Swiss Bands at Kolkata Jazz Fest

An exciting line-up of Swiss jazz outfits will be performing online at this year’s Kolkata Jazz Fest.

Hely (c) Andrea Ebener

17th Dec 2021 Hely

Hely is Lucca Fries (piano) and Jonas Ruther (drums), from Zurich, Switzerland. Listening to their music is a trance-inducing experience where multi-directional beats fuse with post-romantic and minimalistic sensibilities. They craft sonic spaces out of staccato piano riffs and ecstatic waves of percussion, last heard on their record “Borderland” that was released on Ronin Rhythm Records. Over a decade of band history with concert tours in Europe, Russia and India provides the foundation for their immersive live performances.

 

18th Dec 2021 Malcolm Braff Music,  Claire Huguenin , Nadav Erlich, Iago Fernandez

Claire Huguenin & Malcolm Braff. Picture courtesy: artists

Malcolm Braff and Claire Huguenin met like asteroids at the turning of 2013. Their collaboration quickly spread from one project to another, soon encompassing both partner’s broad musical activities.

Malcolm has long been known in Switzerland and abroad as a fantastic performer and improviser, notably drawing inspiration from gospel and African music traditions – both of which were part of his upbringing in Brazil and Senegal before his family settled in Switzerland. Lately, his has come to the fore of the music avant-garde with his extraordinary General Theory of Rhythm, mesmerizing students, fellow professionals and audiences worldwide through his seemingly limitless mastery of complex rhythm acrobatics – all the while retaining his thrilling, electrifying root quality of groove and a strong sense of transcendence.

Claire is a Swiss singer and songwriter. She took to the stage leading a fiery female rock band at 16, gathering further momentum and establishing herself as a distinctive voice in the pop, underground and contemporary jazz scene. She grew up in a multiethnic “patchwork” family and her versatile expressions reflect a multifaceted personality in constant building of relations with the wider and deeper worlds inside and out.

For the Kolkata Jazzfest 2021 online, the duo is presenting a very special set along with Iago Fernandez on drums and Nadav Erlich on bass, two Swiss very talented young musicians.

19th Dec 2021 L’Eclair

L’Eclair (c) Mehdi Benkler

Mixing all influences going from Afro-Disco, Kosmische Jazz and early House, L’Eclair is the perfect soundtrack against a modern society where time isn’t an option, nor even a possibility, and where humans and machines aren’t that dissociated anymore. They want to take you on a trip through different phases of your life and by chance, make you dance and cry at the same time.

For more information and for tickets visit jazzfest.in.