soul and groove with elements of hip-hop and jazz to create a unique and memorable style. Inspired by greats such as Erykah Badu, The Roots and Robert Glasper, MISS C-LINE writes and produces all her songs herself. This earned her a nomination for the Kick Ass Award in 2019, three appearances at the SRF Bounce Cypher, her debut album Surreal was included in international playlists and in 2021 she won the New Generation Jazz Lab Contest. The concert ticket is also valid for the party afterwards.

Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Matthias Knoche

Lieder von Georg Kreisler: von Jazz-Satire bis Schmäh-Tango

Unfortunately, Theo Bleckmann had to cancel his appearance on 9 February due to illness. Fortunately, Matthias Knoche from Berlin has agreed to interpret the Georg Kreisler songs. So it remains an evening full of fine humour, biting satire and fat big band sounds at the Moods Jazz Club. Many thanks to Matthias for stepping in! We wish Theo a speedy recovery and are doing everything we can to reschedule the concert with him as soon as possible. On some evenings, everything is extraordinary: a big band playing the songs of cabaret artist, composer and writer Georg Kreisler. A Grammy-nominated vocalist who pushes the boundaries of jazz. And who, in a poetic and lyrical way, gives Kreisler&#x27;s sometimes biting, sometimes furious lyrics, the best in class in the school of black humor (Die Zeit), a completely new character. Bleckmann, ZHdK lecturer in jazz singing, ECHO Award winner and the voice of the aliens in Men in Black, has already worked with greats such as Laurie Anderson and Philip Glass. As usual, the arrangements are by Ed Partyka.

Justina Lee Brown

Although the hearty and highly talented Nigerian singer Justina Lee Brown and her band have been thrilling audiences at all blues challenges for years, the blues is only one facet of her music. African and Caribbean influences, gospel, soul and R&#x27;n&#x27;B are also at the heart of her charismatic performances, in which she impresses as an energetic performer with a phenomenal voice. In her home town Lagos, Justina Ogunlolu faced the tough struggle for survival as a street kid and fought her way through to the big stages of Europe with perseverance and stamina. After a few performances in Switzerland, Justina and Nic Niedermann crossed paths. The guitarist, composer and producer has been one of the driving forces in the Swiss blues scene for years. Nic becomes the new bandleader and puts together a top-class band for Justina. Justina Lee Brown finally gets the long-awaited opportunity to record her own songs, which she draws from a huge pool of intensive experience, and to realize them for her brilliant stage performances.

Meta Zero (Rafael Schilt, Dave Gisler, Raphael Walser, Samir Böhringer)

Album Release

Meta Zero&#x27;s music is of the here and now, full of adventure and the joy of experimentation. Shaking the foundations of the jazz tradition, the four musicians create dreamlike experiences characterised by colourful sounds, equality and openness. On their debut album &#x27;Prometheus&#x27; (2019), the band played with the avant-garde, timing and tempi, creating a work to surrender to and dream about. What can we expect from the new album? We are all very curious!

David Virelles Trio

Cuban-born pianist and composer David Virelles grew up in a musical home. He began learning to play the piano at a young age, immersing himself in the diverse Cuban musical tradition and discovering jazz greats such as Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk and Andrew Hill. After recording with Juan Pablo Torres and Jane Bunnett in Cuba, Virelles graduated from Humber College in Toronto and moved to New York City in 2009, where he studied composition with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Henry Threadgill. Since then, he has collaborated with musicians as diverse as Andrew Cyrille, Bill Frisell, Chris Potter, Tomasz Stanko, Wadada Leo Smith, Hermeto Pascoal, Ravi Coltrane, Marcus Gilmore and many more. rrDavid Virelles has received various awards and prizes for his versatile, creative work, including the Oscar Peterson Prize. In 2023, his trio album Carta was released on Intakt Records: eight of the nine compositions were penned by David Virelles, all oscillating between composition and improvisation and opening doors to free interpretation and development.

divr

Electronics

Album Release «Is This Water»

divr make music that celebrates the moment. divr - that&#x27;s Philipp Eden (piano), Raphael Walser (bass) and Jonas Ruther (drums). Together, the three friends are dedicated to improvisation and spontaneous composition, so no two concerts ever sound the same. Based on repetitive patterns and multidirectional rhythms, they create flowing soundscapes that captivate the audience. The focus is always on attentive listening, which turns the music into an abstract conversation. At Moods, they christened their debut album Is This Water, which was released on the renowned Finnish label We Jazz Records and co-produced by Dan Nicholls.

Dan Nicholls

Dan Nicholls is a keyboardist, producer and curator who uses improvisation and sound with heart and rare artistry to explore everything. From the most intimate listening concerts to the communal, political and ecstatic space of the dance floor. He has collaborated with some of the world&#x27;s most influential electronic music pioneers, as well as artists from the European jazz and improvisational music scene, and has explored dance, film and visual art. For Dan, instruments such as the keyboard, piano, modular synthesizer and computer are intimate tools that are integrated into a playful approach that pays attention to space and connection. 

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.

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. Festival pass (qualifying rounds, final and jury concert) for CHF 70.- available via https://discover.smeetz.com/de/product/b2b/zkb-jazzpreis-festival-2023?referrer=preview&amp;productId=63456

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

Timbales

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!

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. Before and after the concert DJ Saltho invites you to dance.

Evelinn Trouble Orchestra

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;.

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

Over 700 video-on-demand and 40 live streams per year from jazz, global, blues, funk, soul and rap await you. Curated with playlists and recommendations from our program team. In addition, 70% of the subscription revenue goes directly to the musicians. With a subscription you support the artists and this project.

Zurich Jazz Orchestra feat. Thomas Gansch

further links

More streams