Yves Theiler Trio

"I try to be as direct as a song from "Sgt. Pepper" with my music and yet retain the sense of untamed energy and playfulness of someone like Gilad Atzmon. Or John Coltrane." (Yves Theiler, April 2012)

Yves Theiler's story begins with an act of denial. His father desperately wanted to become a musician but his parents wouldn't allow it. Instead, he became a goldsmith, surrounding himself with music whenever he could. Yves's earliest memories are of Sundays accompanied by a soundtrack of J.J. Cale, Beatles and Dylan at first, then more and more Jazz - Jimmy Smith and John Scofield mostly. Yves was captivated. Aged seven, he built himself a drum kit and started to take piano lessons. Herbie Hancock's "Maiden Voyage" was the next significant signpost on his path towards his own musical voice. This was closely followed by an intense immersion, at age fifteen, in Zurich's significant and vital Improvised Music scene. Today, the influence of piano pioneer Irène Schweizer and saxophonist Omri Ziegele is present in Yves's music as much as that of Dave King, Craig Taborn or Jacky Terrasson.

Still only 24 years old, Yves Theiler is already vastly experienced both as a side-man and a bandleader. He studied piano at the Zurich Hochschule der Künste with Chris Wiesendanger, at the HTM Leipzig with Richie Beirach, and with Nat Su and Christoph Baumann at the HSLU Lucerne. Apart from many solo performances he has toured as a member of the Alexander Von Schlippenbach Orchestra and performed with Sylvie Courvoisier. He is a member of Things to Sounds (with Tobias Meier, sax, and Dave Meier, drums), Where's Africa Quartet, Matthias Tschopp Quartet, Mario Schenker Quartet, Gabriel Dalvit Night Music, Raetus Flisch Compo 6, Zürich Werkstatt Collective and Castravez. He also plays in a duo with Omri Ziegele.

Four years ago, Theiler founded the Yves Theiler Trio with Valentin Dietrich (bass) and Lukas Mantel (drums). Their debut album "Out of the Box" was released last year. Improvisation forms an integral part of the trio's style, but so do strong melodies and driving rhythms of often stunning complexity. "Improvisation is a natural ingredient for us," says Theiler, "but we often draw our influences from non-improvised music. It is essential for us that our music is not complex for complexity's sake. Complexity and virtuoso playing should always be in the service of the music. And you have to trust the audience. When music has energy, honesty and clarity, the audience will be with you."

On stage on Thursday, 9 August between 6pm and 9.30pm.

For more information visit www.yvestheiler.com.