Daniel Gubelmann’s trademark is his lyrical saxophone sound, around which his band Five on Fire is also centred. In 2013, the band fused with a string quartet. Now their musical framework has been expanded even more. On their newest album Eternal Movement, Five on Fire perform with the renowned Musikkollegium Winterthur’s large string section.

Bridging the gap between jazz groups and “classical” ensembles has a long tradition, beginning in 1954, when Bebop pioneer Charlie Parker started incorporating the sound of string instruments. For Daniel Gubelmann, the opportunity to have his own band interact and engage with a great string orchestra is a dream come true. This cooperation is indebted to the broadcast station SRF 2 Kultur, which helped make the recording in the Stadthalle Winterthur (Civic Hall Winterthur) possible.

In his compositions, Daniel Gubelmann refers back to the so-called “Third Stream” of jazz artists from the 1950s, represented by musicians like Gunter Schuller, who began to develop formal concepts aiming to break down the randomly drawn boundaries between jazz and classical music. The symphonic suites with jazz improvisations, consisting of several movements, that are featured on Eternal Movement are also inspired by musicians like Stand Getz and Eddie Sauter. On this CD, the string orchestra and jazz quartet are on equal footing, and all soloistic exercises are shared evenly among them.

The title of this album is testament to the saxophonist from Winterthur’s desire to think big. This album showcases a subjective view on life, realised in a sensual musical language which tells of the experiences of this Swiss musician. Especially impactful was the time he spent in Buenos Aires, where he studied with Daniel Hector Montes. The piece Preludio de Buenos Aires takes us into the incomparable atmosphere of Argentine’s capital city.