Jazz Articles about Irene Schweizer

About Irene Schweizer

Album Review

Irene Schweizer: Piano Solo: Prelude To A Kiss And More

Read "Piano Solo: Prelude To A Kiss And More" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
September 8, 2026

It might be a touch of hyperbole to say the world wasn't ready for Swiss pianist Irène Schweizer's 1986 recording Piano Solo: Prelude To A Kiss And More. Yet listening to it some 40 years later, that may well be your first thought. Schweizer (1941--2024) had already established herself as a formidable improviser through recordings such as Wilde Señoritas (FMP, 1977) and Hexensabbat (FMP, 1978), both later remastered and reissued as a double CD by Intakt Records in 2002. She ...

Radio & Podcasts

Remembering Irene Schweizer, Latest from Isaiah Collier, Introducing NicoleYvette and New from the Vault, J.C. Hopkins with Garth Hudson and Levon Helm

by Hobart Taylor
July 29, 2026

Guitarist/Composer David Occhipinti is inspired by Lewis Carroll, Korea's Leenalchi has the “Ultimate Prescription," and Ivo Perelman and Damon Smith engage in a “Duoloue." Playlist Host Speaks 00:00 Finola Merivale/Catherine Sikora “The Sea Has Hooves" from Abhaile (Relative Pitch) 00:14 Host Speaks 08:08 David Occhipinti “Frumious Bandersnatch" fromLooking Glass(OODAV) 17:39 Irene Schweizer “Dancing on the Bowery" from Piano Solo: Prelude to a Kiss and More (Intakt) 31:14 Alex Roitman “Anibal Troilo" from La Cochina de Tango (ARTE) 38:12 ...

Album Review

Pierre Favre: Bird Food

Read "Bird Food" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
May 31, 2026

Captured live at Radio Studio Zurich in 1968, this is the earliest known recording of the Pierre Favre Trio, dormant for more than half a century until Favre and trombonist Samuel Blaser unearthed it while sorting through forgotten tapes. That it survived at all feels faintly miraculous, the jazz equivalent of finding cash in an old winter coat. The lineup now reads like a rough sketch of European free jazz before the paint dried. Pierre Favre anchors the ...

Album Review

Irene Schweizer - Rudiger Carl - Johnny Dyani - Han Bennink: Irène's Hot Four

Read "Irène's Hot Four" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
August 19, 2025

Irène's Hot Four represents a significant posthumous release from the legendary Swiss jazz pianist Irène Schweizer, who passed away in 2024. This release captures a rare 1981 concert in Zurich featuring Schweizer alongside her companions Rüdiger Carl, Johnny Dyani, and Han Bennink. It is a quartet that existed for only around a year and a half, playing just a handful of performances. The album fills an important gap in Schweizer's discography, documenting this ephemeral but vital collaboration between four master ...

Radio & Podcasts

Irène Schweizer, Gato Barbieri, Anita Donndorff & More

by Ludovico Granvassu
July 8, 2025

Unearthed gems, old souls, and soulful organ jazz in this playlist.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Brian Charette “Why'd You Have To Go and Lie To Me Boy" You Don't Know Jack! (Cellar Live) 0:16 Host talks 5:24 Kresten Osgood, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Michael Blake “The World Awakes" Hammond Rens (ILK) 7:40 Daniele Cordisco, Ron Carter “Tangerine" Bitter Head (Nuccia) 19:48 Host talks 25:28 Anita Donndorff “Thirsty Soul" ...

Radio & Podcasts

Schweizer & Drake, Tom Rainey & El Negocito Artists

by Maurice Hogue
May 19, 2021

This episode features some excellent new releases: veteran free jazzers, pianist Irène Schweizer and drummer Hamid Drake, tearing it up at a European festival, the sublime trio Ocelot from Brooklyn, South Korean drummer Soojin Suh, pianist Dahveed Behroozi, Tom Rainey & Obligato live in Europe, and Split-Bit from Berlin, plus tracks from several artists who record for the left-leaning El Negocito label from Belgium. Playlist Tiziano Tononi & Future Ancestors “Mantra Of The Wind And Water" from Going ...

Album Review

Irene Schweizer / Hamid Drake: Celebration

Read "Celebration" reviewed by Troy Dostert

by Troy Dostert
May 18, 2021

If John Coltrane was the dominant figure behind the rise of Impulse Records in the 1960s, and Wayne Shorter played a similar role for Blue Note in the same decade, one could argue that pianist Irène Schweizer has placed her stamp upon Intakt Records. Certainly the Swiss avant-garde label has embraced that relationship, as aside from a handful of releases on FMP, Intakt has been Schweizer's exclusive home since the 1980s, with dozens of releases over the years documenting her ...