Peter Giger is a Swiss percussionist and bandleader

Bandleader

A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....

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His musical CV

1958 professional musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

, tours in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 with the Tremble Kids, Oskar Klein, Albert Nicholas, Bill Coleman, Joe Turner, Wild Bill Davison, Peanuts Holland

1960 after short guest performance with Armand Gordons Ragtime Band, moves to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

: Bill Coleman, Stéphane Grapelli, Memphis Slim

Memphis Slim

Memphis Slim was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other...

 a. o.

1961 Claude Bolling

Claude Bolling

Claude Bolling , is a renowned French jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and occasional actor.He was born in Cannes, studied at the Nice Conservatory, then in Paris. A child prodigy, by age 14 he was playing jazz piano professionally, with Lionel Hampton, Roy Eldridge, and Kenny Clarke...

 Sextet / Big Band

Big band

A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...

1963 LP-recordings with Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...

, Billy Strayhorn

Billy Strayhorn

William Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...

, Alice Babs

Alice Babs

Alice Babs is a singer and actor from Kalmar in Sweden. While she has worked in a wide number of genres - e.g. Swedish folklore, Elizabethan songs and opera - she is best known internationally as a jazz singer...

, Tour with Beryl Bryden

Beryl Bryden

Beryl Audley Bryden was an English jazz singer, who played with Chris Barber and Lonnie Donegan. Ella Fitzgerald once said of Bryden that she was "Britain's queen of the blues".-Life and career:...

, Diz Dizzley and Johnny Parker in Malaysia and Sarawak

Sarawak

Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

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1964 with tap dancer Harold Nicholas

Harold Nicholas

Harold Lloyd Nicholas was an American dancer specializing in tap. He was the younger half of the world famous tap dancing pair the Nicholas Brothers, known as two of the world's greatest dancers. His older brother was Fayard Nicholas...

, Renè Urtreger

1965-68 studio-musician in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, again with Claude Bolling

Claude Bolling

Claude Bolling , is a renowned French jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and occasional actor.He was born in Cannes, studied at the Nice Conservatory, then in Paris. A child prodigy, by age 14 he was playing jazz piano professionally, with Lionel Hampton, Roy Eldridge, and Kenny Clarke...

1969 moves back to Berne

Berne

The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...

. “FOUR FOR JAZZ”, Heinz Bigler, Isla Eckinger, Joe Haider, Gerd Dudek, Benny Bailey. Co-founder of the Swiss Jazz School

1970 Initiator of the first international Jazz Clinic in Wengen

Wengen

Wengen may refer to:*Wengen, a village and winter resort in Switzerland*La Val, a commune in South Tyrol, Italy with the German name "Wengen"*in Germany:**Wengen , a village in the municipality of Nennslingen in Mittelfranken...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

1972 moves to Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

 / M., Albert Mangelsdorff

Albert Mangelsdorff

Albert Mangelsdorff was one of the most accredited and innovative trombonists of modern jazz who became famous for his distinctive technique of playing multiphonics.-Biography:...

 Quintett, until 1977 tours in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Near East

Near East

The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...

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1973 publication of his “neuen schlagzeugschule” Vol. I (out of print)

1975 solo percussion LP: “family of percussion”. Founds Label “nagara-records”

1976 trio “Giger-Lenz-Marron”. Initiator and director of the first percussion-course in Weikersheim

Weikersheim

Weikersheim is a town in the Main-Tauber district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated on the river Tauber, 9 km east of Bad Mergentheim, Weikersheim is the location of the famous castle Schloss Weikersheim....

1976 member of Clarinet Contrast

Clarinet Contrast

Clarinet Contrast was a clarinet ensemble with rhythm group led by clarinetist Theo Jörgensmann.The group, which included members from four country's, existed from 1975 to 1977 and had awakened the interest in the contemporary jazzscene for the clarinet and was also one of the participants in the...

1977 solo performance at the Berliner Jazztage. “neue schlagzeugschule” Vol. II (out of print). Solo-LP is produced in the USA by the initiative of Max Roach

Max Roach

Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...

. Founds the FAMILY OF PERCUSSION (FOP) with Trilok Gurtu, Doug Hammond

Doug Hammond

Doug Hammond is a free funk/avant-garde jazz drummer, professor, composer, poet and producer from Tampa, Florida, U.S.A...

 and Tom Nicholas

1979 “direct-to-disc”-LP: “Africa meets Europe” with Papa Oyeah Makenzie (Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

)

1980 LP and tour with FOP and Archie Shepp

Archie Shepp

Archie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...

1984 FOP in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. New Delhi

New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...

, Bombay, Madras, Concerts a. o. with Zakir Hussain

Zakir Hussain (musician)

Zakir Hussain , , is an Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor and composer.-Early life:Hussain was born in Mumbai, India to the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha. He attended St...

, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman and Palghat Raghu. Guests in Gigers different groups: Naná Vasconcelos

Naná Vasconcelos

Naná Vasconcelos is a Brazilian Latin jazz percussionist, vocalist and berimbau player, most notable for his works with Pat Metheny, Don Cherry, Egberto Gismonti, and Gato Barbieri....

, Gerd Dudek

Gerd Dudek

Gerd Dudek is a German jazz tenor saxophonist, soprano saxophonist, clarinetist and flautist.Dudek studied clarinet privately and attended music school in the 1950s before joining a big band led by his brother Ossi until 1958...

, Wolfgang Dauner

Wolfgang Dauner

Wolfgang Dauner is a German jazz fusion pianist, composer and keyboardist born in Stuttgart, Germany, probably best known for his work in the United Jazz and Rock Ensemble and with musicians such as Hans Koller, Albert Mangelsdorff, Volker Kriegel or Ack van Rooyen...

, Joachim Kühn, Steve Swallow, Michal Urbaniak, Victor Bailey, Alan Skidmore, Christian Escoudé, Sam Rivers, Chistof Lauer, John Schröder, Thomas Heidepriem a.m.o.. Directs the “World Percussion and Jazz Jubilee” in Wengen

Wengen

Wengen may refer to:*Wengen, a village and winter resort in Switzerland*La Val, a commune in South Tyrol, Italy with the German name "Wengen"*in Germany:**Wengen , a village in the municipality of Nennslingen in Mittelfranken...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

1985 start of the collaboration with Mangelsdorff / Dauner & FOP - “Moon at noon”

1986 duo-concert with Max Roach

Max Roach

Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...

 at the Jazzfestival, Hofheim

1988 “Peter Giger Quartet” with Jasper van t‘Hof, Tomasz Stanko and Vitold Rek.

1991 “FOP & Friends” in Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

. Fusion with timbila-musicians from Zavala (Leader: Eduardo Durao). “Peter Giger Trio” with Gerd Dudek and Vitold Rek

1992 “FOP & Friends” with Senegalese Group SAF SAP. Second journey to Mozambique. “JAZZ meets TIMBILA” at the JazzFest Berlin, Live-CD “Mozambique meets Europe”

1994 moves to Meissen

Meissen

Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...

 (Saxony) and founds Sound-Studio. Tour with his trio and with FOP in Eastern Germany.

1996 Third visit of FOP to Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

. Festivals in Zavala and Maputo.

1999 Film: HERR DER TROMMELN (Lord of the drums) “the Peter Giger Story”. Initiates “Association World museum of Percussion-Instruments Dresden”, with teachers and professors of the music-academy “Carl Maria von Weber”, a. o. Siegfried Ludwig, Günter “Baby” Sommer and Bernhard Schmidt.

2000 FOP participates at the “Euro Art Meeting” in Wroclav, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

: “Ethnic Percussion Symphony” by Sambor Dudzinski

2002 / 2003 Moves to Ticino (Switzerland), Solo concerts, regular participation at “Perugia Classico”, concerts at the Film-Festival Locarno

Locarno

Locarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore in the Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona at the foot of the Alps. It has a population of about 15,000...

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2004 Solo Tour in West Africa (Ivory Coast, Cameroun

Cameroun

Cameroun was a French and British mandate territory in central Africa, now constituting the majority of the territory of the Republic of Cameroon....

, Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

)

2005 Concert in Dakar

Dakar

Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...

 with “Géwél Rhythm Begg Falou” for the Goethe Institut

2006 Issue of “A Drum is a Woman”, double CD by Intuition Records.

2007 Concerts a. o. at the Film-Festival Locarno. Tour with a nine piece Ensemble „World Family of Percussion Pack” in Germany (30 years Family of Percussion).

External links

• Peter Giger Official website