Thursday, I was at the HEMU Lausanne to teach and be present during a rehearsal of Tenzin Ngingthatshang‘s group featuring a line-up that includes graduates/students of the music universities in Lausanne, Zurich, Lucerne and Basel. Tenzin is a very personal singer as well as a talented composer, with a beautiful and honest voice that never fails to touch me. She completed a MA in Performance at the HEMU Lausanne and is studying for a second MA (in music pedagogy) at the ZHDK. She met the members of her band while studying in Lausanne, where they also played in the ensemble lessons I teach. They sounded so good together, and Tenzin asked them for her own group. What I remember from back then: Fabien Iannone had a gorgeous sound, a great time, and played by heart almost instantly all the tunes Tenzin chose for the ensemble (also more complex ones like The Next Step by Kurt Rosenwinkel). Martin Perret had a strong background in jazz drumming (which is something I always love to hear in drummers, even if they might go on to play different styles), a rich and beautiful sound palette, and a way to add a personal take to anything he played. As to François Lana, he played the piano. The touch, the choice of voicings and melody, the timing, the dynamics. It all sounded natural when he played it. Tenzin asked Louis Billette to join the group just recently. And just recently, too, I heard him in concert with OGGY & the Phonics, a great group of musicians based in Lausanne. Rumor has it he can sing, too!
It was a great pleasure to listen to their music and discover Tenzin’s new compositions. To be able to be present and hear how it all unfolds (one of the most valuable privileges of teaching) is something that brings me great joy.
They will be playing at jenseits im VIADUKT in Zurich next Friday. Go hear them if you can.
