Thursday, September 14, 2017

Irène Schweizer & Joey Baron – Live! (INTAKT RECORDS 2017)




A meeting of two jazz giants: In 2015, Joey Baron, one of the most sought after drummers on the New York scene met the First Lady of European jazz, Swiss pianist Irène Schweizer, in concert in Zürich. During his long career Baron has played with bands such as Naked City and Masada and worked with musicians Dizzy Gillespie, Chet Baker, Joe Lovano, Bill Frisell and Marc Ribot.

Schweizer had already performed and recorded with the best drummers on the planet: Pierre Favre, Han Bennink, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Günter "Baby" Sommer, Andrew Cyrille and Hamid Drake.

The performance of the two was one of the highlights of the Unerhört-Festival in Zürich, 2015. Their encounter had every-thing you could hope for: energy, drive and mesmerizing exchanges paired with the magical tunes Schweizer is famous for. "This beautiful recording documents a marvellous evening in Zürich," John Corbett writes in the liner notes.


Irène Schweizer: Piano
Joey Baron: Drums

1. Free for All (Irène Schweizer) 7:59 
2. Up the Ladder (Joey Baron) 2:22 
3. String Fever (Irène Schweizer) 7:59 
4. Jungle Beat II (Irène Schweizer) 10:49 
5. Saturdays (Joey Baron) 4:14 
6. Blues for Crelier (Irène Schweizer) 3:34 
7. The Open Window (Joey Baron) 3:57

Recorded live November 27, 2015, at unerhört!-Festival Rote Fabrik Zürich. Recording engineer: Martin Pearson. 
Recording producer SRF 2 Kultur, Peter Bürli and Intakt Records.
Mixed December 9, 2016, by Irène Schweizer, Joey Baron, Patrik Landolt at Hard Studio Winterthur. 
Engineer: Michael Brändli. Mastered by Michael Brändli. 
Cover art and graphic design: Jonas Schoder. Photo: Michelle Ettlin. Liner notes: John Corbett. 
Produced and published by Intakt Records, Patrik Landolt.