Silvan Zingg is a Swiss boogie woogie, blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 and Jazz pianist

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 and founder in 2002 of the International Boogie Woogie festival in Lugano, Switzerland.

Musical career

Silvan Zingg is called the "Boogie Woogie Ambassador". He was born in Lugano to a musical family. Before he started school, he had learned to play the piano and was particularly inspired by the work of Afro-American blues pianists. After studies as a graphic designer he decided to become a professional musician. Zingg has since performed in more than 1,000 concerts in 30 countries: Switzerland, Germany, Liechtenstein, Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, Greece, Monaco, Andorra, the Vatican, Bulgaria, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, England, Ireland, the USA, Canada, India, Arab Emirates, China, Russia, Mexico. He gave his first overseas solo concert at 18 years of age. He was the youngest pianist and only European at the Masters Of Blues & Boogie Woogie Piano Night in Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

 together with Jimmy Walker, Skeeter Brandon. He has performed in other American venues including the Cincinnati, Detroit, Newport Festivals. In November 2005 he performed with Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry

Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...

 in a sold out concert in Zurich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

. Silvan Zingg has played with such other Blues artists as the late Ray Charles

Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...

, 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...

, Sammy Price

Sammy Price

Sammy Price was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and jump blues pianist and bandleader. He was born Samuel Blythe Price, in Honey Grove, Texas, United States. Price was most noteworthy for his work on Decca Records with his own band, known as the Texas Bluesicians, that included fellow musicians...

, Champion Jack Dupree

Champion Jack Dupree

William Thomas Dupree, best known as Champion Jack Dupree, was an American blues pianist. His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, July 10, and July 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910. He died on January 21, 1992.-Biography:...

, Katie Webster

Katie Webster

Katie Webster , born Kathryn Jewel Thorne, was an American boogie-woogie pianist.-Career:Webster was initially best known as a session musician behind Louisiana musicians on the Excello and Goldband record labels, such as Lightnin' Slim and Lonesome Sundown...

, Michel Petrucciani

Michel Petrucciani

Michel Petrucciani was a French jazz pianist.-Biography:...

 and Jimmy Walker

Jimmy Walker

James John Walker, often known as Jimmy Walker and colloquially as Beau James , was the mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932...

. In 2011 Silvan Zingg was invited by festival promoter Claude Nobs to perform with B.B.King at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Among other on stage: Carlos Santana, John McLaughlin, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Shemekia Copeland, Robert Randolph.
Silvan Zingg recorded Solo and with Trio various CDs and DVDs. His last CD "Boogie Woogie Triology" won several awards and was top selling CD on CDBaby for more than 1 year.

International Boogie Woogie festival

In 2002 Zingg initiated the International Boogie Woogie Festival in Lugano. Since then it has been held annually in April and has attracted such entertainers as Little Willie Littlefield

Little Willie Littlefield

Little Willie Littlefield is an American R&B pianist and singer.-Career:By 1947, at the age of sixteen, Littlefield was already a local attraction on many of Houston's Dowling Street Clubs and was recording for local record shop proprietor Eddie Henry who ran his own label "Eddies".Influenced by...

, Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne

Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne

Kenny "Blues Boss" Wayne is an American blues, boogie-woogie and jazz pianist, singer and songwriter...

, Carl Sonny Leyland, Mitch Woods

Mitch Woods

Mitch Woods is an American modern day boogie-woogie, jump blues and jazz pianist and singer. Since the early 1980s he has been touring and recording with his band, the Rocket 88s...

, Axel Zwingenberger

Axel Zwingenberger

Axel Zwingenberger is a blues and boogie-woogie pianist, and songwriter. He is considered one of the finest boogie-woogie music masters in the world.-Biography:...

, Vince Weber

Vince Weber

Vince Weber is a German blues and boogie-woogie pianist.-Biography:Weber started his first piano lessons, when he was aged ten in 1963...

, Joja Wendt, Jean Paul Amouroux and Chris Conz. In 2006, BBC World

BBC World

BBC World News is the BBC's international news and current affairs television channel. It has the largest audience of any BBC channel in the world...

reported on the festival, which brought it world-wide attention. In November 2008 Silvan Zingg completed his first concert tour of China.

Boogie Woogie Masterclass and Lecture

In 2010 Zingg was invited to give a concert/lecture about the history of Boogie Woogie at the University of Texas in Brownsville.

Discography

• 1992: Boogie Must Go On (Solo CD)
• 1996: Changes In Boogie Woogie (with Lorenzo Milani on drums)
• 1998: Double Up Boogie (with Martijn Schok)
• 1999: New Orleans Jazz Ascona Festival Sampler-CD
• 2000: Boogie Woogie Duets (Live recorded on 2 January 2000 in Switzerland) (with Martijn Schok piano duets)
• 2000: New Orleans Jazz Ascona Festival Sampler-CD
• 2001: In Concert (Live aufgenommen vom Schweizer Radio RTSI)
• 2001: La Roquebrou Boogie Festival Sampler-CD (various artists)
• 2002: Fourth Annual Boogie & Blues Piano Summit Newport Sampler-CD (with Mr. B, Ricky Nye, Carl Sonny Leyland).
• 2003: Boogie Woogie Xmas (with Valerio Felice on drums)
• 2004: Boogie Woogie (with Nuno Alexandre on double bass and Valerio Felice on drums)
• 2007: Motor City Boogie & Blues Festival Sampler-DVD PBS- Television (USA) 1st price Gold Remy at the Houston Film Festival.
• 2007: Dancin' The Boogie (Live with the dancers William Mauvais and Maéva Truntzer) DVD and CD
• 2010: Boogie Woogie Ride CD (Live recorded in San Bernardino Switzerland)
• 2010: Trumpet Boogie CD (18 tracks recorded with his father Reinhard Zingg at the Trumpet, Drums, Banjo and Bluesharp)
• 2011: Hot Cat Session CD Studio Album (Pascal Ammann guitar / drums, Drew Davies tenor saxophon, guitar, drums).

External links

• Official web site
• International Boogie Woogie festival
• Silvan Zingg's Night Train Trip (Blues Piano)