Cadence: Ken Weiss, MD last interviewed you for our October 2015 issue and of
course there have been some major shifts in the world? Please delve into how
COVID affected your musical and personal life?
C.I.: Since 2015 there have been a few shifts in both my musical and personal
life, such as birth of my 3rd child or moving to the house where my wife grew
up in Zurich, as also heavy touring (including the US) with my band Pilgrim
and of course Covid, which was a big game changer in many ways.
What concerns myself as a musician, Covid helped to move forward: Since
there was nothing to do for almost half a year, I started researching and to
further my education in composition, what I always wanted, but never had time
to. My effort resulted in a new repertoire for Pilgrim, as also in a collaboration
with the Swiss Jazz Orchestra and my debut as Big Band composer.
On the business side I think it caused many issues, which the scene is still
suffering from. In general there is less money for non-commercial culture,
which affected many jazz initiatives, media and clubs. The possibilities and
money to earn are/is less than before and the liability is worse due to this
economic uncertainty. Sometimes concerts are not confirmed until shortly
before the tour or got cancelled very short term, so it definitively got tougher on
the market.
That said, the scene might has become also more agile and sometimes
possibilities show up on different occasions. I don’t want to complain. Luckily
as bandleader, who is interested in many fields, I am used to be vigilant and try
to catch trains when they come.
Cadence: Jazz has always had a history of musicians returning back to school
for further education (I think of Max Roach and Tony Williams); what kinds of
musical ideas were expanded by you formally retooling?
C.I.: I’d say you never leave school as a serious artist. Being able to perform on
a high level needs daily training and as a bandleader you have to work on you
vision constantly.
One thing I was very extensively working on my instrument in the last year
was the phrasing, since I had the feeling it felt kind of sticky and I wanted it
to be more fluid. So I was searching for instrumentalists that have the feeling
I searched for (like Wayne Shorter or Dayna Stephens), played along and
transcribed solos. Imitating is always a good plan to start on something new.
Another field I am constantly working on is composition. It’s like a muscle,
which you can train to get stronger and it was always very important to me,
beyond composing itself, but also for developing a personal language on the
instrument and of course a vision as artist.
Something I found very interesting is the idea of voice leading. My
compositions are built mostly out of single lines, such as a melody and a bass
line and harmonies evolve out of these lines (voices) played together. So you
have recognizable melodies and harmonical richness at the same time, which
gives the improviser or the improvisers (depending on how many are playing
at the same time) more options to create worlds between relaxation and tension
or openness and density.
Guillermo Klein told me to analyze, study and re-write Bach Chorals, which I
still do and helps a lot for understanding, hearing and having new ideas.
Cadence: I want to double back on the expansion of your orchestral language
but in the mean time let's talk about the viability of the cd format. This
interview is taking place while you have a 2025 CD on the Intakt label;
"HUMAN INTELLIGENCE LIVE" (Intakt CD 434). Please explain why you
continue to release your music on disc? Do you see a monetary return by such
recordings?
C.I.: No, I honestly don’t see a monetary return. The value of a CD for me as a
musician is on one hand emotional and on the other promotional. It is first a
documentation of my work, something to hold in my hand, which delivers the
music together with a nice artwork and tells a story. The economic value lies
more in connection with the promotion, since I think a release on a physical
carrier makes a band still more relevant for media and promoters.
Cadence: Just to clarify for all of the recordings you have done on Intakt even
taking in account new digital formats and streaming services; you have never
seen any kind of monetary reward from your music? What about also the idea
of selling disc at your concerts also. I double down on this because it calls into
the whole notion of the value of recording especially in light of your PILGRIM
band being one of the most active groups in Europe?
C.I.: The income of physical and digital outcome on the market goes to the label
until break even. The reward after that is peanuts. I do sell CDs on concerts
not bad, but this goes back to the production, which is for most of the part
supported out of public and private cultural funds and by people who are
enthusiasts and work for a low income, such as the musicians, producers, etc. If
you do the numbers without that support...

Working through a series of tenor saxophonist Christoph Irniger’s compositions, the Swiss Pilgrim quintet uses this live session to personify its variant on contemporary improvisation. Well played with just a touch of extended techniques, the program is substantive, but not as daring as the audience – and possibly the musicians – considered. With the straight-ahead stance rarely breeched, forays into Rock-styled flanges from guitarist Dave Gisler and a few intense squeaks and split tones from Irniger appear to be carefully controlled departures, which underscore the linear nature of the tunes, Bassist Raffaele Bossard’s pizzicato variables usually take the form of low-key thumps, while pianist Stefan Aeby mostly concentrates on disciplined comping and coloring, with the same intent from drummer Michael Stulz’s smacks and thumps.

That means most tunes are propelled like “Emergency Exit”. Forward motion is emphasized, with moderated piano expressions widening into the melody, only slightly interrupted later on with reed honks, doubled drum pumps and expanded guitar licks. Only bisected with a few short interludes, this policy is followed pretty much throughout the set. Irniger’s reed flutters and expressive variations frequently fasten onto keyboard slides, which when joined by one or another of the players evolves with multiple counterpoint.

Intensity and emphasis are more extrusive when band members stretch out a little further as they do on “Calling the Spirits” and “Seven Down Eight Up”. The first is atmospheric enough to echo 1970s spiritual Jazz with piano syncopation and double bass buzzes preserving the broken octave evolution. This surface gives the saxophonist a base on which to express doits and honks while Gisler seems to alternate between chamber patterns and charged projections.

This seeming unwillingness to go beyond the limits of decorum affects the entire session even when as on “Seven Down Eight Up” it appears the five are prepared to go further. Effervescent with a stop-time exposition propelled by the pianist’s light-fingered groove and Bossard’s pizzicato variable, the pace picks up as intermittent bass thumps back Irniger’s note-bending ascends to intense double tonguing and near screeches seconded by the guitar’s blurred fingering flanges and Stefan Aeby’s double speed comping, The saxophonist though soon relaxes his outpourings joining with the pianist to repeat theme variations.

An adept night’s work for an appreciative audience, Human Intelligence clearly shows what this group of pilgrims offer in a live setting. A wish that this pilgrimage had been more challenging and move into unfamiliar territory exists however.

https://www.jazzword.com/reviews/christoph-irniger-pilgrim/