Sandro Schneebeli Boogaloo 4tet
Few jazz guitarists in Switzerland are as heavily immersed in the blues as Sandro Schneebeli of Ticino. The pieces Schneebeli conjures up from his guitar are filled with this primal force. Together with his Boogaloo Quartet, he pays homage to the boogaloo, a lively musical style born in 1960s New York that mixes Latin rhythms, blues, jazz and rhythm & blues. The four-strong band of highly talented musicians is a regular fixture at the leading jazz festivals.
The musicians
| Sandro Schneebeli | Guitar |
| Max Pizio | Saxophone |
| Frank Salis | Hammond organ |
| Silvano Borzacchiello | Drums |
Sandro Schneebeli, born in 1974 in Lugano, Switzerland Info
Sandro Schneebeli attended the Swiss Jazz School in Berne from 1994 while at the same time pursuing a freelance career as a professional guitarist, composer and producer.
He has been involved in a number of musical projects and played alongside various artists from a wide range of countries including the US, Madagascar, India, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Luxembourg, the UK, Peru, Belgium, Spain and Germany.
Besides countless concert appearances in the US, India, Spain, Greece, Germany and Switzerland, he has also been on the bill at the following festivals: Madajazzcar Festival (Antananarivo, Madagascar), Festival Musica du Mundo (Lima, Peru) Menuhin Festival (Gstaad, Switzerland), Guitarfestival (Biel, Switzerland), Estival Jazz (Lugano, Switzerland), Fuerte Ventura Jazz Festival (Spain), Jazz Ascona Festival (Switzerland), TonArt Festival (Altdorf, Switzerland).
Max Pizio, born in 1975 in Bellinzona (canton of Ticino), Switzerland Info
Max Pizio was born into a family of musicians and followed in the footsteps of his father, a reputed multi-instrumentalist. His father taught him to play the piano and organ at a very early age and later also the soprano saxophone and accordion. When he was older, he attended the Conservatory of Italian Switzerland, where he added the clarinet, Akai double bass, flute and drums to his instrumental repertoire. He subsequently continued his training at the American Clavé in Cologne and later at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was awarded a diploma in orchestral arrangement and a Master of Music degree in saxophone performance. Pizio also works as a composer, arranger, producer and publisher and describes himself as a “Sound Designer”. He collaborates with musicians in a broad spectrum of disciplines ranging from contemporary music to fusion, jazz, world music, dance and theatre. He is a founder of the Centro Studi e Ricerca Musicale (CSRM; Centre for Musical Study and Research) in Giubiasco, Ticino.
Frank Salis, born in 1979 in Sorengo (canton of Ticino), Switzerland Info
Frank Salis taught himself to play the piano at the tender age of eight. At 11, he joined forces with drummer Rocco Lombardi, and the duo performed at various musical events in Ticino. The two met Bat Battiston in 1992 and formed a trio, playing at a number of festivals in Switzerland and Italy. Still very young, Salis then moved to Lausanne, where he studied at the Ecole de Jazz et de Musique Actuelle (EJMA; Jazz and Contemporary Music School) and gained a diploma in composition and arrangement in 2004. He has been involved in a range of musical projects since 2005, including Ray Tribute, DeafJellyfishMovie, Frank Salis H3O and Acoustic Blues Session with Icaro. He has also given solo performances. Salis has played with many internationally renowned musicians, including Bobby Watson, Alvin “Little Pink” Anderson, Willie Murphy, Tommy Castro, Terry Evans and Eric St. Michaels.
Silvano Borzacchiello, born in 1965 in Castel San Pietro (canton of Ticino), Switzerland Info
Drummer Silvano Borzacchiello’s musical education encompassed Switzerland, Italy and the US, where he attended the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. He has already recorded some 15 CDs and amassed a great deal of experience as a musician on the international stage. The list of venues where he has performed is long and comprises many cities in North America, including Cuba and Jamaica, as well as almost every country in Europe and even a few in Asia. He has joined countless musicians onstage and collaborated with the Orchestra of Italian Switzerland, Italian broadcaster RAI and Italian-speaking Swiss radio station RSI. Borzacchiello is at once a skilled and sensitive drummer and an accomplished composer. Since 1994, he has been Director of the Nuova Scuola di Musica (New School of Music) in Balerna, Switzerland, where he also teaches the drums.
