Christoph Irniger

Christoph Irniger, born 1979, is a Swiss saxophonist, composer and bandleader. In recent years, Irniger has made a name for himself in a range of line-ups, playing jazz, rock and related musical styles. Irniger is leader of the band Pilgrim and the Christoph Irniger Trio which between them have released several albums (mostly on Intakt Records) so far. From 2000 to 2006 Irniger studied music education at the Zurich Jazz School, and performance at the Lucerne School of Music with Christoph Grab and Nat Su. In the following years he took lessons from Dave Liebman, Mark Turner and Ari Hoenig. Between 2015 and 2017 his band Pilgrim were awarded high priority act from Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council. His work has been documented on twenty albums to date. He has played concerts and tours throughout Europe, Asia and the USA. His regular visits to Berlin and New York have led to a number of diverse collaborations, including: Nasheet Waits (No Reduce Jaywalkin’ (nWog, 2013)), Michael Bates, Don Philippe, and the band Counterpoints with Ohad Talmor. He was a member of the Lucerne Jazz Orchestra for seven years and can be heard on four of their recordings. He is also co-leader of the prog-rock band Cowboys from Hell. Irniger teaches at Musikschule Konservatorium in Zurich. www.christophirniger.com