Hildegard Lernt Fliegen (Switzerland) at Vilnius Jazz Festival at Russian Drama Theatre Of Lithuania

Is it a one-man band, an orchestra, a traveling circus or a sextet? It is difficult to say. The band with a very intriguing name Hildegard Lernt Fliegen (Hildegard learns to fly) is a very special music project from Switzerland. It’s jazz, but also beat box and noise art, morbid polka with a little Frank Zappa and Kurt Weill aftertaste; a musical cabaret, that has both rap and opera. They’ve said that the best that can happen at a concert is losing all control – less rationalizing and analysing, more impulses and creativity!

Andreas Schaerer’s “Hildegard Lernt Fliegen” is currently one of the most creative music projects Switzerland has to offer: rarely has any other jazz ensemble put so much wit and imagination into their compositions and performances. The sextet around composer and singer Andreas Schaerer, who also toured with Bobby McFerrin, exhibits great aesthetics: strong brass sounds and astounding voice acrobatics create the unique band charisma. The arrangements for the unusual instrumentation – harmony instruments are intentionally left out – are sometimes intricate, sometimes subtly woven, sometimes lusciously rhapsodic in character, fitting the theatrical vaudeville note of their energetic performance....

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Is it a one-man band, an orchestra, a traveling circus or a sextet? It is difficult to say. The band with a very intriguing name Hildegard Lernt Fliegen (Hildegard learns to fly) is a very special music project from Switzerland. It’s jazz, but also beat box and noise art, morbid polka with a little Frank Zappa and Kurt Weill aftertaste; a musical cabaret, that has both rap and opera. They’ve said that the best that can happen at a concert is losing all control – less rationalizing and analysing, more impulses and creativity!

Andreas Schaerer’s “Hildegard Lernt Fliegen” is currently one of the most creative music projects Switzerland has to offer: rarely has any other jazz ensemble put so much wit and imagination into their compositions and performances. The sextet around composer and singer Andreas Schaerer, who also toured with Bobby McFerrin, exhibits great aesthetics: strong brass sounds and astounding voice acrobatics create the unique band charisma. The arrangements for the unusual instrumentation – harmony instruments are intentionally left out – are sometimes intricate, sometimes subtly woven, sometimes lusciously rhapsodic in character, fitting the theatrical vaudeville note of their energetic performance.

Whether the style is to be clearly assigned to jazz cannot be answered: its beat box or noise art elements, morbid polka and off-key ballad extracts, and the occasional scent of Frank Zappa or the poetry of Kurt Weill make it impossible to find the accurate description. In any event – Hildegard Lernt Fliegen is a musical sensation for all senses!

Amongst many other titles, awards and prizes, the sextet won the most important newcomer prize in Switzerland, the so called ZKB Jazzpreis in 2008. In 2011 they received a grant from Pro Helvetia for the priority promotion of jazz music which is the most important jazz award in Switzerland.

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