Samuel Blaser

Samuel Blaser, the trombonist born in Switzerland, has established an international reputation as a jazz bandleader through his powerful tone, which merges blues inflections with exploratory harmonic ideas. Emerging during the early years of the 2000s, he demonstrated a talent for vigorous post-bop playing that already pointed toward bolder directions on his first quartet recording, 7th Heaven, issued in 2008. Recognition from established innovators soon followed, including drummer Paul Motian, who participated in the 2010 session Consort in Motion, and drummer Gerry Hemingway, featured on the 2013 release A Mirror to Machaut. Persistent in his pursuit of broader horizons, Blaser has sought partnerships with similarly inclined musicians of his generation, among them bassist Thomas Morgan, drummer Gerald Cleaver, and pianist Benoit Delbecq.

Born in 1981 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Blaser absorbed an array of musical influences while growing up with his two siblings, ranging from local Swiss folk traditions and classical repertoire to American jazz and R&B. Trombone instruction began for him at age nine, and during adolescence he refined his technique at the La Chaux-de-Fonds Conservatory, where he distinguished himself in both jazz and classical studies, receiving several honors that included the Benny Golson Prize in 2000. After completing his studies in 2002, he became a member of the Vienna Art Orchestra and the European Radio Big Band, affiliations that paved the way for a Fulbright scholarship enabling further training at New York’s Purchase College Conservatory of Music. Additional distinctions came during this period, notably the J.J. Johnson Prize. In 2006 he journeyed back to Europe and earned both the Public Prize and the Jury’s Favorite Player award at the Fribourg Jazz Festival. It was on this visit that he captured his debut album, 7th Heaven, produced that same year in Switzerland with guitarist Scott DuBois, bassist Thomas Morgan, and drummer Gerald Cleaver. Also in 2006 he collaborated with keyboardist Malcolm Braff on the duo project Yay. The following year he issued the unaccompanied trombone recording Solo Bone.

While based in New York City, he delivered his second quartet effort, Pieces of the Old Sky, in 2009, again with bassist Morgan alongside guitarist Todd Neufeld and drummer Tyshawn Sorey. Additional undertakings involved pianist Hal Galper, drummer John Hollenbeck, percussionist Pierre Favre, and saxophonist Michael Blake. In 2010 he turned to music by Renaissance and Baroque composers, documenting the results in a quartet format with Paul Motian, bassist Drew Gress, and pianist Russ Lossing on Consort in Motion, released the next year and among the final recordings by the renowned Motian.

Subsequent small-group projects included Boundless in 2011 and As the Sea in 2012, both featuring Blaser’s quartet alongside guitarist Marc Ducret, bassist Baenz Oester, and drummer Cleaver. He also rejoined saxophonist Blake for the 2012 quintet date One from None. The Consort in Motion group reconvened for A Mirror to Machaut in 2013, with percussionist Gerry Hemingway replacing Motian; Hemingway likewise appeared on the 2013 trio album Fourth Landscape alongside pianist Benoit Delbecq.

Spring Rain, another quartet album, arrived in 2015 with drummer Cleaver, pianist Lossing, and bassist Gress. Around this period Blaser moved to Berlin, remaining active through European tours and recordings such as the 2018 duo project Oostum with Gerry Hemingway. That same year he participated in Aquarelle with Serbia’s Big Band RTS and formed a trio with guitarist Marc Ducret and drummer Peter Bruun for Taktlos Zurich 2017. Also in 2018 he released Early in the Mornin’, recorded with his trio of pianist Lossing, bassist Masa Kamaguchi, and drummer Hemingway, plus contributions from saxophonist Oliver Lake and trumpeter Wallace Roney.