Name: Christoph Irniger
Nationality: Swiss
Occupation: Saxophonist, composer, improviser, band leader
Current release: Christoph Irniger's new live album Human Intelligence is out via Intakt.
Recommendations für Zurich, Switzerland: You should come on a sunny and warm day and go to swim in the bathing facility "Unterer Letten" in the Limmat river. Where in the world can you swim, in the middle of a big city, in a river with a water quality which you can almost drink? ;-)
Topic I am passionate about but rarely get to talk about: I am super passionate about playing Ice Hockey. In the winter times I train twice a week, play games and for fun whenever I can. It's a very intense and fast sport, where you need a lot of skill and creativity.

If you enjoyed this Christoph Irniger interview and would like to know more about his music, visit his official homepage. He is also on Facebook, and bandcamp.  



What were some of the musical experiences which planted a seed for your interest in jazz?

Probably the main reason I got into Jazz was my second saxophone teacher, with whom I studied from the age of 15 till 20. This guy was a young cat, who had just started studying at university and introduced me to the great American Songbook and improvisation.

At the same time, I started playing in a Funk band with some friends and dove into the world of this music, mostly inspired by Maceo Parker, Tower of Power and Mandrill to name a few. I started checking out saxophone players that were stylistically rooted in both worlds, such as Michael Brecker, Bob Berg, Joe Farrell, etc.

The deep love for “classic” jazz came – as I remember – after reading a magazine (DU Magazin: Giant Steps) about the history of the tenor saxophone. In this magazine, there were recording recommendations to check out which I bought mostly and fell in love with.

What does the term jazz mean today, would you say?

To me Jazz is more about how you play, than what you play.

For me it is much more a way of making music, than it represents a particular sound or content, and I think it always processed the music of its time, using composition, interpretation and of course improvisation.

As of today, what kind of materials, ideas, and technologies are particularly stimulating for you?

Out of many things, one very important part for my creativity and main idea is trying to be open for anything all the time (“Zero Gravity,” as Wayne Shorter used to say). Hunting and gathering, not only on a musical or/and technical level, but also in every aspect of what life gives and not judging right away - which is the same as in the concept of mindfulness - because it could close some doors, where fun could lie.

Of course, there comes a point where you must define or decide which way to go, what should be said and what not. But there is no right / stimulating or wrong / repulsive, but just more or less tension / fit, which you can also refer to as musical language (melody, harmony, rhythm, etc.).

Besides practising my instrument and composing (which is a mussel I am trying to train regularly) I find a lot of ideas to cultivate my creativity by watching interviews (what is maybe one of the positive things that came up more since Covid). It is often more a certain idea, than a technical tool, which helps bringing all the things you practise to the point.

Many times, when artists talk about their creative process, I catch up a phrase, which immediately help to sort things out an bring clarity and glue between the parts, what results in a way of improvising, personal language or a new composition.

Some of my favourite Channels are Pablo Held and Rick Beato.

Where do most of your inspirations to create come from – rather from internal impulses or external ones? Which current social / political / ecological or other developments make you feel like you need to respond as an artist?

Rather from internal impulses, which are basically a combination of the joy of playing the saxophone, composing or making music in general - as way of artistic expression, as also the pure craftmanship - and the social environment that music and Jazz is taking place.

I don't see my music as a response to a certain development and more as a tool to bring people together and build a community. I am not a big talker and don't see myself as someone to change the world, but I see the work in the community on a smaller scale as essential for the good and I am trying to do what I can.

Music has become a lot more global, and incorporating elements from other parts of the world or the musical spectrum is commonplace. Do you still think there are city scenes with a distinct, unique sound? How does your local scene influence your work?

There are definitively scenes with a distinct and unique sound, like New York or Berlin. As in language in general, there are also in music different ways of pronunciation, dialect and/or slang.

I do think also that musicians around the world tend to focus on different things in music, based on their social environment. There is music that comes either more extroverted or introverted, is more concerned with the details or serves the big picture, has more pocket or is more open.

I am glad to have had the opportunity again and again to stay and travel in different places of the world to get inspiration and live in a quieter place - like Zurich - on the other hand, which gives me space to process everything.

Also, because I have a family with kids and it is my home, it always felt a good place to be.

What role do electronic tools and instruments play for your creative process?

For 10 years I was part of the progressive jazz-rock group "Cowboys from Hell" where I used a lot of FX pedals.

I did not use any electronics in my setup ever since and don't plan to do that soon. I am more interested in acoustic sounds, using multiple instruments, such as different saxophones, clarinets, the flute and percussion.



For composing I use recording and notation software.

Thanks to technological advances, collaboration has become a lot easier. What have been some of the most fruitful collaborations for you recently and what approaches to and modes of collaboration currently seem best to you?

I am old-school on that. Working together as a band or group of present people is a main aspect of making music for me!

Jazz has always had an interesting relationship between honouring its roots and exploring the unknown. What does the balance between these two poles look like in your music?

Jazz not only assimilates the music of its time, but also the life of an artist in their music, using interpretation, improvisation and composition.

I never wanted to limit myself to "just" being a good craftsman, I wanted to be an original improviser, composer and bandleader. Because of that I guess I was exploring the unknown automatically, using the tools that I learned from studying the history of Jazz. The outcome is an assimilation of music or sounds I was hearing during my life consciously or unconsciously, which includes mostly any style of music - in a so-called jazz context of course.

Like any other language, I think Jazz is not only a certain content, it is also about how to connect and shape it. The originality, the personal expression is something you must find by yourself as a human being, exploring not only Jazz but also many other things in life.

How much potential for something “new” is there still in jazz? What could this “new” look like?

I think the term "new" is totally overrated and more a label to sell something. I think what really matters is originality, authenticity and/or honesty.

If I think about what really touches people and/or is successful these days, I could not think of anything totally "new", but original, authentic and/or honest.

For many artists, life-changing musical experiences take place live. How do you see that yourself?

I totally agree with that. The studio situation for me is always connected with a lot of stress. The magic happens on stage, when you catch the good wave and forget everything around you, when the music plays you!

For me it is also always related with communicating with people, such as the bandmates as also the audience. I've witnessed this as musician, as also as listener!

How, would you say are your live performances and your recording projects connected at the moment? How do they mutually influence and feed off each other?  

The most current example for that is the new album Human Intelligence Live by my band Pilgrim, where both things come together.

The album is a complete live concert at Red Horn District in Bad Meinberg (Germany). It is the complete set (without encore) from beginning to the end. There are no changes in the order of the pieces and only minimal edits.

The power of this live album lies in the fact, that the listener can hear how things evolve, how composition melts into improvisation (and vice versa), how the music processes through different stages of emotions.

Ímprovisation is obviously an essential element of jazz, but I would assume that just like composition, it is transforming. How do you feel has the role of improvisation changed in jazz?

I don't know if improvisation is transforming in a general way, since it is not a content, but a way of approaching or mastering a situation. The content is changing, which is assimilated in jazz, so the music sounds different.

The approach of improvisation, used sometimes more or less, allowing more or less tension, is the same, I guess.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to improvisation?

It depends on the context, but I try to be open to anything at any time. For me it does not make sense to go too far out in a straight-ahead context and at the same time, I want to allow any note to be a possible choice in any moment.

There is a great analogy which I found in an interview with Victor Wooten, where he draws the line - again - to language: When we speak, we are not thinking. As babies we start to hear it, then we learn the words, start to speak, imitate and later learn how to connect them (grammar), extended techniques and how to use them to express ourselves.

It's the same with improvisation: I try to fill my backpack with all the tools, learn the repertoire, etc. and in the moment, I just try to play and not think.

Are there approaches, artists, festivals, labels, spaces or anyone/-thing else out there who you feel deserve a shout out for taking jazz into the future?

Of course, I like to mention my label Intakt Records from Zurich, which has a unique catalogue of both international and national artists.

The Montreux Festival intends to preserve its archive of recordings for future generations. Do you personally feels it's important that everything should remain available forever - or is there something to be said for letting beautiful moments pass and linger in the memories of those that experienced them?

Both are true.

I never saw Trane live. I can never image how it really felt, but at the same time: what would we do without all the Jazz records?