Jazz in Switzerland (Vol. 3)

swissmusic

From crises to a new self-confidence in the years 1963-74 - In the sixties, modern jazz became the preferred music of a new fraction of jazz fans. A develpoment, which divided the jazz audiences into two parts forever. This 3rd volume spotlights modern jazz in Switzerland in its many facets.

Since early on Switzerland had its very prolific amateur jazz scene. Even small towns had their “Jazz Nights” or jazz clubs based on the French model of private jazz cellars. As mentioned before in “Vol. 2”, a.o. “The Zurich Amateur Jazz Festival” signaled a change towards professionalism and sophistication in jazz mirroring America’s bebop movement.

But in the early sixties rock’n’roll drew the young people’s attention, who before were willing to support modern jazz. In jazz itself too, a major segregation was happening. Charlie Parker’s and Dizzy Gillespie’s bebop revolution in jazz caused a strong revival of dixieland-new orleans old time jazz. Not surprisingly the first bebop concert in Paris sent shockwaves throughout the European continent and has divided the jazz listener community ever since. Most listeners rejected bebop’s intellectualism. Modern jazz clearly was too far ahead of time, when it surfaced the scene. Obviously it was not purely entertaining any more. Rather its sophistication was about to invade territory still occupied by western classical music. Subsequently for a while, 60es contemporary jazz styles such as bebop, cool jazz and hard bop, disappeared in cellars, incubating and struggling for wider acceptance, whereas old-time jazz, more successful as ever, attracted its broad lower-middle class following.

In bigger Swiss cities at least, contemporary jazz musicians’ situation looked a bit brighter. There were various venues presenting daily jazz programs, and thereby offering to the modernist musician an opportunity to improve his abilities and style. But soon emigration to the neighbouring countries with their flourishing modern jazz scenes became the definite option for getting steady work and relevant exposure. Foreign scenes in such cities as Paris, Copenhagen or Stockholm got fresh and authentic impulses from American “expatriates”, who settled there after World War II or later, during the war in Vietnam. First Swiss emigrants were Daniel Humair, Alex Bally, Marc Hemmeler, Pierre Favre, Charly Antolini, Pierre Cavalli, Peter Giger, George Gruntz, Hans and Beat Kennel, Eric Peter and Heinz Bigler. France, Italy, Germany, even Scandinavia and Spain became their new homebases. Thereby half of them left Switzerland forever.

Incubator “Africana”

Switzerland itself entered the annals of international modern jazz history, when jazz venues of the big cities began attracting international guests on a long-term basis.
Zurich’s club “Africana” rose to fame as incubator for modern Swiss jazz. An eminent role played South Africa’s Dollar Brand Trio and Chris McGregor’s Blue Notes who, in 1962/63 turned their back to their restrictive native country’s apartheid regime. Once arrived in Zurich, the “Africana” became their head-quarters. Their departure from American mainstream, the intensely emotional quality of their music and their political outlook (with their black and white ensemble mixture) encouraged musicians like Irène Schweizer, Remo Braun and Jürg Grau to pursue a similiar course of stylistic emancipation. The Africana was the meeting point for young people, musicians and aficionados. People came to listen, to rehearse, to discuss, to form new bands and to gain vital practical experience. In short, the Africana became the important forum for modern jazz in Switzerland. It helped to establish its scene with a fresh and individual profile. An effect that lasted forever. Even after the South Africans had longtime left Zurich.

Free jazz – another diversion in modern jazz

The “Africana” experience not only helped Swiss modern jazz musicians to relaunch their work in the public eye, and to find a different sound ideal. For some it also served as catalyst for entering the free jazz movement for the upcoming years.
On one hand, modern jazz finally had its relaunch, on the other hand the movement underwent a further fragmentation. Now alongside postbop, free jazz became another new path. For both legs of modern jazz a long run for success began.

Up until the seventies, the small free jazz and improvised music scene found hardly any support by organizers or audiences. It depended entirely on the initiative of the musicians themselves.

One of the few supporters of the avant garde was graphic designer Niklaus Troxler. The 10th anniversary celebration of his “Jazz in Willisau” events cycle as a festival was the start of what has become an internationally celebrated avant-garde happening. Amongst other such European festivals, it provided free jazz broader acceptance and won audiences, who before were into classical music of the 20th century.

Swiss free jazz scene finally established itself during the late 80ties when Patrick Landolt’s Zurich based label Intakt Records surfaced the market. It not only became an internationally acclaimed musical landmark. It also became a musician’s network platform supporting festivals such as the Taktlos Festival or similiar events.

Post-Bop movement’s relaunch

Postbebop in Switzerland, like in other European countries fulfilled what America’s bebop revolutionaires heralded. It slowly attracted audiences who before were associated with Western classical music.
A network of clubs established itself across Switzerland. In Zurich, Beat Kennel’s “Bazillus” followed the “Africana”. Festivals such as the Jazz Festval Lugano, initiated by the Ambrosettis in 1962, or this of Zurich in the early 70ties, served as important platforms to introduce the “new” music and style of postbop to broad audiences.

In 1966 Claude Nobs’ birth of the Montreux Jazz Festival saw the developments of new international contacts and the inauguration by the European Broadcasting Union of a competition for European jazz groups. In 1975, the International Berne Jazz Festival evolved into another, traditionally orientated major event.

In 1976 the Swiss Jazz School offered a fully professional jazz education with graduation, equal to this in classical conservatories. These years even saw the inauguration of the DRS Big Band, which feautered prominent Swiss and European musicians and composers. Until its end in 1986 due to financial problems.

Production information

Jazz in Switzerland Volume 3 (1997). Musica Helvetica MH CD 109.2. Produced for SRI by Christian Strickler. Music selected by Bruno Spoerri.