Foto: Göran Lindholm

Biography / Pius Baumgartner, musician

Born December 25th, 1967 in Lugano - began clarinet lessons at the age of 8 under the unforgettable Dumeng Morell. With Morell he learned the basics of music and eventually mastered the instrument. As well as clarinet he started playing the saxophone at the young age of 10. After his studies at the Zurich Conservatory of Music in 1988, he graduated from the Swiss Jazz School in St.Gallen in 1995. In 1996 he continued to study saxophone and flute with Tim Price in New York. His international career began with engagements in Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Puerto Rico, Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, Ankara and Prague. He has worked with internationally-known musicians such as Jazz singer Carmen Bradford (4 Grammy Awards with Count Basie Big Band), Donna Summer, Eric Marienthal, Brad Leali, Amik Guerra, Francis Coletta, Frantisek Uhlir, Reggie Johnson, Roman Dylag, Andrea Tofanelli and many others. In Switzerland, Pius Baumgartner was a member of the Swiss Army Bigband under the legendary Pepe Lienhard and won several cultural promotion awards (Swiss Jazz-Award 2009). He works mostly as a freelancer, composer, teacher and recording artist (saxes , clarinet & flute). While his musical roots are deeply embedded in traditional Swiss Folk music, Pius Baumgartner is equally proficient in contemporary jazz . He works with the "Bodan Art-Orchestra" and the "Dani Felber Bigband - Explosion", is a member of the famous "Swiss Ländler Gamblers" and enjoys playing his own music with the "Baumgartner Jazz-Q."

(Deutsch)