Samuel Blaser (born 20 July 1981 in

La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...

, Switzerland) is a Swiss trombonist and composer.

Biography

Born and raised in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Samuel Blaser lived in New York City for many years before relocating to Berlin, where he currently resides. He began trombone lessons at the age of 9, and his early interests ranged from Swiss folk music to American R&B and jazz. He entered the local conservatory at 14 and graduated in 2002 after being awarded prizes in both the jazz and classical spheres, including the 2000 Benny Golson Prize. Participation in the heralded

Vienna Art Orchestra The Vienna Art Orchestra was a European jazz group based in Vienna, Austria. Organized at different times as either a big band or as a smaller combo, it was regarded as one of the leading European jazz ensembles and was an official cultural ambas ...

and European Radio Big Band eventually led to a Fulbright Scholarship, facilitating studies in the United States at the Purchase College Conservatory of Music where he studied with

James E. Pugh James Edward Pugh (born November 12, 1950) is an American trombonist and composer. He was a trombonist with Woody Herman (1972–1976) and briefly with Chick Corea before concentrating on session work. Early life Pugh was born in Butler, Pennsy ...

and

John Fedchock John William Fedchock (born September 18, 1957) is an American jazz trombonist, bandleader, and arranger. Early life and education Fedchock was born in Cleveland, Ohio. He studied at Ohio State University and the Eastman School of Music at the ...

. In his relatively short career, Blaser has worked with Swiss percussion legend

Pierre Favre Peter Faber (french: Pierre Lefevre or Favre, la, Petrus Faver) (13 April 1506 – 1 August 1546) was a Jesuit priest and theologian, who was also a co-founder of the Society of Jesus, along with Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier. Pope Fra ...

, guitarist

Marc Ducret Marc Ducret (born 19 August 1957) is a contemporary avant-garde jazz guitarist who frequently collaborates with saxophonist Tim Berne. Ducret's guitar style is idiosyncratic, having been called "highly original and very expressive," but also ...

, saxophonist

Oliver Lake Oliver Lake (born September 14, 1942) is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer, poet, and visual artist. He is known mainly for alto saxophone, but he also performs on soprano and flute. During the 1960s, Lake worked with the Black Art ...

, trumpet player

Wallace Roney Wallace Roney (May 25, 1960 – March 31, 2020) was an American jazz (hard bop and post-bop) trumpeter. He has won 1 Grammy award and has two nominations. Roney took lessons from Clark Terry and Dizzy Gillespie and studied with Miles Davis from ...

and drummer John Hollenbeck, and has worked with Grammy Award-winning producer

Robert Sadin Robert Sadin is an American jazz musician, conductor, arranger, composer and producer. He was conductor of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Discography As leader * '' Art of Love: Music of Machaut'' (Deutsche Grammophon, 2009) As producer * Kath ...

, and more recently with drummer

Daniel Humair Daniel Humair (born 23 May 1938 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Swiss drummer, composer, and painter. He is widely renowned and became a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1986 and Officier in 1992. He has played with many jazz p ...

and clarinetist

Michel Portal Michel Portal (born 27 November 1935) is a French composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He plays both jazz and classical music and is considered to be "one of the architects of modern European jazz". Early life Portal was born in Bayonne on ...

. In 2019 the French Jazz Academy presented Samuel Blaser with the coveted European Musician Award, recognizing the importance of his work in the field of jazz. The same year Blaser was voted #2 Rising Star Trombone of the 2019 Downbeat Critics Poll.

Projects

Beyond Blaser's ability to combine knotty compositional form with incendiary improvisational prowess in the context of his own music, his unfettered yet ever-collaborative approach has resulted in a number of significant associations, among them his ongoing work with Swiss percussion legend

; a much-lauded duo with guitarist

;Besprechung des Albums bei

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

a trio with Swiss drummer

and bassist Heiri Känzig as well as a Quartet with

Russ Lossing Russ Lossing (born 1960) is an American jazz pianist, composer, improviser, arranger, educator, scholar. Early life Lossing was born in Ohio in 1960,Pietaro, John (February 2015) "Russ Lossing". ''The New York City Jazz Record''. p. 7. and is fr ...

, Masa Kamaguchi and

Gerry Hemingway Gerry Hemingway (born March 23, 1955) is an American drummer and composer. Hemingway was a member of the Anthony Braxton quartet from 1983 to 1994. He has also performed with Ernst Reijseger, Anthony Davis, Earl Howard, Leo Smith, George E. ...

. In the genre of jazz, Blaser appears on 80 recordings between 2000 and 2020.

Discography

* ''7th Heaven'' (Between the Lines, 2008), with Scott DuBois, Thomas Morgan, Gerald Cleaver * ''YAY'' (

Fresh Sound Fresh Sound, or Fresh Sound New Talent, is a jazz record label established in Barcelona, Spain, by Jordi Pujol. The label was initially founded as a reissue label. The catalog includes work by musicians both major and minor that was recorded be ...

, 2009), with Malcolm Braff * ''Solo Bone'' (Slam Productions, 2009) * ''Pieces of Old Sky'' (

Clean Feed Clean may refer to: * Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment * Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt Arts and media Music A ...

, 2009), with Thomas Morgan, Todd Neufeld * ''Vol à Voile'' (Intakt, 2010) with Pierre Favre * ''Boundless'' (

Hathut Hathut Records is a Swiss record company and label founded by Werner Xavier Uehlinger in 1974 that specializes in jazz and classical music. The name of the label comes from the artwork of Klaus Baumgartner. Hathut encompasses the labels hat ART, h ...

, 2011), with

, Bänz Oester, Gerald Cleaver * ''Consort in Motion'' (Kind of Blue, 2011), with

Paul Motian Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. He first came to prominence in the l ...

, Thomas Morgan * ''One from None'' (Fresh Sound, 2012), with Michael Bates, Michael Blake, Russ Lossing, Jeff Davis * ''As The Sea'' (HatHut, 2012), with Marc Ducret, Bänz Oester, Gerald Cleaver * ''A Mirror to Machaut'' (Songlines, 2013) with Joachim Badenhorst, Russ Lossing,

Drew Gress Drew Gress (born November 20, 1959) is an American jazz double-bassist and composer born in Trenton, New Jersey and raised in the Philadelphia area. Biography Gress studied at Towson State University and Manhattan School of Music. In the late 1 ...

* ''Fourth Landscape'' (Nuscope, 2014) with

Benoît Delbecq Benoît Delbecq (born 6 June 1966) is a French pianist and composer. Early life Benoît Delbecq was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and raised in a musical environment. He started studying piano in Bougival at the age of seven with Nicolle Moll ...

, Gerry Hemingway * ''Spring Rain'' (

Whirlwind A whirlwind is a weather phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow (current) gradients. Whirlwinds occur all over the world and ...

, 2015), with Russ Lossing, Drew Gress, Gerald Cleaver * ''Oostum'' (

No Business ''No Business'' is the tenth album by the sound collage musical band, band Negativland. While the songs encompass a variety of topics, the overarching theme of the album is copyright issues, especially those pertaining to peer-to-peer file sharing ...

, 2018), with Gerry Hemingway * ''Taktlos Zürich 2017'' (

, 2018), with Marc Ducret, Peter Bruun * ''Early in the Mornin ( Outnote, 2018), with Russ Lossing, Masa Kamaguchi, Gerry Hemingway, Oliver Lake, Wallace Roney * ''The Great Tommy McCook'' (Blaser Music, 2020), with Soweto Kinch, Michael Blake, Alex Wilson, Alan Weekes, Ira Coleman and Dion Parson * ''Audio Rebel'' (Blaser Music, 2020), with Marc Ducret * ''ABC vol. 1'' (Blaser Music, 2020), with Marc Ducret and Peter Bruun * ''ABC vol. 2'' (Blaser Music, 2020), with Marc Ducret and Peter Bruun * ''1291'' ( Outnote, 2020), with Daniel Humair, Heiri Känzig * ''18 monologues élastiques'' ( Outnote, 2020) * ''Live at Cornelia Street Café'' (Blaser Music, 2020), with Paul Motian, Eivind Opsvik and Russ Lossing * ''Moods'' (Blaser Music, 2020), with Marc Ducret, Masa Kamaguchi and Gerry Hemingway * ''Voyageurs'' (Jazzdor Series, 2021), with Marc Ducret

Awards and honors

* European Musician Award, French Jazz Academy, 2019 * Downbeat Critics Poll, USA, Rising star trombonist, #4 in 2016, #4 in 2015, #7 in 2013 * New York City Jazz Record, USA, Musician of the Year, 2014 * Jazzparade, Switzerland, “Prix du public” et “coup de Coeur du Jury” awarded by Bob Mintzer, 2006 * Jay Jay Johnson Prize, USA, Honorable mention, 2006 * Fulbright Grant, USA, One-year Study Grant, 2005 * Robert Faller Prize, Switzerland, 2002 * Benny Golson Prize, Switzerland, 2000

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaser, Samuel Swiss jazz composers 1981 births Living people People from La Chaux-de-Fonds 21st-century Swiss musicians Swiss jazz trombonists 21st-century trombonists Fresh Sounds Records artists Clean Feed Records artists NoBusiness Records artists