Swiss Saxophonist Christoph Irniger comes to the Velvet Lounge at Bird & Beckett Books and Records fronting his quintet Pilgrim in support of their new album Crosswinds.
“With Crosswinds, Christoph Irniger’s quartet Pilgrim offers a scintillating trip into a musical subconscious – a dream state where one opens doors only to find more doors – a spiral staircase where the top is always just beyond reach.” — All About Jazz
According to the Sunday edition of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, saxophonist-bandleader-composer Christoph Irniger is “undoubtedly one of the greatest talents of his generation.” ...
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Swiss Saxophonist Christoph Irniger comes to the Velvet Lounge at Bird & Beckett Books and Records fronting his quintet Pilgrim in support of their new album Crosswinds.
“With Crosswinds, Christoph Irniger’s quartet Pilgrim offers a scintillating trip into a musical subconscious – a dream state where one opens doors only to find more doors – a spiral staircase where the top is always just beyond reach.” — All About Jazz
According to the Sunday edition of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, saxophonist-bandleader-composer Christoph Irniger is “undoubtedly one of the greatest talents of his generation.”
A prodigious stylist with a warm sound, Irniger presents Crosswinds, the third album with his band Pilgrim on Intakt Records. With Crosswinds the saxophonist shows his relish for adventure, delivering a rich, multi-layered album with eight pieces that radiate a wondrous, atmospheric tranquility.
Peter Margasak, longtime jazz critic at the Chicago Reader, writes in the liner notes:
"Crosswinds – this new, gorgeously considered, but luxuriantly open new recording by tenor saxophonist Christoph Irniger’s Pilgrim – is palpably more relaxed on the surface than the quintet’s previous albums, yet beneath that veneer of calm is intensely focused and rigorous interplay as well as a level of risk-taking. Irniger and his bandmates have developed a richly contemporary sound that melds ideas from some of the most harmonically advanced thinkers in the US with a distinctly European flavor heard most explicitly.“
In recent years, Irniger has made a name for himself in a range of line-ups, playing jazz, rock and related musical styles. Irniger is leader of the band Pilgrim and the Christoph Irniger Trio which between them have released several albums (mostly on Intakt Records) so far. He is also co-leader of the prog-rock band Cowboys from Hell. Irniger teaches at Zurich University of the Arts and the Musikschule Konservatorium in Zurich.
His work has been documented on twenty albums to date. His diverse collaborations include work with: Nasheet Waits (No Reduce Jaywalkin’ (nWog, 2013), Michael Bates, Kris Davis, Don Philippe, and the band Counterpoints with Ohad Talmor. He has also played with Dave Douglas, Dan Weiss, Nils Wogram, Claudio Puntin, Max Frankl, Stefan Rusconi, Mats Spillmann, Christian Weber, Chris Wiesendanger and Vera Kappeler.
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