Biography
Peter Schärli ranks among Europe’s most distinctive trumpet and flügelhorn voices to surface after 1980. His career path reveals a dedicated musician who favored enduring partnerships with a tight circle of compatible players. Onstage he consistently privileges expressive depth rather than technical display.
He first took up the trumpet at ten and turned professional at twenty-three. From that point he concentrated on a single evolving project that he continued to shape across decades. The foundation was laid in 1982 with a trio completed by bassist Thomas Dürst and drummer Marco Kappeli. Two years later guitarist Giancarlo Nicolai and reedist Hans Koch were brought in. In 1986 Roland Philipp took Hans Koch’s place; shortly afterward trombonist Glenn Ferris entered, expanding the group to a sextet. The lineup held steady and maintained a steady recording schedule until 1994, when Schärli reconfigured the ensemble to accommodate fresh compositional directions. Glenn Ferris and Thomas Dürst stayed on, while pianist Hans Feigenwinter, drummer Beatrice Graf, and French horn player Tom Varner joined. In this revised formation the band produced two of Schärli’s most significant recordings, Blues for the Beast and Guilty.
Alongside the main group he initiated two additional ventures: Don’t Change Your Hair for Me, featuring vocalist Sandy Patton, and Peter Schärli Special Choice. In 2001 he formed yet another project with fellow trumpeter and Lucerne Jazz School colleague Lars Lindvall. He has also devoted considerable energy to theater scores and film soundtracks while contributing as sideman or co-leader alongside Donat Fisch, Rick Margitza, Co Streiff, Christy Doran, Johannes Bauer, and Hans Poppel.
He first took up the trumpet at ten and turned professional at twenty-three. From that point he concentrated on a single evolving project that he continued to shape across decades. The foundation was laid in 1982 with a trio completed by bassist Thomas Dürst and drummer Marco Kappeli. Two years later guitarist Giancarlo Nicolai and reedist Hans Koch were brought in. In 1986 Roland Philipp took Hans Koch’s place; shortly afterward trombonist Glenn Ferris entered, expanding the group to a sextet. The lineup held steady and maintained a steady recording schedule until 1994, when Schärli reconfigured the ensemble to accommodate fresh compositional directions. Glenn Ferris and Thomas Dürst stayed on, while pianist Hans Feigenwinter, drummer Beatrice Graf, and French horn player Tom Varner joined. In this revised formation the band produced two of Schärli’s most significant recordings, Blues for the Beast and Guilty.
Alongside the main group he initiated two additional ventures: Don’t Change Your Hair for Me, featuring vocalist Sandy Patton, and Peter Schärli Special Choice. In 2001 he formed yet another project with fellow trumpeter and Lucerne Jazz School colleague Lars Lindvall. He has also devoted considerable energy to theater scores and film soundtracks while contributing as sideman or co-leader alongside Donat Fisch, Rick Margitza, Co Streiff, Christy Doran, Johannes Bauer, and Hans Poppel.
Albums
Live
