Bruno Spoerri

Bruno Spoerri Alexander ( born August 16, 1935 in Zurich ) is one of the most important figures in jazz and electronic music in Switzerland.

Life and work

After studying in Basel (including with Karl Barth and Karl Jaspers ) and Zurich in 1958, he earned a degree in Applied Psychology. He played as a student as a saxophonist in various jazz groups (including the Francis Notz Septet ), already toured in 1956 with the Modern Jazz Group Freiburg Germany and belonged from 1957 to 1975 for Metronome Quintet.

In the early 1960s he worked as a psychologist and career counselor, but played in the free time at the quintet of Remo Rau and Hans Kennel. In 1964 he wrote the music for a commercial; also he created on behalf of companies numerous advertising music, were integrated into the concrete sounds from the premises. After he had attended the Cologne Courses for New Music 1965/66 and involved in the music for the thriller The Strangler of the Tower, he lived since 1967 as a freelance composer and sound engineer. Early experiments with electrified saxophone, effects devices, the Ondes Martenot and self-built sound converters since 1968 and with the EMS VCS 3 synthesizer since 1970 led him further and further into the world of electronic music; in the group Brainticket he worked with Hans Deyssenroth. In 1978 he made his album Voice of Taurus. In his Jazz Rock Experience, and later with Peaches and Waves, or electrical tape also came together jazz and electronics. With Joël Vandroogenbroeck he made an electronic Improvisationsduo.

Spoerri was music director of the Zurich Jazz Festival 1971-1973 from 1975 to 1977. Introducing George Gruntz and Tony Oxley, he toured in a trio. He also played with jazz greats such as Clark Terry, Albert Mangelsdorff, Lee Konitz, Lauren Newton, Reto Weber and Ernst Reijseger. Tours led, inter alia, to Japan, India and Ethiopia. In addition, he created music for advertising and feature films (including Thaw by Markus Imhoof, Teddy Bear by Rolf Lyssy, The Congress of Penguins of HU Smurf ) and also dealt extensively with the history of jazz in Switzerland, most recently as publisher of the work Jazz in Switzerland. History and Stories ( Chronos -Verlag, Zurich 2005). He also wrote children's songs, twenty published in 1976 sung by Bill Ramsey on a double album. Although he was one of the first electronics in music, but musicians has always remained in the first place; the machines have always had only a supporting role. Today he is working on interactive systems that give him the opportunity to interact with its devices in musical communication.

He worked as a lecturer at the Zurich School of Music for Computer Music and at the Musikhochschule Luzern.

Discography (selection)

  • Jazz-Rock Experience ( Deram, 1970)
  • Lucky ball ( Finders Keepers Records, 1971-1980 )
  • Container (1976)
  • Voice of Taurus ( Gold Records / inzec 1978)
  • Ax By Cz D = 0 ( 1983)
  • Zurich Tenors with Ernst Gerber, Fernando Fantini, Richard Lipiec, Umberto Foletti, Rolf Cizmek, Hans Brunner (FFO 1983)
  • Shake, Shuttle and Blow. Albert Mangelsdorff - Bruno Spoerri - Christy Doran - Reto Weber. ( Enja, 1999)

Prizes and awards

  • Jazz Festival Zurich 1954: first prize for saxophone and tape
  • Jazz Festival Dusseldorf ( Germany ) 1956: Second Prize for alto saxophone with the Modern Jazz Group Freiburg ( second prize )
  • Jazz Festival Zurich 1958: First prize for big band
  • International Advertising Film Festival Cannes 1965: First Prize for the TV spot Bic (production Televico )
  • American TV and Radio Commercials Festival 1971: Clio for the TV spot Riri
  • 1973 Film Award of the City of Zurich
  • 1979 First Prize at Ars Electronica Linz for the demonstration of Lyricon
  • 1992 Featured Guest Composer at the International Computer Music Conference San José
  • Various awards of commercials by the Art Directors ' Club Switzerland
  • Art Prize 2004, the town of zollikon ( rear master - Gyger Foundation)
Bill Ramsey (singer) Enja Records Integrated Authority File
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