Irène’s Hot Four is a resounding posthumous release from the great jazz pianist, activist and icon Irène Schweizer, who died last year. The publishing of this first concert by the quartet with her companions Rüdiger Carl, Johnny Dyani and Han Bennink – which existed for around a year and a half and only played a handful of gigs – closes a gap in the pianist’s discography. "The concert with the Irène Schweizer Quartet in Zurich 1981 demonstrates a theatrical performance that remains musically coherent despite the spectacle. The music is action-oriented, pushy, and takes on an urgency and bidding character through constantly interwoven repetitions. This snapshot resembles a manifesto. This is Jazz with the anger of a Charles Mingus, the boldness of a Fats Waller and the energy of punk", writes Bert Noglik in the liner notes.

All compositions by Irène Schweizer. Live recorded on November 8, 1981, at Internationales Jazzfestival Zürich by Radio SRF. Mixed and mastered in August 2023 at Hardstudios Winterthur by Michael Brändli. Cover art: Giuseppe Reichmuth. Graphic design: Jonas Schoder. Liner notes: Bert Noglik. Sketch band: Rosina Kuhn, November 1981. Recording produced by Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF). Licensed by Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF). CD produced and published by Intakt Records, P.O. Box, 8024 Zürich, Switzerland. www.intaktrec.ch

Generously supported by Robert D. Bielecki Foundation.