Samuel Blaser

At a time when more musicians are trying to be heard than ever before, rare gems like Samuel Blaser seem paradoxically, rise above it all. Since his 2007 debut as a leader, 7th Heaven (Between the Lines), Blaser has grown at an almost incomprehensible rate, from a straight-ahead hard bopper in his mid-twenties to an innovative free player and ever-searching composer and bandleader in his early thirties - one whose improvisational strength has received high praise from the media world over.

Born and raised in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Blaser lived in New York City for many years before relocating to Berlin, where he currently resides. He began trombone lessons at the age of 9, and his early interests ranged from Swiss folk music to American R&B and jazz. He entered the local conservatory at 14 and graduated in 2002 after being awarded prizes in both the jazz and classical spheres, including the 2000 Benny Golson Prize. Participation in the heralded Vienna Art Orchestra and European Radio Big Band eventually led to a Fullbright Scholarship, facilitating studies in the United States at the SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Music. A year later, Samuel won the J.J. Johnson Prize in 2006.

In his relatively short career, Blaser has worked with Swiss percussion legend Pierre Favre, pianist Hal Galper, drummer John Hollenbeck, saxophonist Michael Blake and François Houle's 5+1 group; he has worked closely with Grammy Award winning producer Robert Sadin and most recently with Billy Mintz.

2015 will see Blaser touring with two trios: one with guitarist Marc Ducret featuring Danish drummer Peter Bruun and the other with French pianist Benoit Delbecq and American drummer Gerry Hemingway. As of November, Blaser is back on the road with his original quartet to promote his new album Spring Rain (Whirlwind Recordings) an homage to Jimmy Giuffre, with Russ Lossing on piano, Drew Gress on bass and drummer Gerald Cleaver.
Born and raised in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, Blaser lived in New York City for considerable time before relocating to Berlin, where he currently resides. 2013 will be a busy year for the trombonist, as he tours with two new trios: one that, in addition to Ducret, will also feature Danish drummer Peter Bruun; and a second with French pianist Benoit Delbecq and American drummer Gerry Hemingway. Blaser will also reunite his Consort in Motion (Kind of Blue, 2011) group with pianist Russ Lossing, Belgian reed player Joachim Badenhorst, bassist Drew Gress and Hemingway, replacing the late Paul Motian from the recording. Between recording and touring with his own groups and collaborating in other leaders' ensembles, Blaser's career continues on an upward trajectory that seems to have no end in sight.