Andreas Schaerer - The Big Wig (2017) CD Rip

Andreas Schaerer, from Berne in Switzerland, is currently one of the most talked-about vocal artists on the international music scene, and with good reason. He is considerably more than just a singer - and to classify him under jazz doesn t really do him justice either - Schaerer uses his voice in the manner of a juggler, a magician, in all manner of styles and idioms from crooner to beatboxer. He is also a hugely impressive composer/improviser and is blessed with considerable onstage charisma, bringing a rare gift into the world of serious music: humour. The Lucerne Festival, with its unparalleled renown in the world of classical music, chose 'humour' as its theme for 2015, and thus asked Schaerer if he might combine a new composition for the Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra with a 20-minute appearance by his band Hildegard Lernt Fliegen (meaning Hildegard Learns to Fly). Schaerer didn t just grab this opportunity, he really ran with it. What he composed was a six-movement orchestral work, with parts for 66 players. The concert had the audience leaping from its seats. 'The Big Wig' is a masterpiece by the multi-talented vocal marvel Andreas Schaerer. This is a work which situates him quite clearly and definitively among the most important composers and interpreters of contemporary music of his generation.