Irène Schweizer Rüdiger Carl Johnny Dyani Han Bennink Irènes Hot Four

Irène’s Hot Four is a resounding posthumous release from the great jazz pianist, activist and icon Irène Schweizer, who died last year (2024). The publishing of this first concert by the quartet with her companions Rüdiger Carl, Johnny Dyani and Han Bennink – which existed for around a year and a half and only played a handful of gigs – closes a gap in the pianist’s discography. “The concert with the Irène Schweiz-er Quartet in Zurich 1981 demonstrates a theatrical perfor-mance that remains musically coherent despite the spec-tacle. The music is action-oriented, pushy, and takes on an urgency and bidding character through constantly interwo-ven repetitions. This snapshot resembles a manifesto. This is Jazz with the anger of a Charles Mingus, the boldness of a Fats Waller and the energy of punk”, writes Bert Noglik in the liner notes.