Until their lips bleed
Founded 25 years ago as a small ad hoc jazz group, the ETH Big Band has now become a successful orchestra that delights international audiences from Rio to Shanghai. We take a look back with founder Christoph Eck.
There are certain magical moments in which a band plays in a kind of rapture. The audience usually feels it too: “Sometimes we’ve played up to half an hour of encores, because the whole hall has begun dancing. It’s only when we finally leave the stage that we notice our lips are almost bleeding and our shirts are soaking wet,” recalls Christoph Eck.
When Eck came to ETH Zurich as a postgraduate student 25 years ago, he was absolutely delighted by his new surroundings and the scientific opportunities available. Only one thing stood between the young German electrical engineer and perfect happiness: a jazz band. Music had been a part of his life since childhood, and his trumpet was his most faithful companion. So what did he do? He decided to found his own band.
Not just blowing his own trumpet
He quickly found a handful of like-minded people: students and employees who shared his passion and talent for music. They were caught up in Eck’s enthusiasm for the band project, and it quickly got underway. Eck himself switched sides: while in Germany he had always sat in the middle of the orchestra, he now stood at the conductor’s stand. The band was soon playing at graduation ceremonies and at the annual Polyball.
Today, 25 years later, Eck is a professor of control technology at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts and CEO of the ETH spin-off Aeroscout – and still the head of the ETH Big Band. Four other band members have also been there since the beginning, but otherwise the band has changed a lot over the last quarter-century. It has grown, in more ways than one: numbers have steadily increased, and it now has around 20 members. They mostly come from ETH, though some have joined from the University of Zurich and from the Zurich and Lucerne jazz schools. The band has also grown in musical terms: the playing standard has improved and the repertoire expanded, including with pieces composed by some of the band’s own members.
From Montreux to Sugarloaf Mountain
Their range of appearances has also grown – and the fan community with it. While the ETH Big Band began by playing mainly at ETH itself, it has since received an increasing number of opportunities to play further afield: the members have played at Zürifäscht, Sechseläuten and the Montreux Jazz Festival Off. They generally don’t keep the fees themselves, but use them for special projects such as trips and workshops, or to invite high-profile guest soloists.
“Of course, the absolute highlights were our tours abroad, such as on the occasion of Swiss’ first flight to Shanghai with Federal Councillor Doris Leuthard, or accompanying official ETH delegations to India and Brazil,” says Eck proudly. In addition to their shared memories, the band members also brought new musical inspirations home with them. Samba and bossa nova rhythms infuse the CD Brazil, which was recorded shortly after the Brazilian tour.
Precision and magic
Eck is convinced that these shared experiences have a decisive impact on the band’s spirit – both personally and musically. As the band leader, it is particularly important to him that the members are able to actively contribute and creatively develop their talents, such as with improvised solos or by composing or arranging pieces themselves. “The band lives thanks to its members; the dynamic of each individual plays its part in the whole,” says Eck.
Even after 25 years, the ETH Big Band still provides the ideal contrast for Eck to his life as an engineer. At the same time, he also sees parallels between the worlds of music and science: “The foundation is precision. You usually achieve success as part of a team. And without creativity, you won’t get anywhere.”
If the musicians continue to play with the same level of passion and enthusiasm, the ETH Big Band is sure to stick around to celebrate a few more anniversaries. And to gift both new and loyal fans with even more magical moments.
Big Band anniversary highlights
On Saturday, 24 March 2018, the ETH Big Band will perform their anniversary concert at the Mehrspur music club on the Toni-Areal in Zurich. The programme will include a variety of pieces that have shaped the band’s 25-year history.
From 7 to 9 June 2018, the ETH Big Band is organising the “Jazz im Park” festival and will appear in Irchelpark alongside selected big bands from Switzerland and abroad. Admission is free.