Being one of the most intriguing Swiss jazz groups, Colin Vallon Trio plays rather unusual music for a traditional trio – poetic, meditative, well-balanced jazz without demonstrative soloistic flights, but refreshing and spontaneous.

According to the leader, the trio finds its inspiration in songs and singers rather than pianists. The instrumentalists meet on equal terms as the music is created, arranged and developed collectively. Their compositions reveal unique thinking, wide stylistic spectre, brilliant technique, sense of time and form.

The trio’s line up was formed in 2005. In a few years the musicians released first album Ailleurs, and this year recorded Rruga for the renowned EMC Records. The trio has performed compositions featured on the latter CD in Switzerland, France, USA, Germany, Austria, Spain and Ireland.

Colin Vallon was born in Lausanne. At the age 11 he started taking private piano lessons. However, soon he got interested in improvisation and started studying with jazz pianist Marc Ueter. Later Vallon graduated from the Swiss Jazz School.

In 1999, the pianist formed trio with Lorenz Beyeler and Raphael Pedroli. In 2004, the trio released Les Ombres. At the time Vallon focused on widening his sound palette by using prepared piano.

Vallon garnered several awards including the Fridl-Wald Foundation Prize, the third prize in the Montreux International Jazz Piano Solo Competition (2002), and the first prize in Nescafe competition “Let’s Jazz Together” (2003). In 2004, Pro Helvetia Foundation commissioned Vallon to write a composition. The same year Colin Vallon cinq with trumpeter Erik Truffaz was formed. In 2008, Vallon received the Nico Kaufmann Foundation Prize. In 2009, he received SUISA Foundation Prize and won the Pro Helvetia high priority jazz promotion.

He appeared in festivals in Germany, Austria, France, Belgium and Italy, toured in Tunisia and South Africa.

Vallon works with a number of projects including Elina Duni Quartet, Lisette Spinnler Siawaloma, Nicolas Masson Parallels, Contreband, and Christian Weidner Quartet. With various formations he recorded about 20 albums.

Vallon has collaborated with Kenny Wheeler, Tom Harell, Nils Wogram, Adrian Mears, John Schröder, Steffan Schorn, Tyshawn Sorey, Dejan Terzic, Josh Roseman and Andy Scherrer.

Since 2009, he has taught at the Bern University of the Arts.

Patrice Moret’s double bass blends seamlessly into trio’s transparent musical fabric. Of an experimental mind, Moret places his bass frequencies at the right place and at the unmistakably right time in subtle conversations of Colin Vallon Trio. The impressive list of his stage partners includes such jazz coryphées as Uri Caine, Ellery Eskelin and Matthieu Michel.

Samuel Rohrer, Berlin resident, became one of the busiest percussionists in record time. Rohrer’s partners get mesmerised by his lightning riposte, flexibility, maximalism and lust for experiments. Not affected by the current raging fashions, his music oscillates leisurely between different worlds, is full of surprises and forces us to discard embedded listening habits.

Rohrer leads his own group Tree and works with many other ensembles including Sirones Concord, Cyrille Bugnon Quartett, Berliner Quartett Lynx, and JOYOSA with Markus Stockhausen. He has collaborated with singer Susanne Abbuehl. The duo recorded April for ECM, which was introduced in European festivals.

The percussionist has worked with Hal Crook, Reggie Johnson, Matthieu Michel, Erik Truffaz, Charles Gayle, Harald Haerter, Eric Alexander, Vincent Herring, Joao Paulo, Michel Portal, Ellis Marsalis, Wolfgang Muthspiel and Malcolm Braff. He has appeared in a number of festivals and jazz clubs in Europe, toured in South Africa, Canada and Middle East.