SWISS JAZZ ORCHESTRA

Meet the Swiss Jazz Orchestra: the country’s best big band, for the first time at JazzAscona

“The best jazz big band in Switzerland” (Pepe Lienhard), “A world-class big band” (Peter Erskine): positive reviews are wasted on the proposed Swiss Jazz Orchestra (SJO), a professional ensemble that JazzAscona is pleased to welcome for the first time on June 28, 2024.

In fact, the SJO is the most active big band in Switzerland, with some 30 shows a year in Bern alone and more than 800 concerts performed so far. The SJO performs projects in a wide variety of styles, documented on 12 CDs released to date. The orchestra counts on a repertoire of more than a thousand arrangements and original compositions by the members of the ensemble.

In 2010, the SJO was awarded the Grand Prize for Culture of the City of Bern. The formation has collaborated with prominent members of the Swiss scene (George Gruntz, Franco Ambrosetti, Joe Haider, Christoph Grab, for example) and international stars such as Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Mintzer and many others. There have also been numerous festival appearances with the likes of Anat Cohen, Joshua Redman, Joey DeFrancesco, Paquito D’Rivera, Peter Erskine, Roberta Gambarini, Jeff Hamilton, Jamie Cullum, etc.