Focusyear Band: AFTER THIS

Europewide unique: Under the artistic direction of Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel, six jazz musicians and two jazz musicians, selected by a specialist jury from applications submitted worldwide for the Focusyear at the Jazzcampus, come together to dedicate themselves intensively to music for an entire year with a scholarship alongside the Focusyear Band.

The selected musicians demonstrate the professionalism of this music project with multifaceted harmonies, sophisticated melodies, and layered soundscapes. The compositions are marked by virtuosic solos of individual instruments and their fusion into a colorful sonic landscape, immersing the listener in the world of modern jazz. As the kickoff to this annual project, the Focusyear Band has thus created a comprehensive work at the highest level.

The band is regularly coached by luminaries such as Adrian Mears, Steve Swallow, Guillermo Klein, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Django Bates, Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier, Mark Turner, Gwilym Simcock, Theo Bleckmann, Joshua Redman, Dave Holland, Wolfgang Muthspiel, or Avishai Cohen. Throughout the year, the Focusyear Band has developed several programs, which are regularly performed and recorded in the studio. The results of the project are presented internationally in clubs and through festival concerts.

Trumpeter Sergio Wagner was born in the province of Buenos Aires in 1988 and studied at the "Manuel de Falla Conservatoire" in the capital of Argentina. Paco Andreo, who plays the trombone and originally hails from Lyon, studied in Chambéry and Paris and played in the "Unit-Band 2016" at the Frauenfeld Festival's "Generations". Singer Yumi Ito was also part of the aforementioned band. She was born in Basel in 1990 and raised in Zurich. She completed her master's degree in 2017 at the Jazzcampus of the University of Music/FHNW. Enrique Oliver was born in Màlaga in 1985 and can be heard on saxophone on over 30 albums, with artists such as Jorge Rossy and Perico Sambeat. Polish guitarist Szymon Mika completed his master's degree in 2017 at the Music Academy in Katowice and now lives in Basel. Olga Konkova plays the piano; she was born in Moscow in 1969 and studied there before transferring to Berklee College. Since studying at Berklee College, she has been living in Norway. Bassist and composer Danny Ziemann began working as a freelance musician at the age of 16 and now teaches in Rochester, N.Y. After completing his studies in London at Berklee College, Hungarian drummer Marton Julasz was awarded "Drummer of the Year" in the JazzMa online reader survey in 2014 and 2015.

For further information, visit: www.focusyearbasel.com