TRIPLE DIP (BLASER/LOSSING/MINTZ)
Samuel Blaser trombone
Russ Lossing piano
Billy Mintz drums
“Swept away, charmed, surprised and shaken all at once, we are captivated by the power and creativity of this music: a great moment!” — Jazz Magazine, Xavier Prévost
This special trio presents a melodic, highly colourful music full of contrasts, linking the abstract, lyrical chamber jazz of Jimmy Giuffre, with its sense of improvisation, and a harmonic vocabulary drawn from various sources of 20th-century art music and jazz both European and American.
A virtuoso trombonist with a sumptuous sound and confoundingly plastic phrasing, Samuel Blaser is also an inspired composer, striving in the various ensembles he leads to balance a sense of form with the spontaneity of improvisation. By joining forces with two prestigious representatives of the American school of jazz and improvisation, pianist Russ Lossing and drummer Billy Mintz, Blaser sets out to explore the register of the voice, common to all three instruments, in an asserted "chamber" context and from an entirely original repertoire. This intimate, resolutely lyrical music brilliantly plays on the richness and complementarity of timbres, elevating the "trialogue" to the status of a major art form.
Triple Dip live in Lisbon. Photo by unknown for Jazz.Pt
SAMUEL BLASER
Winner of the 2019 “Prix du Musicien européen” from the Académie du Jazz in Paris , as well as the 2021 Downbeat Magazine Critics Poll (“Rising Star Trombone”), Samuel Blaser is a 21st-century trombonist. Born in 1981 in the town of La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, 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). After living 16 years abroad in New York and Berlin, he has been back in his hometown since December 2021.
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, and blues music. He understands that growth is relational and has sought out and sustained relationships with veteran musicians such as Pierre Favre, John Hollenbeck, Gerry Hemingway, Marc Ducret, Paul Motian, Oliver Lake, and Daniel Humair—each of whom has helped him to develop his own sense of identity.
He exercises the full range of the trombone’s possibilities, including fluid melodic statements, emphatic rhythmic punctuations, earthy interjections, and abstract sound effects—all with a clear sense of purpose. He approaches each endeavor as a leader and collaborator with a defined goal in mind and an understanding of 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. However, Blaser’s response illustrated another aspect of his resourcefulness: while he was off the road, he set up a label called Blaser Music that issued 20 albums. He also created a sub-label called SONGS that releases music from other musicians, starting with Russ Lossing. As soon as Europe began to reopen, he returned to the stage playing concerts with his own groups and as a sideman for Michel Portal, Daniel Humair, and Marc Ducret. As of 2020, Blaser’s projects include:
RUSS LOSSING
Jazz Innovator • 400+ Compositions • 26 Albums
NYC-based pianist Russ Lossing is a creative powerhouse whose singular musical voice has electrified the international jazz scene for over 35 years.
A 12-year collaborator with legendary drummer Paul Motian, Lossing commanded the stage at New York's iconic Village Vanguard as a member of the Paul Motian Quintet. His extraordinary catalog includes over 400 original compositions and an impressive discography of 26 albums as leader plus features on 60+ collaborative recordings.
From Blue Note NYC and Jazz Standard to Europe's premier venues like Vienna's Porgy and Bess and Amsterdam's BimHuis, Lossing has mesmerized audiences at the world's top jazz festivals—London, Vienna, Toronto, Venice—and beyond. His releases span prestigious labels including HatHut Records, Sunnyside Records, and his own Aqua Piazza Records.
The collaborator's choice: Lossing has shared the stage with jazz luminaries John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman, Tim Berne, Billy Hart, Ralph Alessi, Tony Malaby, Mark Helias, and dozens more of the world's most respected musicians.
A master of improvisation whose revolutionary approach continues to push the boundaries of contemporary jazz and inspire the next generation of artists.
BILLY MINTZ
In an extraordinary career spanning over 40 years, drummer Billy Mintz has played in diverse contexts with some of the biggest names in the jazz and pop worlds including
Charles Lloyd, Mose Allison, Lee Konitz, Dave Liebman, Gloria Gaynor. Eddie Daniels. Mark Murphy, Stanley Clarke, Alan Broadbent, Bobby Shew and Perry Robinson.
Billy Mintz has toured worldwide including tours of Europe with saxophone great Charles Lloyd as well as touring Japan with the Los Angeles Symphonic Jazz Orchestra.
Billy Mintz was born in Queens, New York. By the age of 15 he was playing in the show bands of the Catskill Mountain resorts developing his musicianship.
In his twenties, while living in New York City, he played and recorded with the Lee Konitz Nonet (1978), Kundalini with Perry Robinson and Badal Roy,
the Eddie Daniels Quartet, Gloria Gaynor, and the Harold Danko Quartet.
Throughout his life Mr. Mintz has taught clinics at schools around the world, including the Berklee School of Music, NYU,
California Institute of the Arts, North Texas State University the Dick Grove School of Music, Musikgymnasium in Innsbruck, Austria,
Arizona State University and University of Arizona. He has also taught extensively while on tour with various artists in
Australia, Israel, New Zealand and extensively throughout Europe.
Mr. Mintz has written two books: Different Drummers (AMSCO Music Publishing) and Advanced Sticking and Sight-Reading (BM Publications).
His articles have been published in Not Just Jazz and Modern Drummer magazines.
For the past 15 years he has led the Two Bass Band, a ten-piece ensemble which features his compositions and arrangements.
He also leads the Billy Mintz Band (with Tony Malaby, Rich Perry, Adam Kolker, Hilliard Greene and Roberta Piket) and performs solo drumset concerts.
As a soloist Mr. Mintz has performed extensively on both coasts of the US as well as internationally.
Billy's third CD as a leader, Ugly Beautiful, is available on thirteenth Note Records.
Advance: $18 via e-transfer to tix@zulapresents.org
Door: $25 regular or $15 students & seniors
Lucian Ban / Mat Maneri photo by Claire Stefani
Brìghde Chaimbeul photo by Vladislav Steinbauer