New York, NY (Top40 Charts) I was fortunate recently to meet a man that is the living definition of jazz at its finest. I was on a press and radio tour with blues singer Evelyn Rubio in
Europe and one of our scheduled meetings was in Zurich Switzerland. Well as a promoter I can't help but search out other major players within our industry and that led me to a jazz artist, Dave Feusi. I had heard his music, it was fresh, crisp, an unwavering example of an artist well into his trade. I wanted to meet him and he was gracious enough to meet with Evelyn and I and the discussion was cool to the max. Here's some of what I learned - Dave Feusi, pronounced (fo-see), left his native land and came to the states to formally study music at Berklee College of
Music in
Boston Massachusetts after his classical studies at the conservatory in Zurich, Switzerland. He wasn't there long before he hooked up with other up and coming artists and performed around greater
Boston from 1993 to 1995. After his studies at Berklee he moved down the road to New York City where he performed from '95 to '98. Then, after his stint in the states Dave moved on to perform in some of the most famous cities in
Europe including Paris, Milan, Barcelona, and Vienna. He and his sax would go on to perform at such prestigious music festivals as Montreux Jazz Festival, in Aalener Jazzfest Germany, Wiesen in Austria, Banlieue in Paris, Nice Jazz Festival in the South of France, recently Jazzmandu in Nepal along with many others. So there we were in the Odeon Restaurant in Zurich talking about his music production company, Switzerland Productions, his booking links, and his true love, his mistress, jazz. In that regard, his love of jazz, I asked Dave who his top three influential artists were over time and he responded immediately with Eddie Harris, Miles Davis, and John . He was quick to let me know that there were plenty of others but on this night these three stood out. At this point in the interview a rather quiet, reserved Dave Feusi came alive with notations of respect for the masters of jazz. Those key influences made the difference, fueled his curiosity, and that sealed his fate - jazz would be his mistress.
Then Evelyn and Dave had a conversation about tenor and alto sax and this road warrior was more than a little lost. Oh they knew what they were talking about as I could see their heads bobbing in agreement within their artist to artist conversation with each other.
Next I asked Dave about his recording services and he was quick to point out a gentleman named
Martin Lechner who had recently recorded "something old & somethin' new somethin' else". A compilation of music standards that includes such songs as My Funny Valentine, God Bless The Child, and The Way You Make Me Feel. It's a jam packed release presenting fifteen tracks that everyone is sure to enjoy.
In closing
If you are an artist that is going to Switzerland be sure to stop at the JazzBaragge Wednesday Jam at the Moods Jazzclub in Zurich. There you'll meet musicians from all over Switzerland and you can jam or just hang out at the bar. Dave or the other members of his team (all musicians) will tell you what's cooking on the dates you will be in town. If you haven't been to Zurich before it's a cool place, you'll dig it for sure - if I'm lying I'm dying, it's cool!
