Nik Bärtsch: piano/fender rhodes
Jeremias Keller: e-bass
Kaspar Rast: drums
No one can escape the very special, unique music cosmos of Bärtsch. This other dimension of sound, rhythm, composition, phrasing and attitude irresistibly captivates the listener. The versatile musicians blend a range of genres such as funk, jazz, modern classical music and sounds of Japanese ritual music with ease and precision to form their own unique style, whose groovy and rhythmically nuanced sound makes it highly hypnotic.
The trio's sound is full of twists and bold combinations of phrases and motifs, which are constantly recombined and overlaid, and so always surprise. A tension-charged sound construct that is sometimes funky, sometimes relaxed, then again formally sharpened and always makes new connections with elements that appear to be intertwined.
Although their versatile music combines opposites, the trio's unique signature is unmistakable. The forms are not only juxtaposed or invoked, but are transformed and integrated to create something new. «RONIN» thus creates a unique aesthetic that is enduring at all levels of musical expression.
Marcus Strickland: tenor sax/bass clarinet
Mitch Henry: keys/piano/organ
Kyle Miles: bass
Charles Haynes: drums