Rusconi was a Swiss

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

band. It was one of the most successful contemporary representatives of free rock,

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference arise ...

, new improvisational music,

groove Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station * ...

, and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

in Switzerland.

History

Stefan Rusconi Stefan Rusconi (born 14 February 1979) is a Swiss pianist and composer. Work Since 2004, along with Fabian Gisler (bass) and Claudio Strüby (drums), Rusconi is playing with his band Rusconi across the world. So far, they release six record ...

(piano), Claudio Strüby (drums), and Richard Pechota (bass) founded Rusconi in 2001. In 2004, Fabian Gisler succeeded Pechota on the bass. Rusconi issued their first two albums with independent Swiss labels and then got into an agreement with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

Germany which in 2009 issued the album ''One Up Down Left Right''. For all three albums mainly Stefan Rusconi wrote the music. In 2010, they dealt in their album ''It’s a Sonic Life'' with the works of

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth was an American rock band based in New York City, formed in 1981. Founding members Thurston Moore (guitar, vocals), Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar) and Lee Ranaldo (guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of the b ...

. The artwork is made out of video stills by

Pipilotti Rist Pipilotti Elisabeth Rist (born 21 June 1962) is a Swiss visual artist best known for creating experimental video art and installation art. Her work is often described as surreal, intimate, abstract art, having a preoccupation with the female bo ...

. In 2012, Rusconi terminated the agreement with

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

and founded their own label Qilin Records. With this step Rusconi wanted to enable their fans - in the age of free downloads - to support them more directly than it would have been possible with a

major label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

. Rusconi issued their recordings on CD, and partly or exclusively on LP. With their 'Manifest' Rusconi adapted to the changed market situation. * On 2 March 2012, they released the well known album ''Revolution'' for free downloads with

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

. * In parallel, they produced LPs of the last two albums and released them also for free downloads. * Since December 2012, the French label ''BEEJAZZ'' distributes the album ''Revolution'' as CD. * In 2014, the band released the album ''History Sugar Dream'' on their own label Qilin Record *Their Live-album ''Rusconi + Fred Frith - live in Europe was released on'' Qilin Records in 2016. This was also their last album. End of 2017 Rusconi parted by mutual consent. On their website the band thanks everyone for their interest and support over the last 14 years. Rusconi gave concerts in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Czech Republic, Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan and Korea.

Music videos

Rusconi did various video clips for their albums. In 2008, they cooperated for the first time with the Winterthur Movie Collective ''zweihund'' and produced the video clip ''One Up Down Left Right'', which was shown at movie festivals the world over. Rusconi received three awards, e.g. the Audience Award and the Jury Award of the Solothurn Movie Days in 2010. * In 2011, the video clip ''The Destroyed Room'' (also produced by zweihund and Rusconi) received the Jury Award of the Solothurn Movie Days. * In 2013, the newest product of zweihund and Rusconi ''Alice in the sky'' received the award for the 'Best Swiss Video Clip' of the Solothurn Movie Days, m4music and the SUISA Foundation.

Style and influences

Rusconi fused ideas from jazz, rock and pop. Styles and influences reached from the

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

of the electronic music (e.g.

Aphex Twin Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic music, electronic styles such as techno, ambient music, ambient, and jun ...

) to noise rock (e.g.

) and to the stars of pop (

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

Awards

Rusconi are the winners of several awards and rewards. * 2009: Jury Award and Audience Award of the Solothurn Movie Days for the video clip "One up down left right" of ''zweihund'' and ''Rusconi'' * 2010: Jury Award of the Solothurn Movie Days for the video clip ''Destroyed Room'' of ''zweihund'' and ''Rusconi'' * 2010...2012: Support of the foundation

Pro Helvetia The foundation Pro Helvetia is a public foundation of Switzerland. Presidents *From 1939 to 1943, Heinrich Häberlin. *From 1944 to 1952, Paul Lachenal. *From 1952 to 1964, Jean-Rodolphe de Salis. *From 1965 to 1970, Michael Stettler. *From 1971 ...

for Stefan Rusconi and his band ''Rusconi'' within its main scope of jazz promotion * 2013: Jury Award of the Solothurn Movie Days for the video clip "Alice in the sky" of ''zweihund'' and ''Rusconi'' * 2013: Nomination for

Prix Walo The Prix Walo is the most important award in Swiss show business. It is known as the " Swiss Oscar". Awards since 1994 Honorable - Walo - awards * 1983: Charly Fritsche * 1991: Eynar Grabowsky * 1992: Willi Schmidt, First Harmonic Brass Ba ...

(best known Swiss award) as 'Jazz Trio of the year' * 2013: Rusconi is winner of the

Echo Jazz The Echo Jazz (stylized as ECHO JAZZ) was a German music prize, an Echo Music Prize for personalities and production of jazz. It was awarded annually by the between 2010 and 2018. The awards had been given in 30 categories, including ensemble of t ...

Award for 'Best live act 2012'

Discography

* 2004: ''Scenes & Sceneries'' (Brambus Records; als Rusconi Trio) * 2006: ''Stop & Go'' (Unit Records / Sony) * 2009: ''One Up Down Left Right'' (Sony Music Germany) * 2010: ''It's a Sonic Life'' (Sony Music Germany) * 2012: ''Revolution'' (LP Qilin Records; CD BEEJAZZ) * 2013: ''It's A Sonic Life'' (LP Qilin Records) * 2014: ''History Sugar Dream'' (CD, LP Qilin Records)

Bibliography

- Stefan Künzli: ''Rusconi: Ein Schweizer Jazztrio sprengt Grenzen'' (A Swiss Jazz Trio Breaks Boundaries); Sonntag, February 15, 2009

- Franz X.A. Zipperer: ''Rusconi''; Jazzthetik 3/4 2010: 20-21

- Volker Schmidt: ''Tonträger - Auch ohne Kim Gordon gut'' (Sound Carrier - Good Performance Even Without Kim Gordon); ZEIT Online, 2010

- Uely Bernays: ''Der Gewinn der Freiheit - Taufe des Albums 'Revolution (The Winner Of Freedom - Baptism Of The Album 'Revolution'); NZZ, 2012

- Hans Hielscher: ''Schweizer Jazz: Die Groove-Grossmacht'' (Swiss Jazz: A Great Power Of Groove); Spiegel Online; 2013

References

External links

*
Rusconi on discogs

Rusconi's in house label Qilin Records

Rusconi on Sony Music
{{Authority control Swiss jazz ensembles Brambus Records artists Sony Music artists