Heinz Geisser
- „Heinz Geisser is nothing less than omnidirectional.“
- Chris Kelsey
Heinz Geisser (*1961 in Zurich, Switzerland), musician and composer, studied classical guitar with Ermano Maggini and classical percussion with Horst Hofmann at the Zurich Music Conservatory. By his mid-twenties he was awarded the soloist diploma on classical guitar. Self-taught on jazz guitar his first recording was in 1988 with Swiss saxophonist Urs Blöchlinger. In the early 90’s however, drums and percussion became his main instrument. Further on he has been dedicating himself to improvised music.
During an extended visit to New York City he formed the Collective 4tet with William Parker, Jeff Hoyer and Mark Hennen in 1992. Their half a dozen albums on Leo Records have received outstanding reviews including several four star ratings in the Penguin Guide to Jazz.
Heinz Geisser has performed and recorded with many leading artists in the USA, Mexico, Europe and Asia including Guerino Mazzola, Sirone, Mat Maneri, Rob Brown, Arthur Brooks, Scott Fields, Elliott Levin, Shiro Onuma, Eiichi Hayashi, Takayuki Kato, I Wayan Sadra, among many others. He has produced over 30 albums released on US and EU labels such as Leo Records, Black Saint, Music&Arts, Silkheart Records, Cadence Jazz Records, Ayler Records etc.
A collaboration with Indonesian movie director Garin Nugroho has led to the music documentary "Teak Leaves at the Temples". The movie premiered in 2008 at the international film festivals Rotterdam and Hongkong. In 2010 he formed the Ensemble 5.
Contact: heinz@geisser.com