Sound Of Serendipity

Tizia Zimmermann accordion
Silke Strahl tenor saxophone
Christian Weber Double Bass
Lucas Niggli Drums

Live at Jazzfestival Willisau 2022

In a time when many people don't know what will happen next, free improvisation expresses an attitude for Lucas Niggli: "The urgency and commitment of the moment". This spirit gives rise to a musical field in this cross-generational ensemble, newly founded in 2021, in which the members change voices and roles in an emancipated and agile manner: intoxicating like a free jazz band, articulate like chamber music.

Tizia Zimmermann (*1995) wanted to become a musician ever since she first held an accordion in her hands. She studied classical music on the accordion at the Bern University of the Arts, where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 2018 and a Master's degree in Performance in 2020, both with distinction. In addition to interpreting contemporary classical music, she plays in various formations in which free improvisation and experimental (noise) music play an important role. She is also active in the organisation of various platforms for experimental and improvised music in Zurich, such as WIM Zurich (Werkstatt für improvisierte Musik), the festival Zwei Tage Zeit and the Zurich Gamut Kollektiv. Formative for her were the productions of Hans Zender's "Winterreise" under the direction of Emilio Pomàrico and Leonard Evers' "Die Odyssee" under the direction of Eduardo Strausser at Zurich Opera House.

As a saxophonist, Silke Strahl moves at the interface of contemporary music, free improvisation and performance art. She studied elementary music education and classical saxophone with Nikola Lutz in Stuttgart, as well as in the master's programme "New Music" with Sascha Armbruster and Beat Hofstetter at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts. Silke is active in various ensembles and performs on stage with Julian Sartorius, Lucas Niggli, Christian Weber, Tizia Zimmermann, Hans Koch, Hans-Peter Pfammatter, Linda Vogel and Raphael Loher, among others. She can also be heard as a substitute in various orchestras and ensembles, such as the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Collegium Novum, the Hessian Radio Orchestra or the Exorbitant Cabinet.

Christian Weber studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, at the Bruckner Conservatory Linz with Adelhard Roidinger as well as with Ernst Weissensteiner in Vienna and with Mark Dresser in New York. Weber is equally concerned with electro-acoustic improvised music (EAI), chamber music, jazz, pop and rock. In his music, these different sources are mutually dependent. Weber's collaboration with musicians such as Lol Coxhill, Ellery Eskelin, Peter Evans, Pierre Favre, Charles Gayle, Hans Koch, Peter Kowald, Joachim Kühn, Oliver Lake, Urs Leimgruber, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Irène Schweizer, Elliott Sharp, Michael Wollny, Otomo Yoshihide and many others is documented on over 100 recordings.

Lucas Niggli performs as a percussionist in the border area of new music, jazz, rock and improvisation. His worldwide concert tours with his formations ZOOM, STEAMBOAT SWITZERLAND and numerous projects have taken him to many renowned festivals. He is active as a composer, bandleader, lecturer (ZHdK) and organiser. He has performed on stage with artists as diverse as Barry Guy, John Cale, Sylvie Courvoisier, Fred Frith, Erika Stucky, Tim Berne, Xu Fengxia, Aly Keïta, Andreas Schaerer, Klangforum Wien and as soloist in Olga Neuwirth's opera Orlando (Vienna State Opera).