The Squid's Ear Magazine


Buechi / Hellmuller / Jerjen (Feat Kristina Brunner / Andreas Gabriel): Pink Mountain Sagas (Intakt)

Swiss vocalist Sarah Buechi, guitarist Franz Hellmuller and bassist Rafael Jerjen expand their trio with Kristina Brunner on Schwyzerorgeli, Andreas Gabriel on violin, Marianne Domide on alphorn and Emmanuel Krucker on Hackbrett, merging jazz, experimental song and lively Swiss folk traditions in a vivid homecoming to the alpine Glarus region, its legends, dramas and rugged mountain atmospheres.
 

Price: $18.95



Quantity:

In Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 3.00 units

Sample The Album:





Product Information:

Personnel:



Sarah Buechi-voice

Franz Hellmuller-guitar

Rafael Jerjen-bass

Kristina Brunner-Schwyzerorgeli

Andreas Gabriel-violin

Marianne Domide-Alphorn

Emanuel Krucker-Hackbrett

Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.



UPC: 7640120194284

Label: Intakt
Catalog ID: ITK428.2
Squidco Product Code: 35239

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2024
Country: Switzerland
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels w/ booklet
Recorded at Hardstudios, in Winterthur, Switzerland, on January 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th, 2024, by Moritz Wetter.
Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

Artist Biographies

"Sarah Buechi was raised in a musically active family and started playing the violin and piano at the age of five. After an award for a self-written musical theater she decided to take music as a profession. After graduating from Lucerne's prestigious Musikhochschule with two distinctions, she took a lengthy sabbatical in Bangalore immersing herself in South Indian Classical Music and Rhythm with concerts on festivals, radio and television. The results are apparent in her use of its demanding rhythmic and vocal techniques in a Jazz context. Out of her own projects THALi (Unit Records, 2010) is the first one that brought Sarah Buechi to the attention of the Swiss Jazz Scene and intern to international musical collaborations with outstanding personalities like Steve Coleman, Dave Liebman, Lucas Niggli, Nils Wogram, Ronan Guilfoyle, Christy Doran, Christoph Haberer and Christoph Stiefel. This brought her onto concerts, workshops and tours within Europe, South Amercia, USA, Canada, China and India. Sarah has been head of the Jazz vocal department at Newpark Music Centre, Dublin for four years (2008-2012), lived after that in London (2013-2015) and studied at the Complete Vocal Institute, Copenhagen (2012-2015). In Switzerland in 2005 she was awarded the Friedl-Wald-Foundation prize and three times she was awarded the Irish Travel and Training award for musical researches in Ghana, Paris, New York and Copenhagen.

Back in Switzerland, she taught at the MKZ, Zurich (2015-2018). Currently she is working at the Jazz vocal department of the WIAM, Winterthur (since 2016) and will start teaching at the vocal department of the Musikhochschule, Lucerne (HSLU) in September 2018.

In 2018 she is releasing her fourth album as a band leader on Intakt Records and collaborates with established musicians in various other projects."

-Sarah Buechi Website (http://www.sarahbuechi.com/en/about)
6/1/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Franz Hellmüller:

"1996-1997 He studied at the American School of Modern Music, Paris.

1999-2003 He attended the Musikhochschule in Lucerne, where he graduated summa cum laude.

2002 International Scholarship Award: Together with 50 other students from all over the world, he took part in the IASJ meeting (International Association of Schools of Jazz) in Helsinki, under the direction of Dave Liebman.

He studied and attended workshops and masterclasses with Jamey Haddad, Frank Möbus, Peter O'Mara, Mark Turner, Glenn Ferris, Pedro Moreira, Simon Nabatov, Rick Margitza, Mark Soskin, Jeff Richman, Pandit Suresh Talwalker, Maria Schneider, Christy Doran, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Vinz Vonlanthen, John Abercrombie, Nat Su.

He was named the recipient of the Axelle and Max Koch's Recognition Prize.

He was named the recipient of Pfeiffer Foundation Prize.

2014 Hellmüller Sisera Renold, Roots nominated for Deutscher Schallplattenpreis Jazz International

2015 Nominated for BMW Jazz Welt Award

2016 Werkpreis Kuratorium Aargau

He performed in concerts and at festivals in Switzerland, Germany, France, Poland, Lithuania, Finland, Austria, Montenegro, Russia, Italy, Armenia, Ukraina, USA, Belgium."

-Franz Hellmuller Website (http://www.hellmuller.com/)
6/1/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"With a burgeoning international career, Rafael Jerjen is a bass player, composer and educator. Currently based in Lucerne, he was educated in Australia (Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance (Honours) at the Australian National University under bassist Eric Ajaye), the USA (New York with John Patitucci), Berlin, and Switzerland (Master of Arts in Jazz Performance at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Lucerne with bassist, Heiri Kaenzig). Rafael also studied composition with renowned composer and big band leader, Ed Partyka."

-Rafael Jerjen Website (https://rafaeljerjen.ch/about/)
6/1/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Kristina Brunner is a Swiss Schwyzerörgeli player, cellist and active figure in contemporary Swiss folk music. Born in 1993, she studied cello with a focus on folk music and Schwyzerörgeli at the Lucerne School of Music, developing a practice rooted in tradition while open to new forms of collaboration. She teaches Schwyzerörgeli and performs widely, notably in duo settings with her sister Evelyn Brunner and with saxophonist and composer Albin Brun.

-Squidco 6/1/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Andreas Gabriel is a Swiss violinist associated with the renewal of folk fiddle traditions in Switzerland. After studying violin at the Lucerne School of Music, he began researching lost Swiss fiddle music, drawing inspiration from field recordings of historic Swiss players as well as folk fiddlers from around the world. Based in Lucerne, he works across traditional, experimental and contemporary folk music, performs nationally and internationally, and teaches folk violin at the Lucerne School of Music and the Lucerne city music school.

-Squidco 6/1/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Marianne Domide is a Swiss alphorn player, pan flute musician and educator based in Uster. Originally trained in recorder and pan flute, she later expanded her work to include alphorn, which she has played since 2006. Alongside teaching and regular participation in courses and alphorn seminars, she performs as a soloist and in various formations at alphorn and Büchel competitions, yodelling festivals and the federal yodelling festival. Since 2018 she has served as musical director of the Alphorngruppe Uster.

-Squidco 6/1/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Emanuel Krucker is a Swiss Hackbrett player, teacher and researcher from Bichwil in the canton of St. Gallen. Active as both performer and educator, he teaches at several music schools, works with youth and project orchestras, and performs with formations including IGspannt, Alpinis, Quarz, Griffig and Trio Pegasus. His work combines practical musicianship with historical inquiry, including his study Das Hackbrett - 30 Stimmungen; Herkunft und Entwicklung, reflecting a commitment to preserving and extending the instrument's alpine traditions.

-Squidco 6/1/2026

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:
Related Categories of Interest:

Intakt
June 2026
Improvised Music
Jazz
Jazz & Improvisation Based on Compositions
Melodic and Lyrical Jazz
Song Based Music
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Trio Recordings
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

Search for other titles on the label:
Intakt.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Formanek, Michael (w/ Hawkins / Halvorson / Fujiwara / O'Gallagher / Doxas / Almeida)
New Digs
(Intakt)
Bassist and composer Michael Formanek leads a trans-Atlantic septet with John O'Gallagher, Chet Doxas, Joao Almeida, Mary Halvorson, Alexander Hawkins on Hammond B3 and Tomas Fujiwara, unfolding a bold contemporary jazz architecture where braided horns, off-axis guitar, organ-driven momentum and elastic rhythms move between dense collective force and sharply focused small-group interplay.
Biondini, Luciano / Lucas Niggli / Michel Godard
Fables of Time
(Intakt)
Accordionist Luciano Biondini, tubist and serpent player Michel Godard, and percussionist Lucas Niggli weave composition and free improv into a richly expressive dialogue drawing on Mediterranean lyricism, early music, and contemporary jazz, where original pieces, Radiohead and Monteverdi reinterpretations, and spontaneous interplay unfold with poetic depth, wit, and an ever-shifting sense of narrative.
Courvoisier, Sylvie Trio (w/ Gress / Wollesen)
Eclats - Live in Europe
(Intakt)
Captured during a European tour, the trio of pianist Sylvie Courvoisier with bassist Drew Gress and drummer Kenny Wollesen presents a finely honed language shaped through deep trust and evolving interplay, where Courvoisier's compositions unfold with precision and openness, balancing intricate detail, shifting textures, and spontaneous free improv with subtle complexity and vivid expressiveness.
Niescier, Angelika (Niescier / Adasiewicz / Mitchell / Reed / Rempis / Stewart)
Chicago Tapes
(Intakt)
Marking her return to Chicago, German alto saxophonist Angelika Niescier reunites with a powerhouse sextet of the city's improvisers, including Nicole Mitchell, Dave Rempis, and Jason Adasiewicz, for a high-velocity session of free improv, where fierce interplay, shifting textures, and spontaneous structures bridge European and AACM-informed traditions with raw, contemporary energy.
Otherlands Trio (Crump / Jones / McPherson)
Star Mountain
(Intakt)
Uniting bassist Stephan Crump, drummer Eric McPherson with alto saxophonist Darius Jones, this trio channels a deeply connected improvisational language built on evolving vamps, elastic grooves, and shared momentum, as Jones's emotionally direct alto moves freely through shifting forms shaped by trust, vulnerability, and a collective pursuit of intensity without hierarchy or hesitation.
Courvoisier, Sylvie / Wadada Leo Smith
Angel Falls
(Intakt)
Swiss pianist Sylvie Courvoisier and legendary trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith meet in a deeply focused duo session, their through-composed material unfolding with stunning restraint, architectural clarity, and a quiet but potent freedom, as each phrase, gesture, and interval feels acutely calibrated in a shared space of mystery, immediacy, and poetic intent.
Frith, Fred / Maria Portugal
Matter
(Intakt)
Uniting from different continents and generations, guitarist and vocalist Fred Frith and drummer, percussionist, and vocalist Maria Portugal meet in Cologne for four improvised stretches that blend song form, rhythmic invention, exploratory textures, and creative voice work, revealing a shared musical language that dissolves genre boundaries into a vivid, unpredictable exchange.
Lewis, James Brandon Quartet
Abstraction Is Deliverance
(Intakt)
A powerful quartet session led by James Brandon Lewis on tenor sax with Aruán Ortiz, Brad Jones, and Chad Taylor, blending lyrical melodic clarity with dynamic, responsive interplay, where rich tonal expression and groove-sensitive improvisation draw from the lineage of John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and David S. Ware while forging a deeply personal, contemporary voice.
Courvoisier, Sylvie
To Be Other-Wise
(Intakt)
Only the second solo album from Swiss-born pianist and composer Sylvie Courvoisier, now based in New York, presenting twelve studio recordings that explore the full range of the piano inside and out, recorded in Germany and showcasing the breadth of her expressive power and spontaneous creativity, shaped by decades of work in innovative transatlantic ensembles.
Schweizer, Irene / Rudiger Carl / Johnny Dyani / Han Bennink
Irenes Hot Four
(Intakt)
A stunning 1981 live performance at Internationales Jazzfestival Zurich, from pianist Irene Schweizer's short-lived but explosive quartet with Rüdiger Carl, Johnny Dyani, and Han Bennink, blending theatrical flair, fierce intensity, bold humor, and spontaneous surprises in a powerhouse set that channels the spirit of Mingus, the wit of Waller, and the raw energy of punk jazz.
Stemeseder / Lillinger Quartet w/ Peter Evans & Russell Hall
Umbra II
(Intakt)
Austrian pianist Elias Stemeseder and German percussionist Christian Lillinger expand their partnership into a quartet with brilliant New York trumpeter Peter Evans and double bassist Russell Hall, in this all-acoustic follow-up to their 2023 album Umbra in 13 avant jazz compositions, inventively lyrical and unpredictably impressive, recorded in the warmth of the Van Gelder studios.
Sunny Five (Berne / Ducret / Torn / Hoff / Smith)
Candid
(Intakt)
A mercurial album of electronic and acoustic collective free improv from the masterful quintet of Tim Berne on alto sax, David Torn and Marc Ducret on electric guitars, Devin Hoff on electric bass and Ches Smith on drums & electronics, the band intertwining and bending sound to the evolution of their improvisations, which twist and turn in alien jazz soundscape.
Lewis, James Brandon Quartet
Transfiguration
(Intakt)
With a rare ability to play hard-hitting jazz while maintaining a lyrical sense to his compositions, tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis' new studio album from his quartet of Aruan Ortiz on piano, Brad Jones on bass and Chad Taylor on drums is the fourth album from this working band, demonstrating their strong group affinity that invokes impressive soloing from all four.
Stemeseder, Elias
Piano Solo
(Intakt)
A solo album from Austrian-born, NY-based pianist Elias Stemeseder, a member of the Jim Black Trio and Dre Hocevar, here presenting 14 original compositions, succinct works of inventive structures and insightful improvisation along with a traditional Austrian tune "foeggslia'l", an album revealing great skill, quick wit, and a complex mind that yields delightfully intrepid discovery.
Schweizer, Irene / Hamid Drake
Celebration
(Intakt)
Having performed together a number of times in festivals both in Europe and Chicago, the duo of drummer Hamid Drake and pianist Irene Schweizer reveals the familiarity and confidence their history brings to their improvisations, both in intense exchanges and playful melodic passages, as heard in this exemplary 2019 concert at Jazzgallery, in Nickelsdorf, Austria.




The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC