Captured in 1968 in Zurich and long shelved before its recent discovery, this early trio session brings Pierre Favre, Irene Schweizer, and George Mraz together in a concise, fiery set of attentive free jazz, balancing Ornette Coleman's title piece with Schweizer's compositions, where dynamic interplay and acute listening reveal a nascent yet fully engaged collective voice.
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Sample The Album:
Pierre Favre-drums
George Mraz-double bass
Irene Schweizer-piano
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UPC: 0730706018503
Label: Songs
Catalog ID: SONGS004CD
Squidco Product Code: 37423
Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2026
Country: Switzerland
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels w/ booklet
Recorded live at Radio Studio Zurich, Switzerland, February 19, 1968
"Recorded live at Radio Studio Zurich on February 19, 1968, nearly seven months before Santana, previously considered the trio's debut , Bird Food is the earliest known document of the Pierre Favre Trio. The tape lay dormant in the drummer's personal archive for over half a century, until Pierre Favre and trombonist Samuel Blaser uncovered it while sorting through old recordings.
The trio brings together Pierre Favre on drums, Irene Schweizer on piano, and Jiri Mraz on bass, who would later become George Mraz in the United States, a legendary sideman for Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Stan Getz, and Tommy Flanagan.
Four tracks, 29 minutes: Bird Food by Ornette Coleman, and three compositions by Irene Schweizer (Sounds II, Hinten, The Attack). A free jazz at once fiery and attentive, where every musician listens as much as they play.
"I think Irene played her best on this album." - Pierre Favre "
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Pierre Favre Pierre Favre is a Swiss jazz drummer and percussionist, born 2 June 1937 in Le Locle, Switzerland. "When Pierre Favre began to explore new worlds of sound in drumming in the 1960s, he had already played with many internationally renowned Europeans and Americans as well as with prominent big bands. But it pushed him to an independent music. It all started in a trio with bassist George Mraz, then with Peter Kowald on double bass and from the start with Irene Schweizer on piano. "It is," says Pierre Favre, "a stroke of luck in a long, independent and yet joint development. Searching for the melodic aspects of drums and percussion, Pierre Favre found his way to the solo. Together with Paul Motian, Fredy Studer and Nana Vasconcelos, he formed a percussion ensemble that increased the orchestral possibilities of percussive solo playing. "Singing Drums", a quartet with four percussionists, underwent a further transformation in the form of The "European Chamber Ensemble", a line-up with two percussionists, horns and strings. In 2004, the city of Zurich honored Pierre Favre with the city's art prize."-Bert Noglik, Pierre Favre website ^ Hide Bio for Pierre Favre • Show Bio for George Mraz "George Mraz (born Jiří Mráz; 9 September 1944 - 16 September 2021) was a Czech-born American jazz bassist and alto saxophonist. He was a member of Oscar Peterson's group, and worked with Pepper Adams, Stan Getz, Michel Petrucciani, Stephane Grappelli, Tommy Flanagan, Jimmy Raney, Chet Baker, Barry Harris, Joe Henderson, John Abercrombie, John Scofield, and Richie Beirach, among others. During the 1970s, he was a member of the New York Jazz Quartet and The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, and in the 1980s a member of Quest. He also appeared with Joe Lovano, Hank Jones and Paul Motian on Lovano's records I'm All For You and Joyous Encounter. Mraz died on September 16, 2021, in Prague. The immediate cause of death was undisclosed, though he had battled pancreatic cancer in 2016." ^ Hide Bio for George Mraz • Show Bio for Irene Schweizer "Irène Schweizer (born 2 June 1941) is a Swiss jazz and free improvising pianist. She was born in Schaffhausen, in 1941. She has performed and recorded numerous solo piano performances as well as performing as part of the Feminist Improvising Group, whose members include Lindsay Cooper, Maggie Nichols, Georgie Born and Sally Potter. She has also performed a series of duets with drummers Pierre Favre, Louis Moholo, Andrew Cyrille, Günter Sommer, Han Bennink, Hamid Drake, as well as in trio and quartet sessions with others, including John Tchicai, Evan Parker and Peter Kowald. With Yusef Lateef, Uli Trepte and Mani Neumeier she performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1967. One of her most enduring collaborations is with the improvising musician Rüdiger Carl (de)." ^ Hide Bio for Irene Schweizer
5/4/2026
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
5/5/2026
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
5/4/2026
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
Track Listing:
1. Bird Food 7:28
2. Sounds II 7:19
3. Hinten 5:45
4. The Attack 9:33
May 2026
Jazz
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Jazz & Improvisation Based on Compositions
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Trio Recordings
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