"French-Japanese violist Frantz Loriot performs solo as well as in various ensembles by way of improvisation and electronics, crossroads of different musical genres: improvised music, experimental, rock, contemporary music and electronics. He has contributed to multidisciplinary projects related to dance, image and poetry.

Frantz Loriot leads two large ensembles, the European Notebook Large Ensemble, a 10 piece ensemble with Swiss, Japanese, Belgian and Italian musicians with which he released "Urban Furrow" on the Portuguese label Clean Feed (July 2015) and the NYC based 12 piece Systematic Distortion Orchestra in which Frantz reunites some of the finest NYC based improvisers and with which he released "The Assembly" on the NYC based label NowOut recordings.

Beside these projects, Frantz released his debut solo recording "Reflections on an Introspective Path" on the NYC based label Neither/Nor.

For the year 2016, Frantz got invited by the prestigious Météo - Mulhouse Music festival to be artist in residence for a new creation called Der dritte Treffpunkt. For this occasion, Frantz led and reunited a new French-Swiss quartet, Der Verboten, with pianist Cédric Piromalli, saxophonist Antoine Chessex and percussionist Christian Wolfarth.

Active in a number of international collective ensembles, his other personal projects include:

baloni - with Joachim Badenhorst (reeds) & Pascal Niggenkemper (contrabass), Natura Morta - with Sean Ali (contrabass) & Carlo Costa, duos with Jeremiah Cymerman (clarinet), Christoph Erb (saxophones) & Christian Wolfarth (percussions), the project Treffpunkt around international meetings with French pianist Cédric Piromalli.

He appears as a sideman in Joachim Badenhorst's Carate Urio Orchestra, Tobias Meier's Im Wald and Silvan Jeger

This Difficult Tree.

In addition to his own projects he has also worked alongside many musicians such as (a.o.), Barre Phillips, Joëlle Léandre, David S.Ware, Anthony Braxton & Walter Thompson Orchestra, Tony Conrad, Emilie Lesbros, Duane Pitre's ED09 ensemble, Ève Risser, Sabir Mateen, Michael Formanek, Andrea Parkins, Franck Vigroux, Jean-Luc Cappozzo, Alexei Borisov, Theresa Wong, Ernesto Rodrigues, Hilmar Jensson, Kita Naoki, Simon Nabatov, Steve Swell, Yagi Michiyo, Yasumune Morishige, Mikko Innanen, Christian Weber and many others.

Frantz Loriot performs regularly in Europe, USA and Japan.

Frantz Loriot appears on CDs released on international labels such as Clean Feed, Creative Sources, Intakt, Peira, FMR, Sickcore, Impressus, Prom Night Records, Basses Fréquences, Quiet Design, Edible Onion, Komma Null, Klein, Neither/Nor, OutNow, Wide Ear etc.

Frantz Loriot studied music in Paris with several professors (Mari Yasuda-Raclot, the Pons brothers, Nicolas Dupin, Ivry Gitlis, Yukari Tate & Pascal Robault) and was brought to improvisation by Régis Huby, Joëlle Léandre, Barre Phillips, and David S. Ware.

He was initiated to soundmassage by its creator, Thierry Madiot.

While living in NYC, he created and curated Ze Couch Series in Brooklyn, NY, from 2009 to 2012. After having lived in Paris and New York City, Frantz Loriot relocated in Zürich (Switzerland)."

"Joachim Badenhorst (°1981 Antwerp) has been active in the experimental and improvised music scene in Europe and abroad for the past 15 years. Following his master degree in jazz studies at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague, he has since divided his time between Belgium and cities in the US and Europe, collaborating and recording with jazz and experimental music ensembles and artists, such as Han Bennink, Tony Malaby and Noël Akchoté while incessantly exploring the visceral elements of sound. His output ranges from solo improvisation to leading large formations, such as his own Carate Urio Orchestra.

Badenhorst is artistically interested in integrating ideas from various different art medias into his musical compositions. He also takes deep interest in revealing the inherent relation between contemporary and traditional musics, having collaborated with traditional musicians from Turkey and Japan, and toured in China with reinterpreted traditional Chinese music.

In recent years, Badenhorst is contemplating the evanescent site specificity of sound as well as the relation between space and sound. In recent years, his work has taken a deeper focus on composition, namely that of computer­based composition and processing. Through continual research and experiment, he delves into a re­imagination of the boundaries between improvisation and composition, of abstract sound explorations and harmonic passage, and continues to attempt at a personal aesthetic language that interact with spaces and engage with different audiences.

Badenhorst appears on over 50 cd's on over 10 record labels. In 2012, he launched his own label KLEIN, as a creative platform to initiate collaborations, experiment and play with unconventional design, and as an outlet for fringe musical projects.

Since 2010 Badenhorst has been developing his solo programme consisting of improvisations and compositions for solo acoustic and electro­acoustic wind instruments."

"Sandra Weiss, born in South Africa, studied saxophone at Berklee College of Music in Boston with Andy McGhee and at Zürcher Hochschule der Künste in Zürich with Christoph Grab and Nathanael Su. She studied bassoon at Musikhochschule Lucerne with Stefan Buri.

During the last years she played in various musical projects playing folk music,

classical music, jazz, experimental and improvised music.

For the year 2014, she got the 6 month 'Auslandatelier Stipendium New York' (residency in New York City) from the culture departement of Zürich."

"Matthias Spillmann (Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Composer) (Born April 15th 1975)

Matthias Spillmann started playing the trumpet with classical training at the age of 11. Through a Miles Davis record he turns into a complete Jazz fan at 14. Next to Miles, he calls Kenny Dorham, Tom Harrell, Gil Evans and Duke Ellington his main musical influences. At the age of 19 he decided to make music his career. He studied at the Swiss Jazz School and the New School in New York City. His teachers include the Belgium trumpeter Bert Joris as well as jazz legends like Jimmy Owens, Richie Beirach, Ed Neumeister or Reggie Workman.

M.S. has performed in numerous venues in Europe and America, among others the International Jazz Festivals of Bern, Montreux, Lugano, Lausanne, Frauenfeld as well as the 24th and 25th Annual IAJE Conferences in New York and Chicago.He was soloist with the Big Band of the EBU in Hungary 2002.He worked with musicians like Franco Ambrosetti, Randy Brecker, Bill Holman, Joe Lovano, Bob Mintzer, Clark Terry, Jimmy Woody and others.

As composer and arranger, he has worked for Combos, Big Bands and Brass Ensembles in the classical sector.

He leads the septet MATS-UP, a group which performs mainly his original compositions, the music from the bottom of his heart."

Dave Gisler (b 1983 Switzerland) is a jazz guitarist, ans has led or been a member of the groups Christoph Irniger Pilgrim, Dave Gisler Trio, Dave Gisler's Shizzle, Gregor Frei ASMIN, Gregor Frei Asmin Sextet, Lucerne Jazz Orchestra, Markus Lauterburg Mumur, No Flores, Notebook Large Ensemble, Pilgrim, Raffaele Bossard's Junction Box, Sonar Ensemble, Weird Beard.

"Deborah Walker is a new music performer and improviser based in Paris. She was born in Reggio Emilia, Italy, in 1981 and studied cello in her hometown. After graduating she moved to Paris to continue her cello studies with Agnès Vesterman and Anssi Karttunen. Since 2007 she is a member of Dedalus, a variable ensemble which plays experimental and contemporary music, who has collaborations, among others, with Tom Johnson, Pascale Criton, Christian Wolff, Antoine Beuger and Jurg Frey.

Deborah Walker has collaborated with artists like Joëlle Leandre, Markus Stockhausen, Garrett List and Teri Weikel. She's currently working with composers Pascale Criton and Eliane Radigue in pieces for solo cello or small ensembles. She has played in many festivals such as I Suoni delle Dolomiti, Italia Wave, ZKN in Karlsruhe, Festival d'Avignon, Festival Nomad in M'Hamid (Morocco), Ze Couch (New York) and tours regularly around Europe. She also takes part in theater, dance and circus performances, both as composer and performer. Deborah is doing a Master in Sound and Music Composition at the University of Paris 8 (St. Denis). Her recordings include works by Tom Johnson played by the Dedalus Ensemble (New World), a live recording of the intuitive music quintet Flowers of Now(21st Records) as well as Frammenti di Scrittura Prematura (Imprint Records) and Imagine Book (ILDE)."

"Born in 1985 in Olten. As a child and teenager cello lessons. E-Bass and vocals in punk band. After graduation first double bass lessons. From 2005 to 2010 Bachelor and Master studies in jazz double bass at the Zurich University of the Arts under Dominique Girod, Rätus Flisch and Heiri Känzig, as well as lessons with Jan Schacher (interfaces / software programming), Daniel Pezzotti (cello) and Rahel Hadorn (vocals).

In addition to the concert activity as Kontrabassist appearances as a singer, guitarist, cellist, e-bassist and operator of various electronic devices. Stylistically, the interest spreads to a broad horizon of jazz and free improvisation, film and theater music, folklore imaginaire and country to electronic music, post-rock and ambient. Among others as a dedicated sideman in bands like DAY & TAXI, the Reto Suhner Quartet, PLANNT * and One Tfu, as co-leader in Uassyn, cold voodoo and Ehythm as well as in this jazz quartet This Difficult Tree, in the concept pop song Kingdom statement and in the solo project publish / perish .

Club and festival appearances at home and abroad. Theater music for Tell / Zahhak by Mass & Fieber 2012/13 in Altdorf, Zurich and Tehran. Theater Music for The Wall, Theater Aachen in autumn 16.

Silvan Jeger teaches double bass, electric bass and ensemble in Dietikon and Frauenfeld.

In October 2017, Silvan Jeger was artist-in-residence at Zurich Jazz Club moods."