David Brühwiler

David Brühwiler (* 1955 in Horgen ) is a Swiss composer and pianist . His musical focus is on jazz and Latin music ; He has also composed numerous classical piano works and over 700 free chorale fantasies. As a former elementary school teacher, he also enjoys working with children and has produced several MCs and CDs with children.

Life

Brühwiler, son of a printer, guitarist and pianist, received classical piano lessons in his childhood and youth at what was then the Zurich Music Academy. As a Beatles fan, he learned to play many of the Beatles' songs by ear from the age of ten. So he came into contact with a wide variety of style influences early on and developed his own game concept. After finishing school, he trained as a primary school teacher and then worked for a few years in the teaching profession. In 1980 he turned completely to music.

At the beginning of his career, David Brühwiler showed a strong stage presence in a wide variety of musical styles. In the eighties of the 20th century he was widely known in the Swiss jazz and salsa scene . But he couldn't and didn't want to decide so quickly for one direction or the other. So after a while he withdrew and began studying to be an organist . After more than 20 years, Brühwiler returned to the stage to present his new pieces that were created in the “underground”. Stylistically, it has become significantly more diverse during the exam.

Act

Brühwiler was discovered by Beat Kennel as early as 1976 when he was performing at a jazz contest at ETH Zurich . Kennel invited him to perform in the Zurich jazz club "Bazillus". After finishing school, he founded the fusion band "Ramayana" with Pat Thomi , Robert Mark) , Denis Roshard and Olivier Jaquiéry . At the same time he was brought to the “Fly Orchestra” by Peter Keizer and played there with Kurt Weil and the Shivananda musicians Peter Keizer and Walter Keizer , Chico Hablas and Carlo Milan, as well as with Christian Ostermeier and Jürg Grau . Kurt Weil promoted Brühwiler and provided him with recordings from the style-forming pioneers of all jazz genres. From 1980 to 1982 Brühwiler played with "Ojo" , one of the first Swiss salsa bands, with Hans Kennel , Hans Peter Künzle , Robert Morgenthaler and Peter Keizer , among others . At the same time he played with Heiri Känzig . Brühwiler was keyboardist with Thomas Moeckel in his fusion band "Centrifuge" , among others with Thomas Heidepriem and Jojo Mayer . Over time, Brühwiler became a sought-after studio musician for producers Bruno Spoerri , Keizer Twins, Jonas C. Haefeli and others. With Umberto Arlati , Jojo Mayer and Vinzenz Kummer he played as a pianist in Jürg Morgenthaler's George Morgan Quintet .

In the same years he was a member of Alex Bally's trio . They were joined Stephan Kurmann . Alex Bally brought Brühwiler into his “Swiss Drum Orchestra” , where he played with Tom van der Geld , Heinz Lieb , Teddy Bärlocher , Christian Ostermeier and Anne Malcolm , among others . Together with Vali Mayer and Jojo Mayer he performed as a pianist with John Ward . He also played with Niki Reiser and David Klein . Remo Rau invited Brühwiler to present his compositions and projects on the Zurich local radio "LoRa" .

Beat Kennel remained an important sponsor and Brühwiler played in various formations in Kennel's jazz club "Bazillus" in the 1980s . So also with Herbie Kopf's quartet “New Deal” , together with Daniel Schnyder and Andy Brugger . At the same time he shared the piano position with Christoph Baumann in the salsa band “Nuevo Sabor” . Finally, Beat Kennel brought Brühwiler into his experimental music band “Rhythmic-Notorious Meeting” . There he played with Runo Ericksson , Ole Thilo , Stephan Wittwer , Daniel Bourquin and Jean-François Bovard, among others . In 1987 Brühwiler undertook a USA tour with the “Flensburg Youth Big Band ” and the Swiss “Riesbach Singers” . In 1988 Brühwiler withdrew from the scene in order to devote himself to studying the organ with Jakob Wittwer . In 1990 he only gave one concert (in his community of Horgen). In 1991 he broke off studying the organ because he was more fascinated by the piano. A number of sometimes demanding neo-impressionist piano compositions were created, to which Brühwiler wanted to devote himself entirely. During this time he performed several times with Francis Coletta and musicians from the Pepe Lienhard band ( Erwin Lorant , Peter Lübke and Rolf Meyer ).

In 1992 Brühwiler returned to his profession and took over a 5th grade in primary school as a trained primary school teacher. In the following ten years of teaching, over 100 songs and canons were written.

In 2006 he turned to writing freely made up choral fantasies, where he was able to live out his preference for counterpoint. In 2007 Brühwiler founded his own jazz quintet with Peter Frei , later Richard Pechota (double bass), Thomas Grünwald and Carlo Schöb (tenor saxophone), Rainer Weber (electric guitar) and Dominic Egli , later Thomas Hiestand (drums).

Since 2015 Brühwiler has been playing regularly in a duo with Simon Wyrsch (clarinet).

The composer

Brühwiler began composing at the age of 14. Keith Emerson was a role model . At the age of 16 he came into contact with samba and bossa nova as well as with blues . Two years later he founded his first school band, the Pentagon , for which he composed most of the pieces. While the focus was initially on rock and blues, later compositions were increasingly influenced by pop, classical music and jazz. From 1975 to 1977 he trained as a primary school teacher. At that time he was fascinated by the jazz rock of George Duke , Billy Cobham and Jan Hammer . Brühwiler began to express the influence of these musicians in his own way in the newly formed jazz rock band "Ramayana". He further developed the solo style he had played in his childhood and now played a funky music solo piano. With this solo concept he took part in the jazz contest at ETH Zurich, where Beat Kennel noticed him. From 1977 to 1980 the music of Oscar Peterson , Fats Waller and Tete Montoliu was the focus of his interest. In 1980 he started his own business and learned modern jazz by himself. He arranged salsa for "Ojo" and began to write his first jazz tunes. Through Thomas Moeckel, for whose band he also composed, he came into contact with the sophisticated harmony of Clare Fischer . Fischer's music had a strong influence on Brühwiler for several years. Brühwiler also contributed his own compositions to the “George Morgan Quintet”, now modern jazz and bossa nova.

With the study of the Gradus ad Parnassum a new phase of composition began: Brühwiler immersed himself in the music of Paul Hindemith , Igor Stravinsky , Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel and composed some longer piano pieces between 1987 and 2000 in a very personal, neo-impressionistic style . All the style influences that Brühwiler had processed up to then can also be heard in his children's songs. Since 2006 Brühwiler has written an immense number of jazz tunes , from bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, through Latin jazz and Latin music to neo-baroque jazz, his own mix of styles. But he also wrote sacred music: around the same period of time several hundred freely made up chorale fantasies , which can be performed on the piano, on the organ or in a string quartet or string orchestra.

In 2010 his album Piano Pieces from Alpha to Omega went online. In addition to two CDs, the volume for piano solo contains almost everything Brühwiler feels at home in. In spring 2012 the double CD "Flowers" was created with 24 of Brühwiler's numerous jazz compositions.

At the beginning of 2014, Brühwiler's homepage became a non-profit .org site (sheet music and mp3 files can be downloaded free of charge). It is now a public archive for his over 2000 compositions, which is constantly being built up.

The pedagogue

His students include both amateur and professional musicians. The pianist Christoph Stiefel , today one of the most important jazz pianists in Switzerland, was one of Brühwiler's jazz students in his late youth.

The producer

From 1986 to 1988 Brühwiler composed and produced music for advertising on television, cinema and radio. In 1993 he produced his own composition on music cassette with the school class he was teaching at the time. From 1995 to 1996 the CD Wadiwadu was created , on which the children of a school house worked. In 2001 Brühwiler produced the CD Energy in a similar way with numerous songs, not just for children.

Discography

• LP Electric Feet: Moogie Woogie , (Teldec 6.24139 AO) Pseudonym: Don Fingerman 1979
• LP Carlos Perón: The creation of the world , (WEA BRD A CH 026) Pseudonym: David Bruson 1985
• LP Chico Hablas: Events , (Mercury, Phonogram LP 826 148-1Q) Pseudonym: David Wyler 1986
• LP Turo Pashayan: America I Love You , (White Wings Records, MP Inc.WW25-2) pseudonym: David Bruson 1987
• MC Berglipower: strengnälied , prod. & Comp. David Brühwiler 1993, self-published, BP01
• CD D'Waldeggvögel singed Wadiwadu , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 1996, self-published, ABC0796
• CD Free Kids & Friends: Energy , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2001, self-published, CM 0901
• 2CD David Brühwiler Quintet: Flowers , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2012, self-published, c-music, CM1205
• CD David Brühwiler Quartet: Waltz for Susanne Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2014, self-published, all-c-music, CM1409
• CD DUÓMINI: Aria Per Siena , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2014, self-published, all-c-music, CM1410
• 2CD David Brühwiler: Selection of Recordings , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2014, self-published, all-c-music
• 2CD David Brühwiler: From Alpha to Omega , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2015, self-published, all-c-music, CM1502
• CD David Brühwiler & Friends: Silevada's Samba , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2016, self-published, all-c-music, CM1608
• CD David Brühwiler: 5 Pieces for Piano Solo , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2016, self-published, all-c-music, CM1609
• CD David Brühwiler Quintet: Trilogy , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2017, self-published, all-c-music, CM1708
• CD Simon Wyrsch & David Brühwiler: Dreamlike Story , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2019, self-published, all-c-music, CM1907

Singles

• Single CD David Brühwiler & Friends: Samba para as Árvores , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2015, self-published, all-c-music, CM1510
• Single CD Davicito y sus Amigos: Sabor de España , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2015, self-published, all-c-music, CM1512
• Single CD David Brühwiler: Fantasy for Barbara , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2016, self-published, all-c-music, CM1604
• Single CD Simon Wyrsch & David Brühwiler: Quiet Walk , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2016, self-published, all-c-music, CM1605
• Single CD David Brühwiler: Ballad for Maria Lisa , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2016, self-published, all-c-music, CM1605-2
• Single CD David Brühwiler: In Remembrance of the Light , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2016, self-published, all-c-music, CM1610
• Single CD David Brühwiler: The Dream , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2016, self-published, all-c-music, CM1612
• Single CD David Brühwiler: The Promise , Prod. & Komp. David Brühwiler 2018, self-published, all-c-music, CM1803

Important, especially classical piano works

• The Voice of Saint Binna 1989, self-published, 27 pp.
• Adagio 1989–90, self-published, 19 pp.
• A Journey of Love 1990/91, self-published, 63 pp.
• Eine Herbstwanderung 1990/98, self-published, 14 pp.
• Mediterranean Etude 1998, self-published, 8 pp.
• Piano pieces from Alpha to Omega 47 piano pieces, 2010, self-published, c-music, 118 pp.
• La Cathédrale Célèste 2011, self-published, 2 pp.
• Coral-Red Chorale 2011, self-published, 2 pp.
• The Mystic Light 2011, self-published, 2 pp.
• The Voice of Spring 2011, self-published, 4 pp.
• For Mingo and Susanne for 2 pianos, 2012, self-published, 8 pp.
• 6 Préludes 2015 , self-published, 22 pp.
• Fantasy for Barbara 2016, self-published, 11 pp.
• Ballad for Maria Lisa 2016, self-published, 5 pp.
• Waters 2016, self-published, 9 pp.
• The Eye of the Tiger 2016, self-published, 5 pp.
• The Dream 2016, self-published, 2 pp.
• Dawn 2016, self-published, 10 pp.
• In Remembrance of the Light 2016, self-published, 9 pp.
• The Wedding 2016, self-published, 7 pp.
• Whales 2016, self-published, 6 pp.
• Song for Susanne 2016, self-published, 4 pp.
• Sleep 2017, self-published, 5 pp.
• Flow 2017, self-published, 4 pp.
• Ode to the Universe 2018, self-published, 2 pp.
• The Promise 2018, self-published, 5 pp.
• A Summer Night 2018, self-published, 6 pp.
• Pini nel Vento 2018, self-published, 8 pp.
• Un Petit Bateau sur la Mer 2018, self-published, 10 pp.
• Waves 2018, self-published, 6 pp.
• Bells for Andy 2018, self-published, 3 pp.
• Colors of Silence 2018, self-published, 4 pp.
• Moments of Joy 2018, self-published, 5 pp.
• Fantaisie Miniature 2018, self-published, 2 pp.
• Winter 2019, self-published, 3 pp.
• Mountains and Lakes 2019, self-published, 9 pp.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Tagesanzeiger Zurich, November 15, 1978, page 22: Success for "Ramayana"
2. ↑ Flensburger Nachrichten, Thursday, April 2, 1987, page 15: Complete success in front of (almost) a full house
3. ^ Gazette of the district of Horgen: 1. Wednesday, June 20, 1990, p. 8: Cultural breakfast with modern jazz 2. Wednesday, June 27, 1990, Local: Describing the cycle of nature with musical cycles
4. ↑ Brühwilers pseudonyms are at SUISA deposited

Web links

• David Brühwiler's homepage
• David Brühwiler's works on Soundcloud