Circles

With her second album, Circles, Swiss accordionist Lea Gasser presents a work that focuses on intimate soundscapes and rhythmic complexity. The compositions were created during a residency in Iceland lasting several weeks. A first stay on the island had already left a deep impression on her, which she has now made audible. The pieces reflect rugged landscapes, melancholic vastness and the movement of nature and time. Together with her quintet, consisting of Samuel Urscheler (alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute), Mirko Maio (piano, Fender Rhodes), Emilio Giovanoli (double bass) and Romain Ballarini (drums), Lea Gasser creates musical spaces that are as delicate as they are powerful. For ‘Circles’, the band is further enriched by the voice of Sibyl Hofstetter, who adds another emotional layer to the pieces. The album combines jazz, chamber music elements and folk music influences to create a homogeneous sound. Catchy, lyrical melodies meet confident bass lines, muted strings breathe beneath melancholic sounds. At times the music dances, pulsating with joie de vivre, then it slows down dreamily, leaving room for individual solo narratives. With ‘Circles’, Lea Gasser consistently continues her artistic vision. The musician, who won the prestigious ZKB Jazz Prize with her ensemble in 2024, builds on the success of her debut album ‘L'Heure Bleue’ and once again presents her very own musical language, poetic, profound and carried by an unobtrusive lightness. With her second album, Circles, Swiss accordionist Lea Gasser presents a work that focuses on intimate soundscapes and rhythmic complexity. The compositions were created during a residency in Iceland lasting several weeks. A first stay on the island had already left a deep impression on her, which she has now made audible. The pieces reflect rugged landscapes, melancholic vastness and the movement of nature and time. Together with her quintet, consisting of Samuel Urscheler (alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute), Mirko Maio (piano, Fender Rhodes), Emilio Giovanoli (double bass) and Romain Ballarini (drums), Lea Gasser creates musical spaces that are as delicate as they are powerful. For ‘Circles’, the band is further enriched by the voice of Sibyl Hofstetter, who adds another emotional layer to the pieces. The album combines jazz, chamber music elements and folk music influences to create a homogeneous sound. Catchy, lyrical melodies meet confident bass lines, muted strings breathe beneath melancholic sounds. At times the music dances, pulsating with joie de vivre, then it slows down dreamily, leaving room for individual solo narratives. With ‘Circles’, Lea Gasser consistently continues her artistic vision. The musician, who won the prestigious ZKB Jazz Prize with her ensemble in 2024, builds on the success of her debut album ‘L'Heure Bleue’ and once again presents her very own musical language, poetic, profound and carried by an unobtrusive lightness.