MATTHIAS
SPILLMANN

Trumpet
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matthiasspillmann.ch

Matthias Spillmann leads his band MATS-UP since 1999. The quintet plays his compositions and has released five albums until now. MATS-UP has been nominated for „Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik“, the „BMW World Jazz Award“, won 1st price at „Moods Blues & Jazz Award“ and 2nd price at „ZKB Jazzpreis“. With his quartet MAT-DOWN he produces a kind of avantgarde-ambient music. Next to that, he is a member of the following bands: Grünes Blatt, Lauer Large, orchest-ra-conteur, the Lucerne Jazz Orchestra and a regular guest musician with Ensemble für Neue Musik Zürich and avantgarde combo Steamboat Switzerland.

He was touring on three continents and playing with many great musicians like Joe Lovano, Clark Terry, Gianluigi Trovesi, Gary Burton, Sophie Hunger, Jojo Mayer, Kurt Rosenwinkel, George Gruntz, Tyshawn Sorey, Peter Evans a.o.

Matthias Spillmann teaches at the Hochschule Luzern and was awarded the „Werkjahr“-award from the city of Zurich in 2006.

RETO
SUHNER

Saxophone
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retosuhner.com

Reed player Reto Suhner participates in different formations in Switzerland and abroad. The most important aspect of his work is the unpredictable moment of musical interplay based on improvisation. Here’s where new sounds emerge and where the most exiting stories are being told.

Born in Herisau (Switzerland), Reto graduates from Jazz School St.Gallen. He attended masterclasses with Jerry Bergonzi, Art Lande, Ed Neumeister and had private lessons with Dick Oatts, Billy Drewes and Rich Perry while staying in New York in 1999. In both 1998 and 2007 he was given the cultural award of Canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden. A.o. he has played with Fabian M. Müller, Mats-Up, the Zurich Jazz Orchestra, Swiss Jazz Orchestra, Lauer Large, Martin Streule Jazz Orchestra, Herbie Kopf and Max Frankl.

Since 1999 he is touring with his own Reto Suhner Quartett. The band has released five Cds. Just recently Reto released the album “colors” with his new nonett.

MARC
MÉAN

Piano
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marcmean.com

Marc Méan, born in 1985 in Switzerland, began studying classical piano at the Vevey Conservatory at the age of 7.In 2008, he graduated the Lausanne Conservatory in the Jazz section in which he studied with Baenz Oester, Thierry Lang, Matthieu Michel and Emil Spanyi. From 2008-2010, he studied at the Rytmisk Musikkonservatorium of Copenhagen with professors such as Django Bates, Jacob Christoffersen, Jacob Anderskov and Søren Kjærgaard.

He participated to the Concours de la Défense de Paris in June 2007 with the group No Square. The same year, he was finalist to the Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition and wan the Friedl Wald Scholarship.

Currently, he is working with several projects in different countries such as That Pork (CH/FR), Marc Méan Trio (DK/CH), MATS-UP (CH), David Meier’s Hunter Gatherer (CH), Paolo Thorsen-Nagel Project (DE/CH), Pauline Ganty Quartet (CH), Raphael Walser GangArt (CH) et Silvio Cadotsch OneTfu (CH)

DOMINIC
EGLI

Drums
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dominicegli.ch

Dominic Egli counts among the most original drummers in Switzerland. He studied with drum master Billie Brooks and broadens his wide range of expression  through extended travels and studies in West Africa, Brasil and the USA.

Next to MATS-UP, Dominic appears on internationally acclaimed albums with Peter Frei, Jean-Paul Brodbeck, Marcos Jimenez and Robert Lakatos a.o.
He was co-leader of “Miniatur Orchester” together with saxophonist Araxi Karnusian and now leads his own trio «Plurism» featuring Donat Fisch on tenor and bass player Raffaele Bossard. Their second CD «Fufu Tryout» features South African trumpet player Feya Faku and was released on Unit Records.

Dominic Egli lives in Lausanne.

RAFFAELE
BOSSARD

Bass
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raffaelebossard.com

Raffaele Bossard was born in Los Angeles in 1982. After playing elecrtic bass he discoverd the accoustic bass at age 17. He has studied with Ron Carter, Jonathan Kreisberg, Heiri Känzig and Andreas Cincera and graduated from Jazzschule Luzern in 2008 with a master of arts.

Currently he is working with Matthias Spillmanns’ Mats-Up, Dominik Egli’s Plurism, Christoph Iriger Trio, Pilgrim and the Joe Haider Quartett. During his young carrer, he has played with a.o: Fazile „Feya“ Faku, Glenn Ferris, Joey Baron, Nasheet Waits, Nils Wogram, Hayden Chisholm, Claudio Puntin, Ohad Talmor, Ziv Ravitz and Nat Su. He is touring internationally and his work is featured on over 20 albums. Raffaele Bossard won ZKB Jazzpreis, Moods Jazz&Blues Award, Transnational Promotion Award; has received grants form Friedel-Wald Stiftung 2008 and the coorperation of Zug and he participated in the 18th IASJ Meeting in Riga, Latvia.