Christoph Irniger Trio

Christoph Irniger, ts -  Raffaele Bossard, b - Ziv Ravitz, dr
*opt. with Ben van gelder, as / Loren Stillman, as

„This band knows how to redefine the core of jazz music.“  Jazzwise Magazine (UK)

"This music was recorded in the winter of last year and has something of a lacerating quality of a masterpiece. (...) a delightful ensemble sound that is full of energetic excitement, brilliance and the genuine avant-garde spirit."
Raul da Gama, JazzDaGama (CA)

"(...) facing history head-on and finding the means to reconcile it with a personalized sound."
Derek Taylor, Dusted Magazine (US)

The Christoph Irniger Trio celebrates melody without once degenerating into the trivial. They are tone poems which demonstrate that accessible melodies and complex tonal worlds need not be mutually exclusive and can in fact make sense of each other. Irniger is a master of orchestration and rejects the hierarchy of soloist-plus-rhythm. Instead of using the compositions as springboards for solos, he finds interesting ways for the improvisations to underline the compositional characteristics. Melody, arrangement, improvisation: the trio fuse them all into one tightly integrated and alluring package,’ writes American jazz critic Kevin Whitehead.

*In the current setting the band plays mostly as quartet with the alto saxophone players Ben van Gelder or Loren Stillman, who is also on the latest record of the band!

The Christoph Irniger  Trio was formed in 2012, with Raffaele Bossard on double bass and Ziv Ravitz on percussion. With Gowanus Canal (2012) and Octopus (2015) they have delivered two exemplary albums. The trio can be compared with an equilateral triangle; Raffaele Bossard, born 1982 in Los Angeles, raised and educated in Zug, and Ziv Ravitz, born 1976 Be’er Scheva in Israel, currently living in New York, sit eye to eye with Irniger. They are not only eminent technicians, they are also adept at interplay, like sleepwalkers. With Loren Stillman (born 1980) - and Nils Wogram (born 1972) on the record - Christoph Irniger’s trio creates music which unites intelligence and passion, timeless yet up to date.

Glenn Astarita writes on All About Jazz: "Young Swiss saxophonist, composer Christoph Irniger is one to watch. His blossoming stature on the European jazz scene is partly due to his invigorating and meticulous compositional approach.

„..a homegrown rising young sax star“ (Jazzwise Magazine, UK)

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Musicians

The bandleader und tenor saxophonist Christoph Irniger, born 1979 in Zürich, works with musicians in Switzerland, New York and Berlin, in established formations with musicians including the drummer Nasheet Waits and the saxophonist Ohad Thalmor. Irniger founded the Christoph Irniger Quartett / Trio, the bands Pilgrim and Cowboys from Hell, and was sideman und co-leader of NoReduce, R.I.S.S. and the Lucerne Jazz Orchestra. He studied at the Musikhochschule Luzern with Christian Grab and Nat Su.

The double bassist Raffaele Bossard, born 1982 in Los Angeles, studied with renowned bassists such as Heiri Känzig and is leader of his own band, Junction Box. Bossard is sideman in Mats-Up, trumpeter Matthias Spillman’s band, and also plays in the collective NoReduce.

The drummer Ziv Ravitz, born 1976 in Be’er-Scheva in Israel, is a member of the Lee Konitz New Quartet, the Shai Maestro Trio and the Yaron Herman Group. An important figure in the Israeli jazz scene, Ravitz is currently one of the most sought-after percussionists in New York, where he lives.

*The music of Brooklyn-based saxophonist and composer Loren Stillman, born 1980, has found acclaimed reviews in such publications as The New York Times, Downbeat Magazine, Jazziz, Jazz Times, and National Public Radio, marking him as an innovative voice of modern jazz. Stillman has performed, recorded, and educated throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. Alongside an impressive record of performances, recordings, and master-classes with his own ensembles, Stillman has performed and recorded alongside The Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra, Paul Motian Trio 2000+2, Carla Bley, John Abercrombie, Michael Formanek: Ensemble Kolassus, Ralph Alessi, Tyshawn Sorey Oblique and The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.