BÄNZ OESTER - TOGETHER (ch/se/usa)
Open, breathing sound worlds, carried by the spirit of Spiritual Jazz
Many great jazz musicians have relied on his bass foundations and musicality. BÄNZ OESTER has worked with people like Dewey Redman, Joe Lovano, Michael Brecker, Ray Anderson, Ellery Eskelin, and Chris Potter. In Switzerland, he has been one of the most sought-after bassists for over 30 years. His playing is never merely accompaniment – it is attitude, sound, and narrative at the same time, a calm center from which everything can unfold.
After 13 years with his Rainmakers, Oester is now opening a new chapter: TOGETHER. Joining him are longtime companion Malcolm Braff on piano, as well as two distinctive voices from the Jazzcampus Basel – guitarist Albin Ormegard from Sweden and drummer Genius Wesley from the USA. Four strong personalities who pool their strengths to create something independent.
The music of this band breathes expansiveness. It moves in generous, organic arcs of tension, allowing space for groove and melody, for intuition and spontaneous twists. At times dense and pulsating, at other times floating and open – always with the feeling that behind the next musical curve, another surprise awaits. It grooves, it sings, it revels.
TOGETHER connects to a tradition that has become rare today: the spirit of Spiritual Jazz. Not as a nostalgic look back, but as a vibrant practice. While much contemporary jazz focuses on complexity, structure, and technical perfection, this band relies on something different: energy, connection, expression. Virtuosity here is not an end in itself, but a means to unleash emotion, to tell stories, to transcend.
Their music speaks of freedom and resistance, of a longing for transcendence, of humanity in an increasingly controlled world. It does not seek the flawless form, but the genuine moment. The musicians do not just play their instruments – they become the sound, entirely in the now, immediate and present.
What emerges from this is a sound with pull: warm, powerful, and open-hearted. One that does not constrict, but connects. One that blossoms – and takes everything around it along.
Doors open at 7 PM // Please use public transportation for your visit with us if possible. Thank you!
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
