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Mathias Kunzli

MATHIAS KUNZLI DRUMS/PERCUSSION

Hailing from Switzerland, multi-disciplined drummer/percussionist Mathias Kunzli has become ubiquitous in the New York City music scene.

He can be found most every night of the week in some of Manhattan and Brooklyn’s finest concert venues, performing in a variety of styles, with artists and bands of many genres.

Music has guided Kunzli’s career trajectory for over two decades now. Born in Switzerland in 1975, Mathias started to play drums at age thirteen and soon he got involved with several European rock, pop and folk groups. He attended the Dante Agostini Drum School in Olten, Switzerland, where he won numerous diplomas and awards for his outstanding performances.

He also became the drummer for the Swiss Youth Jazz Orchestra, a national group that toured Switzerland and Italy, for five consecutive years.

In 1995, Kunzli received two scholarships from Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music and moved to the States. He graduated in December 1998 and has made New York City his residence ever since.

Mathias is grateful for having had the privilege of studying with a great and diverse roster of teachers including Jamey Haddad, Zohar Fresco, Joe Hunt, Ian Froman, Giovanni Hidalgo, Adam Nussbaum, Danny Gottlieb, Tommy Campbell, Hal Crook, Greg Hopkins, Marco Kaeppeli and Fritz Renold.

Kunzli’s desire and ability to adapt to a wide range of musical styles have enabled him to tour extensively in six continents and he has appeared in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, arenas, and festivals including Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Sidney Opera House, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Outside Lands Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, and many more.

National TV appearances in the US include: Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Colbert Report, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Good Morning America.

As a drummer and percussionist he has had the chance to collaborate with artists as varied as Regina Spektor, Moby, Lauryn Hill, Yo-Yo Ma Silk Road Project, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Vieux Farka Toure, Oscar Castro-Neves, Gary Brown, Randy Brecker, Bob Berg, Marc Ribot, John Zorn’s Electric Masada, Alessandra Belloni, Bobby Watson, Jerry Bergonzi, Hal Crook, George Garzone, Jamey Haddad, Mark Soskin, Herb Pomeroy, Bill Pierce, Cecil Bridgewater,John Lockwood, Lenny Hochmann, Yanka Roupkina, Theodosii Spassov, Bakithi Kumalo, Tony Cedras, Oscar Stagnaro, Savina Yannatou, Dave Samuels, The Paul Winter Consort, Mike Richmond, Donny McCaslin, Eugene Friesen, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Matt Dariau, Frank London, Gary Burton, Makoto Ozone, Gina Gershon, Keyhan Kalhor, Mikael Burishnikov, Mark Gould, Mary Wilson, Steve Gorn, Howard Johnson.

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Album Review

Johnny Gandelsman: Hemingway

Read "Hemingway" reviewed by Hrayr Attarian


Documentarian Ken Burns is an accomplished storyteller and on Hemingway he tackles the life of another masterful author, Ernest Hemingway. For the soundtrack of this intriguing, three-part film a group of genre-bending modern virtuosos perform nine mesmerizing originals. Released on award winning violinist Johnny Gandelsman's In A Circle label the album features, in addition to Gandeslman, several notable artists. The Latin flavored “Un Gitanito En La Habana,” composed by Venezeulan keyboardist Gonzalo Grau, mixes Afro-Cuban motifs with hints ...

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Performance / Tour

East Meets West @ Cinema Arts Centre with World Music Performance featuring Steve Gorn, Premik Russell Tubbs and Mathias Kunzli

East Meets West @ Cinema Arts Centre with World Music Performance featuring Steve Gorn, Premik Russell Tubbs and Mathias Kunzli

Source: Premik Russell Tubbs

Steve Gorn plays with liquid grace. He is a master of sound-magic; may the world discover his gift. ~Paul Winter I suddenly saw how this music went beyond notes, beyond what we think of as music. How it is, in truth, a yoga, a form of meditation, devotion, a form of love. ~Steve Gorn Multi-instrumentalist Premik Russell Tubbs with Cinema Arts Centre present a special Sunday afternoon concert. A 'jugalbandhi' composed of Premik, world renowned flutist Steve Gorn and master ...

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Island In Me...

Secret Hatch Records
2023

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Time to 1​.​5...

Secret Hatch Records
2022

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Hemingway

In A Circle Records
2021

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Bangalore Breakdown

Vegas Records
2008

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