John Wolf Brennan (born 13 February 1954) is an Irish pianist, organist,

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...

player, and composer based in Weggis,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Career

Brennan was born in

Dublin, Ireland Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. His family moved to

when he was seven years old. He began taking piano lessons at age eleven, played bass guitar in a rock band in 1970, then played keyboards in a jazz-rock band. He studied at the

University of Fribourg The University of Fribourg (; ) is a public university located in Fribourg, Switzerland. The roots of the university can be traced back to 1580, when the notable Jesuit Peter Canisius founded the Collège Saint-Michel in the City of Fribourg ...

(late 1970s), Swiss Jazz School in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

(1975–79), the conservatory in

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

(1979–84), and the Academy of Church and School Music (1985–87). His brother Peter Wolf, a singer, saxophonist, flautist, and oboist, founded the progressive rock band Flame Dream in 1977. During the same year Brennan founded the

free jazz Free jazz, or free form in the early to mid-1970s, is a style of avant-garde jazz or an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventi ...

group Freemprovisations, which included

Peter Schärli Peter Schärli (29 May 1955) is a Swiss jazz trumpeter. Biography When he was ten years old, he started to learn trumpet. He continued his studies at the Lucern jazz school while working as a clerk. He joined the blues band Exodus as a singer ...

. Two years later he formed the band Impetus. From 1980 to 1984, he played in Impetus and the Mohrenkopf Afro-jazz band from 1980 to 1982 in Triumbajo with Ushma Agnes Baumeler and Barni Palm. During the 1980s he also worked with Corin Curschellas, Christy Doran, and

Urs Leimgruber Urs Leimgruber (1 January 1952 in Lucerne) is a Swiss saxophonist. He lived in Paris from 1988 to 2005. Then he came back to his home town, Lucerne. His fields of activity are improvisation, Jazz and 20th-century classical music. Discography ...

. In 1988, he worked in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for six months, then founded the quartet Pago Libre the following year. Early in the 1990s he worked with

Lindsay Cooper Lindsay Cooper (3 March 1951 – 18 September 2013) was an English bassoon and oboe player and composer. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and th ...

, Daniele Patumi, and Tscho Theissing and established the SinFONietta ensemble in 1991. In 1993, he worked with American drummer Alex Cline in the quintet Shooting Stars & Traffic Lights. Russian hornist Arkady Shilkloper joined Pago Libre and recorded the albums ''Pago Libre'' (1996), ''Stepping Out'' (2006), ''PlatzDADA!'' (2008) and ''Fake Folk'' (2009). In 1997, he lived in London and worked with

Julie Tippetts Julie Driscoll Tippett (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress, known for her work with Brian Auger and her husband, Keith Tippett. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's " This Wheel's on F ...

Evan Parker Evan Shaw Parker (born 5 April 1944) is a British tenor and soprano saxophone player who plays free improvisation. Recording and performing prolifically with many collaborators, Parker was a pivotal figure in the development of European free ja ...

, and

Chris Cutler Chris Cutler (born 4 January 1947) is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, N ...

in HeXtet, which set to music poems by

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish Irish poetry, poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is ''Death of a Naturalist'' (1966), his first m ...

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

, and

Theo Dorgan Theo Dorgan is an Irish poet, writer and lecturer, translator, librettist and documentary screenwriter. He lives in Dublin. Life Dorgan was born in Cork in 1953 being the second child born into a family of eight boys and eight girls to par ...

. In 1999 he toured in Finland with

Ivo Perelman Ivo Perelman (born January 12, 1961) is a Brazilian free jazz saxophonist born in São Paulo. Career In his youth, Perelman learned to play guitar, cello, clarinet, trombone, and piano, concentrating on tenor sax since age 19. He attended the Be ...

and worked with

Gianluigi Trovesi Gianluigi Trovesi (born 1944) is an Italian jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He has won various Italian jazz awards. He also teaches in Italy. Early life Trovesi was born in Nembro near Bergamo in Lombardy in 1944. He studied harmony ...

Gianni Coscia Gianni Coscia (born January 23, 1931, in Alessandria) is an Italian jazz accordionist. Originally a lawyer, Coscia began focusing full-time on jazz music. Expresses an interest in developing "the remote values of cultural and popular traditio ...

, and Daniele Patumi in the quartet Euradici. Brennan worked with clarinetist Gene Coleman for the Momentum albums and with Christy Doran and Patrice Heral in the group Triangulation, where he developed "comprovisation", a term he coined in 1989. He released the solo albums ''The Beauty of Fractals'' (1989), ''Pictures in a Gallery'' (2006), and ''The Speed of Dark'' (2009). Following his album ''The Well-Prepared Clavier'' (1998), he developed prepared piano techniques, creating non-electronic sounds such as "arcopiano", "pizzicatopiano", "tamburopiano", and "sordinopiano". In 2010, he created the sound installation "Inner & Outer Spaces" with video artist Susanne Hofer for the Lucerne Art Museum, performing with

Gerry Hemingway Gerry Hemingway (born March 23, 1955) is an American drummer and composer. Hemingway was a member of the Anthony Braxton quartet from 1983 to 1994. He has also performed with Ernst Reijseger, Anthony Davis, Earl Howard, Leo Smith, George E. ...

and Thomas K. J. Mejer. He was in the trio Melos Montis with Hanspeter Wigger and yodel singer Franziska Wigger and in the duo Twinkeys with Esther Flückiger. He formed the band Sonic Roots with Christy Doran, Andreas Gabriel, Marc Halbheer, Heiri Kaenzig, and Marcel Oetiker. In 2012, he collaborated with overtone singer Christian Zehnder and Arkady Shilkloper. During the same year he recorded ''Pilgrims'' with guitarist Marco Jencarelli and percussionist Tony Majdalani. In 2018, he founded the trio SOOON with Majdalani and yodel singer Sonja Morgenegg. Brennan has composed film music, chamber music, and the operas ''Güdelmäntig'' (2004) and ''Night.Shift'' (2007, based on the poem "The Age of Anxiety" by

W. H. Auden Wystan Hugh Auden (; 21 February 1907 – 29 September 1973) was a British-American poet. Auden's poetry is noted for its stylistic and technical achievement, its engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and its variety in tone, ...

). The first volume of his ''Sonic Roots'' series of books (for piano, inspired by Celtic Country Dances) was premiered at the

Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: , FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. The five-day annual event in mid-October is held at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in Frankfurt am ...

in 2010 and published by Pan-Verlag. The second and third (for violin) were published in 2011, the fourth (for clarinet) in 2013, the fifth (for alto saxophone) in 2014. The Percussion Art Ensemble Berne premiered his composition "Oscillating Orbits" in 2013 for marimba, vibraphone, timpani, and percussion featuring violinist Misa Stefanovic. In 2015, the Neues Orchester Basel commissioned "Traumpfade", a piece for orchestra and overtone soloist Christian Zehnder. For the 30-year anniversary of the Zurich James Joyce Foundation he wrote "Winds of May" for soprano and piano based on Joyce's '' Chamber Music IX''. He wrote a hymn for his Swiss hometown, Weggis, called "s'Wäggiser Lied". For the Alpentöne Festival 2017, he composed "Got hard", an alpine jazz suite for wind orchestra, Pago Libre & Friends (released by Leo Records in 2018). In August 2018, the

Tonhalle Orchester Zürich Tonhalle is a German word meaning "tone hall", a concert hall. It may refer to: *Tonhalle Düsseldorf Tonhalle Düsseldorf is a concert hall in Düsseldorf. It was built by the architect Wilhelm Kreis. The resident orchestra, the ''Düsseldorfer ...

performed his work ''Traumpfade'' with soloists Arkady Shilkloper (alphorn) and Christian Zehnder (overtone voice, global yodeling) at the Festival Stubete am See. In 2019, he wrote most of the choir arrangements for the program Inland by the Zurich female choir "die vogelfreien". He composed music for the play ''Fluctus'' and released the albums ''Nevergreens'', ''Cinémagique 2.0'', and ''Youchz''.

Discography

Solo Piano

* 1989: ''The Beauty of Fractals'' ( Creative Works Records) * 1991: ''Iritations'' (Creative Works Records) * 1994: ''Text, Context, Co-Text & Co-Co-Text'' (Creative Works Records) * 1998: ''The Well-Prepared Clavier'' (Creative Works Records) with Marianne Schroeder * 2002: ''Flügel'' (Creative Works Records) * 2006: ''Pictures in a Gallery'' (

Leo Records Leo Records is a British record company and label, founded in 1979, which releases jazz from Russian, American and British musicians. It concentrates on free jazz. This label is different from the Leo Records that was formed by Edward Vesala i ...

) * 2009: ''The Speed of Dark'' (

) * 2012: ''Solopiano'' (iTunes Essentials) * 2017: ''Silly Blooze. In: Twenty Years of New Blues for Piano. Marcel Worms, Piano'' (Zefir Records) * 2019: ''Nevergreens'' (

) * 2021: ''Nitty Gritty Ditties'' (

) with Anna Murphy * 2024: ''Wish you were Hear'' (t.b.a.) (

)

Pago Libre

* 1990: ''Extempora'' ( Splash Records) with Lars Lindvall, Steve Goodman & Daniele Patumi * 1993: ''Shooting Stars and Traffic Lights'' (

) with John Voirol, Tscho Theissing, Daniele Patumi & Alex Cline * 1995: ''Moskau-Petuschki / Felix-Szenen'' (

) with Lars Lindvall, Martin Mayes, Marion Namestnik, Tscho Theissing, Daniele Patumi, Oscar Bingisser & Liana Schwanja * 1996: ''Pago Libre''. (

) with Arkady Shilkloper, Tscho Theissing & Daniele Patumi * 1997: ''Pago Libre: Wake Up Call: Live In Italy'' (

) with Arkady Shilkloper, Tscho Theissing & Daniele Patumi * 2001: ''Pago Libre: Cinémagique''. ( TCB Records) with Arkady Shilkloper, Tscho Theissing & Daniele Patumi * 2003: ''Pago Libre: Phoenix: Live in Salzburg & Zurich'' (

) with Arkady Shilkloper, Tscho Theissing & Daniele Patumi * 2005: ''Pago Libre: Stepping Out'' (Leo Records) with Arkady Shilkloper, Tscho Theissing, Georg Breinschmid * 2008: ''Pago Libre Sextett: platzDADA!'' (Christoph Merian Verlag) with Agnes Heginger, Arkady Shilkloper, Tscho Theissing, Georg Breinschmid & Patrice Héral * 2009: ''Pago Libre: Fake Folk'' (Zappel Music) with Arkady Shilkloper, Tscho Theissing, Georg Breinschmid & Patrice Héral * 2018: ''Pago Libre & Friends: got hard'' (

) with Florian Mayer, Arkady Shilkloper, Tom Götze, Patrice Héral, Christy Doran, Christian Zehnder & dem Alpentöne Blasorchester, Leitung: Michel Truniger * 2019: ''Pago Libre: Cinémagique 2.0'' (

) with Arkady Shilkloper, Tscho Theissing, Daniele Patumi & Georg Breinschmid * 2020: ''Pago Libre Sextet: platzDADA!!'' (remastered). (

) with Agnes Heginger, Arkady Shilkloper, Tscho Theissing, Georg Breinschmid & Patrice Héral * 2020: ''Pago Libre: Mountain Songlines'' (

) with Florian Mayer, Arkady Shilkloper, Tom Götze & Sonja Morgenegg * 2021: ''Pago Libre & Sooon: FriendShip'' (

) with Sonja Morgenegg, Tony Majdalani, Arkady Shilkloper, Florian Mayer & Rätus Flisch * 2022: ''Extempora'' (

) with Lars Lindvall, Steve Goodman & Daniele Patumi * 2024: ''Pago Libre & Sooon: FriendShip - Riffs ahead!'' (

) with Sonja Morgenegg, Tony Majdalani, Arkady Shilkloper, Florian Mayer & Rätus Flisch * 2025: ''Pago Libre: Wild Card. Songs from a Farm'' (

) with Arkady Shilkloper, Florian Mayer & Rätus Flisch

Christy Doran & Triangulation

* 1988: ''Henceforward'' (Core Records) with Christy Doran * 1995: ''Henceforward'' (

) with Christy Doran * 2004: ''Triangulation'' (

) with Christy Doran & Patrice Héral * 2010: ''Whirligigs'' (

) with Bruno Amstad, Christy Doran & Patrice Héral * 2018: ''Pago Libre & Friends: got hard'' (

) with Florian Mayer, Arkady Shilkloper, Tom Götze, Patrice Héral, Christy Doran, Christian Zehnder & dem Alpentöne Blasorchester, Leitung: Michel Truniger

Pilgrims, SOOON

* 2013: ''Pilgrims'' (

) with Tony Majdalani & Marco Jencarelli * 2017: ''Pilgrims: Oriental Orbit'' (

) with Tony Majdalani & Marco Jencarelli * 2019: ''SOOON: YouCHz Now'' (Narrenschiff) with Sonja Morgenegg & Tony Majdalani * 2024: ''Pilgrims in Trance it'' (Narrenschiff) with Tony Majdalani & Marco Jencarelli

Momentum

* 1999: ''Momentum'' (

) with Gene Coleman & Christian Wolfarth * 2000: ''Momentum 2 – The Law of Refraction'' (

) with Gene Coleman, Alfred Zimmerlin & Christian Wolfarth * 2002: ''Momentum 3'' (

) with Bertrand Denzler, Christian Weber & Christian Wolfarth * 2005: ''Momentum 4 – Rising Fall'' (

) with Gene Coleman, Thomas Mejer & Marc Unternährer

Urs Leimgruber

* 1986: ''Mountain Hymn'' (

Bellaphon Records Bellaphon Records is an independent German record label of Bellaphon records GmbH. The label produces its own artists and distributes those of other labels. Recording artists * Johnny Cash * The Flippers * Ganymed * Geordie * Joan Jett & t ...

) with

* 1988: ''An Chara'' (Bellaphon Records) with

* 1989: ''Polyphyllum'' (Bellaphon Records) with

* 1990: ''M.A.P. (Music for Another Planet)'' (Bellaphon Records) with

Norma Winstone Norma Ann Winstone MBE (born 23 September 1941) is an English jazz singer and lyricist. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is best known for her contributions to improvised vocal music. Musicians with whom she has worked include ...

und

* 1991: ''Live at Montreux ’89'' (B&W Music) with

* 1992: ''Blue Jazz – Live at Montreux'' (B&W Music) with

Daniele Patumi

* 1993: ''TEN ZENtences'' (Bellaphon Records) with Daniele Patumi * 1997: ''Aurealis'' (Les Disques Victo) with Robert Dick & Daniele Patumi * 2002: ''Time Jumps – Space cracks'' (Leo Records) with Daniele Patumi

Various

* 1979: ''Opening Seed'' (Zytglogge) with Agnes Ushma Baumeler, Mark Zingg, Bianca Medici & Fausto Medici * 1980: ''Celtic Country Dances'' (Bimbo Records) with Agnes Ushma Baumeler * 1981: ''Triumbajo'' (Bimbo Records) with Agnes Ushma Baumeler & Barni Palm * 1983: ''Down to Earth'' ( Plainisphare) with Marco Käppeli, Ushma Agnes Baumeler, Thomas Dürst & Jürg Burkhard * 1988: ''Entupadas'' (Creative Works Records) with Corin Curschellas * 1993: ''Willisau live and more'' (Creative Works Records) with Creative Works Orchestra (

e.a.) * 1994: ''OrganIC VoICes'' (

) with Gabriele Hasler,

& Christian Muthspiel * 1998: ''HeXtet: Through the Ear of a Raindrop'' (

) with

Julie Driscoll Julie Driscoll Tippett (born 8 June 1947) is an English singer and actress, known for her work with Brian Auger and her husband, Keith Tippett. Career Driscoll is known for her 1960s versions of Bob Dylan and Rick Danko's " This Wheel's on F ...

, Paul Rutherford,

& Peter Whyman * 1999: ''Minute Age'' (For4ears Records) with Margrit Rieben & Reto Senn * 1999: ''Nisajo'' ( FMR Records) with Nicky Heinen & Alexander Alexandrov * 2000: ''Pipelines'' (

) with Hans Kennel * 2000: ''Entropology – The Science of Sonic Poetry'' (For4Ears Records) with

Eddie Prévost Edwin John Prévost (born 22 June 1942) is an English percussionist who founded the free improvisation group, AMM. Early years Of Huguenot heritage, Prévost's silk weaving ancestors moved to Spitalfields in the late 17th century. He was born ...

& Simon Picard * 2002: ''Broken Dreams live'' (Creative Works Records) with Alexandra Prusa, Hans Kennel & Marc Unternährer * 2003: ''klanggang'' (Creative Works Records) * 2003: ''Glockenspiel'' (Altrisuoni Records) * 2003: ''Zero Heroes'' (

) with

Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, and actress whose career spanned seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local r ...

& Dylan van der Schyff * 2004: ''Pipelines – Live at Lucerne Festival'' (Creative Works Records) with Hans Kennel & Marc Unternährer * 2004: ''I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S.'' (Creative Works Records) with Urs Blöchlinger,

, Steve Argüelles, Christy Doran,

, Marco Käppeli e.a. * 2004: ''Sculpted Sound'' (Altrisuoni Records) with Magda Vogel, Charlotte Hug, Shirley Anne Hofmann,

Eugen Gomringer Eugen Gomringer (born 20 January 1925 in Cachuela Esperanza, Bolivia) is a Bolivian-born Swiss concrete poet. He is head of the Institut für Konstruktive Kunst und Konkrete Poesie (IKKP) in Rehau, Germany. Between 1977 and 1990, he was a profe ...

& Christian Wolfarth * 2007: ''Broken Dreams: Hommage an Sophie Taeuber-Arp (Narrenschiff)'' with Alexandra Prusa & Peter Gossweiler * 2007: ''Mein liebstes Krokodil'': after Anton Chekhov The Lady with the little Dog and letters to and from Olga Knipper (Christoph Merian Verlag) with

Thomas Hürlimann Thomas Hürlimann (born 21 December 1950) is a Swiss playwright and novelist. Biography Hürlimann was born in Zug, Switzerland. He is a son of the former government and federal councilor (Minister) Hans Hürlimann. He studied philosophy in Züri ...

& Arkady Shilkloper * 2008: ''Jodel Vol. 1'' (Mülirad Verlag Altdorf) with Nadja Räss & Franziska Wigger * 2009: ''Klick, klick, ihr Sätzlinge'' (Christoph Merian Verlag) with Eveline Hasler * 2012: ''POYA'' (edition therme vals) with Daniel Mezger * 2012: ''Tarkus & Other Love Stories'' (

) Piano-Duo TwinKeys (Esther Flückiger & John Wolf Brennan) * 2014: ''Dehei nöd dehei'' (Trio Zehnder/Brennan/Shilkloper) with Christian Zehnder & Arkady Shilkloper * 2016: ''MODE'' (Naturton 1986–2016) with Gérard Widmer, Fujara & Willi Grimm, Didjeridu * 2016: ''Echo. Von der Suche nach Widerhall.'' Feature by Bettina Mittelstrass, with Christian Zehnder & John Wolf Brennan. Featureprice 2016 (Christoph Merian Verlag) * 2023: ''Klanglabor feat. John Wolf Brennan'' (Vinyl; Little Big Beat) with Arno Oehri, Denise Kronabitter & Marco Sele * 2024: ''Percussion Art Ensemble Bern & Misa Stefanovic: Grenzgänger'' Works by

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as a founding member of the English avant-rock group Henry ...

, John Wolf Brennan & Siegfried Kutterer * 2025: ''Night in Gale'' (Leo Records) with Arkady Shilkloper, Christian Zehnder & Marcello Wick

Groupe Lacroix

* 1997: ''The Composer Group'' (Creative Works Records) with Moscow Rachmaninov Trio * 1999: ''Arpiade (edition edex)'' with Barbara Sutter, Béatrice Wolf & Michael Wolf * 2003: '' 8 Pieces on Paul Klee'' (Creative Works Records) with Ensemble Sortisatio Leipzig

References

* John Wolf Brennanat Allmusic *Simon Adams, "John Wolf Brennan". ''Grove Jazz'' online. *Richard Cook & Brian Morton, ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' (8th edition). London 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, John Wolf 1954 births Living people 20th-century classical composers 20th-century Irish male musicians 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century Irish male musicians Irish classical composers Swiss classical pianists Swiss jazz musicians Swiss male classical composers Swiss opera composers Leo Records artists Male classical pianists Male jazz musicians Male opera composers Irish emigrants to Switzerland 20th-century Swiss composers