Japrazz

The seven man combo that is Japrazz consists of 5 live musicians, DJ and MC who have found their own, unmistakably dynamic style in just a brief period of time since fall 2005: Playful, propulsive but always walking that fine line that marks authenticity. Driven by this, MC Phyl the Ill Lyricist enthralls audiences with his vivacious, storytelling groove and audacious antics on stage.
The musicians look up to Jazz Legends such as John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk in the same way they respect Rap Giants Blackalicious and a Tribe called Quest, and all this together is united in a fulminant performance on stage that will leave you gasping for breath.

Alex Huber, drummer and current student at the Lucerne School of Jazz keeps the seemingly untamable in check in his own relaxed manner. Alex and Double Bass bounce machine Raffele Bosshard harmonise blindly, laying down a pulsing foundation for future action.The essence of a beat lies in its ability to control the strength of its individual elements, and guitar player Nicolas Zellweger masters this discipline like no other, giving a beat a lot by playing little. Producer and key man Timo Keller brings the ideas for almost all songs to rehearsals, where he makes sure that beat and idea stay in balance by madly flailing his extremities from behind his Feder Rhodes, endangering all and everyone in his vicinity. And it’s a small, small room.. Filled with only half of the bands name up to this point, these guys might as well just call themselves Jazz. The missing three letters making up the anagram that is Japrazz being Rap (for the curious) are represented by MC Phyl the Ill Lyricist, just Phyl, thank you and DJ T.T.Twister. Perfect brain taxing english raps and agile scratching moves bring the HipHop in Japrazz to life. Complementing this by contrast is as good a description of Trumpet player Aurel Nowak that you’ll get these days, steadying the equilibrium of Japrazz with his distinctive improvisaton style. What may sound like an haute cuisine menu for music gourmets is in truth a meal very becoming even to fast food fans,and the straight forward raps and precise scratches aren’t the only things that will appeal to them. So it was about time to introduce this band to the public when their EP “Introducing: Japrazz” was released March 30th 2007 as their first official opus!