 The vibraphone in jazz: names such as Red Norvo, Lionel Hampton, Bobby Hutcherson and Gary Burton immediately come to mind. Or even Karl Berger and David Friedman. A few women, but the vibraphone was mainly a supporting instrument or was not known. Marjorie Hyams is the one whom you most likely think of, who played in the George Shearing Quintet in 1949-50. But – as everywhere else – women are catching up. David Friedman currently has five students, and two of them are women. Apropos David Friedman, he said, "Sonja Huber has a natural sense of melody, in her writing, as well as in her soloing. She´s made a ‘feel good’ CD… .” Friedman knows what he is talking about. She was his student. The music really does give you a feeling of well-being, because the compositions have been composed unmistakably with the lightness and simplicity of pop, but not at all with shallowness and naiveté that is often threatened in such cases. Instead, they are rooted in the refinement of jazz, so that they are never boring. It is precisely this gentle alternation between tension and relaxation that distinguishes the music. And of course the special sound, which is created thanks to the interaction between e-guitar and vibraphone. The fact that the guitarist also loves melodies fits in perfectly. As a result, guitar and vibraphone lines twine around and woo each other, driven by grooving bass and drums. Tom Gsteiger created a nice metaphor in the liner notes: "Relaxed Euphoria". Sonja Huber was born and lives in Switzerland. She took piano lessons at an early age and later drum and vibraphone lessons. The vibraphone became her main instrument during her studies starting from 2003, and she attended additional master classes during her studies, not only taught by vibraphonists (Gary Burton), but also by other musicians (e.g., Joe Lovano, Chris Potter and Jim Black). She founded her quartet immediately after she graduated in 2008 and has developed into a musician increasingly in demand, who has performed at ART UNLIMITED and with the symphony orchestra VARIATON, for example. Matthias Siegrist studied guitar at Basel Music College under Wolfgang Muthspiel and took further courses taught by Peter O´Mara, John Abercrombie and Kurt Rosenwinkel, among others. He has been so successful that he has become one of the guitarists most in demand in Switzerland in the meantime. Daniel Bolli was able to play drums before he learned to read and write. He has furthered in education in all areas since then, regardless of whether Latin, pop, or rock. Even though he has been focusing on jazz for many years (which he also studied), you can really hear his experience with other genres. The co-musician on the long strings, bassist Martin Wyss, can also be heard in bands playing free jazz as well as in classical ensembles. He even takes a side trip to ska now and then. He studied jazz at Bänz Oester, and he is the basis in the literal sense of the word in Sonja Huber's band – stabile and grooving.
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