Jazz Articles about Samuel Blaser

About Samuel Blaser

Album Review

Samuel Blaser has established himself as one of Europe's most compelling trombonists, a Swiss musician whose artistic identity has been shaped as much by formal study as by the Italian folk traditions that surrounded him in childhood. In recent years, he has spoken openly about reconnecting with those roots, particularly the songs his grandmother sang, simple melodies carrying equal measures of tenderness and resilience. Rosina, named in her honor, reflects that personal journey while filtering those influences through a contemporary ...

Album Review

Liudas Mockūnas / Samuel Blaser / Marc Ducret: Twisted Summer

Read "Twisted Summer" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
May 21, 2026

All of modern jazz and improvised music owes a debt to Jimmy Giuffre (1921--2008). A quiet revolutionary, Giuffre helped reshape the language of jazz in ways that many musicians now take for granted. His solo recordings anticipated those of Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell, while his early experiments without a rhythm section, common practice today, were once considered radical. Even his approach to free jazz set him apart. Where contemporaries like John Coltrane and Albert Ayler explored the music's most ...

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Album Review

Helveticus: Our Way

Read "Our Way" reviewed by Glenn Astarita

by Glenn Astarita
June 14, 2024

Helveticus makes a striking contribution to the jazz scene with its second album, Our Way. Comprised of a Swiss super-trio featuring the distinguished Samuel Blaser on trombone, the legendary Daniel Humair on drums, and the versatile Heiri Känzig on bass, this ensemble offers a masterclass in musical constructive interaction and innovation, blending original compositions, jazz standards, and Swiss folk songs. The opening track “IRA," sets an invigorating tone, with Blaser's trombone leading the melodic charge, weaving complex, soul-stirring ...

Album Review

Samuel Blaser: Routes

by Chris May
June 22, 2023

The Jamaican trombonist Don Drummond (1934-1969), the inspiration for Routes, was in certain respects a mid-twentieth Jamaican parallel of the New Orleans cornetist Buddy Bolden (1877-1931). Bolden pioneered jazz in the US, Drummond in Jamaica. Both achieved mythic proportions during their lifetimes and both their legends endure. Both, tragically, spent their final years in what were then called insane asylums. One difference between the two musicians is that, while no recording of Bolden has survived, if indeed ...

Radio & Podcasts

Samuel Blaser, Aka Moon, Michael Blake, La Marmite Infernale & Other New Releases

by Ludovico Granvassu
May 30, 2023

Around the world in a playlist, which features Latin and Caribbean influeces, touches of Indian music, spiritual jazz, Brazilian aromas, microtonal atmospheres, and visceral electro-acoustic outbursts. Happy listening! Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme" 0:00 The Kevin Fingier Collective “Latin Dynamite" Latin Dynamite--Single (Acid Jazz) 0:16 Host talks 3:04 Samuel Blaser “Chronicles" Routes (Yellowbird/Enja) 4:46 João Selva “Passarinho" Passarinho--Single (Underdog) 9:16 Host talks 13:35 Michael Blake's Chroma Nova “Little Demons" Dance of the Mystic Bliss (P&M) ...

Liner Notes

Samuel Blaser: As the Sea

by John Kelman
May 27, 2023

Plenty has been written about musical camaraderie--the building of long-term musical relationships and their unmistakable impact on the evolution of a group. Few, however, discuss the inevitable impact of personal relationships behind the music. Times have changed, and few jazz groups tour for more than a couple of consecutive weeks; still, hitting the road for even two weeks is sure to mean plenty of “up close and personal" time amongst band members. Samuel Blaser's Boundless (hatOLOGY, 2011) was recorded during ...

Live Review

Blaser Ducret Bruun Trio at Hakasalmen Huvila

by Anthony Shaw
November 20, 2022

Blaser Ducret Bruun Trio Hakasalmen Huvila Finnish Tour Helsinki November 14, 2022 Samuel Blaser has a glittering past, with glowing reviews of his considerable career in journals from around the globe. The performance of his trio in this modest-but-elegant salon a stone's throw from Helsinki's main railway station, alongside his old accomplices Marc Ducret on guitar and Peter Braun on drums did nothing if not bolster the virtuoso reputation he has garnered.