SAMUEL BLASER & RUSS LOSSING
Samuel Blaser — trombone
Russ Lossing — piano, keys
New York state based American jazz pianist, composer and recording artist Russ Lossing and Bern based Swiss trombonist Samuel Blaser. Two masters of jazz and improvised music, often in larger groups together but rarely as a duo.
ADMISSION
$15 advance purchase via Eventbrite or $20 at the door
[NO ONE WILL BE REFUSED ENTRY FOR LACK OF FUNDS]
Limited capacity, masks, social distancing and vaccine passports will be required.
SAMUEL BLASER & RUSS LOSSING
A rare and exciting opportunity to see two masters of jazz improvising together in a duo situation. Sure to be a transcendent and beautifully challenging exploration of the outer limits of instrumental expression, this duo features two of the most idiosyncratic musical talents.
New York based jazz pianist, composer and recording artist Russ Lossing is known worldwide for his highly personal and unique improvising voice. Lossing has composed over 400 works and has an international reputation as a world-class improviser. Lossing has twelve releases as leader on Hat Hut, Clean Feed, Fresh Sound, Double Time and OmniTone record labels. Lossing worked with Motian for over twelve years both as leader of his own trios and as sideman in the Paul Motian Quintet playing at the Village Vanguard in New York.
Samuel Blaser is a 21st century trombonist. Born in 1981 in the town of La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Swizterland, he emerged professionally after graduating from conservatory in 2002. During the next five years he developed associations with the Vienna Art Orchestra and the European Radio Big Band, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, pursued graduate studies at the Purchase College Conservatory of Music, State University of New York, and recorded his first album as a leader, the Samuel Blaser Quartet’s 7th Heaven (Between The Lines). Since 2009 he has been based in Berlin.
The foundations of Blaser’s art are the breadth of his influences, his technical fluency, and the clarity with which he applies these assets. He grew up learning classical and Swiss folk music as well as jazz, and his projects include jazz-informed investigations of operatic, rock stead, and blues music. He understands that growth is relational, and has sought out and sustained relationships with veteran and senior musicians, such as Pierre Favre, John Hollenbeck, Gerry Hemingway, Marc Ducret, Paul Motian, Oliver Lake, and Daniel Humair, all of whom have helped him to develop his own sense of who he is. He exercises the full range of the trombone’s possibilities, including fluid melodic statements, emphatic rhythmic punctuations, earthy interjections, and abstract sound effects, with a clear sense of purpose. He approaches each endeavor as a leader and collaborator with a clear sense of purpose, knowing what he wants to accomplish and what each musical situation requires from him. Blaser’s responsiveness is never more evident than in his solo performances, which use his bold sound to draw out the qualities of both architectural and environmental settings.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced all musicians to suspend touring. But Blaser’s response illustrated another aspect of his resourcefulness. While he was off the road, he set up an internet label, Blaser Music, which issued its first four releases during the spring and summer. And as soon as Europe began to reopen, he returned to the stage, playing concerts with Samuel Blaser Quartet, Humair Blaser Känzig, and as a sideman for Michel Portal and Marc Ducret.