Gina Schwarz - Biography
The bassist and composer Gina Schwarz - born in Hollabrunn (Lower Austria) in 1968 - feels at home in many musical styles and genres.
She learnt the accordion at the age of 8. This instrument quickly brought her into contact with contemporary music: she played original compositions for accordion. Schwarz deepened this approach during her studies. Learning the piano opened up the world of so-called classical music for her. Initially, it was the sound of the instrument that attracted Gina Schwarz and gave her the impetus to take piano lessons. This developed into a passion and seriousness in playing and analysing the compositions. She began to compose and improvise herself. While two instruments opened her up to certain musical genres, her love of jazz music and in particular the lower registers in this genre led her to her current main instrument, the double bass and electric bass.
In 2004 she founded the acoustic jazz band Global Glue as co-leader. The production Eardance was released in 2005. Her debut publication as musical director was the CD ‘SchwarzMarkt’ in 2006. This was followed two years later by the album ‘Airbass’, a co-production with Richard Oesterreicher (one of the few harmonica soloists and big band legends on the local jazz scene). From 2006 to 2009, Gina Schwarz was the bass player in the Robert Bachner Big Band, and in 2006/2007 she was also part of the Porgy & Bess stage band. This resulted in three productions, two CDs and a live DVD. Further inspiring experiences as co-leader were the two tours and the recording of the CD ‘In the Zone’ with the US saxophonist George Garzone. A bundling of all musical influences can be found for the first time on the production ‘Jazzista’ from 2013. The musical collaboration on stage and in the studio with five bass colleagues in the sextet ‘Bass Instinct’ was challenging for Gina Schwarz. She explored a mixture of composed and improvised music from traditional and avant-garde genres. After a teaching concert at the Jazz Frauenmusikwoche in Fulda (Germany) in 2014, a new international band was formed - Playground4. Gina Schwarz is co-leader together with the German flautist Stephanie Wagner, the Swiss pianist Esther Bächlin and the Austrian percussionist Ingrid Oberkanins. In addition to numerous tours in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, her debut CD will be released in 2020. Another fascinating milestone in her musical career was the collaboration with Jim Black on drums on the CD ‘Woodclock’ in 2016. Since 2016 she has been playing in the international quartet and quintet of Ibiza-based saxophonist Muriel Grossmann, and several productions (CDs & vinyls) have been released. In 2017, an initiative by her great mentor Joachim Kühn led to a recording of the international trio Trillium (primarily free improvised music) with guitarist Gerard Guse and drummer Ramon Lopez, who himself played in the Joachim Kühn Trio for many years. This was followed by concerts in Spain. As leader of the stage band at Porgy & Bess 2017/2018, Gina Schwarz founded her band Pannonica. Collaborations with Julia Hülsmann, Angelika Niescier, Sylvie Courvoisier, Camila Meza, Karin Hammar, Marilyn Mazur, Ingrid Jensen as guests followed. Her most recent studio production, the double album ‘Pannonica’, was released in 2020.
The versatile bassist has played with numerous international and national artists: Jim Black, Marilyn Mazur, Ingrid Jensen, Sylvie Courvoisier, George Garzone, Angelika Niescier, Julia Hülsmann, Karin Hammar, Camila Meza, Mino Cinelu, Dave Taylor, Gerard Guse, Ramon Lopez, Andy Middleton, Jeff Boudreaux, Gerry Hemingway, Ernie Adams, Diego Pinera, Jose Feliciano, Erwin Schrott, Federico Lechner, Claudio Constantini, Milagros Pinera, Krysztof Dobrek, Muriel Grossmann, Esther Bächlin, Stephanie Wagner, Yta Moreno, Angelo da Silva, Wolfgang Reisinger, Heinrich von Kalnein, Marianne Mendt, Harri Stojka, Willi Resetarits, Richard Oesterreicher, Ziplflo Weinrich, etc. In 2001, she was a stage musician at the Vienna Burgtheater for the satirical social comedy ‘Ladies of Society’ by Clare Boothe Luce.
Gina Schwarz has performed on stages such as La Opera Los Angeles, Kongresu Rumai Vilnius, Finlandia Hall, Royal Opera House Muscat, Smetana Hall, Municipal House, Budapest State Opera, Bavarian State Opera Munich, Nuremberg State Theatre, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Porgy & Bess, Jazzland, Konzerthaus and at festivals such as Katara European Jazz Festival and Jazzfest Vienna.
Awards
- Berklee College of Music, Boston (USA): Berklee-Best-Award
- 2002: Composition competition - MusicMaker on Stage: Winner
- 2007: Hans Koller Prize - Austrian Music Office: Winner in the category "Side(wo)man of the year"
- 2007: Austrian Cultural Forum New York: Best performances of the year in ‘All about Jazz - New York Best of 2007’ (with Bass Instinct)
- 2020: MULTIPHONICS FESTIVAL COLOGNE (Germany): Composer in Residence
- 2021: MULTIPHONICS FESTIVAL COLOGNE (Germany): Composer in Residence
- 2022: IFPI Austria - Association of the Austrian Music Industry: Amadeus Austrian Music Award nomination in the category "Jazz/World/Blues"