Fabienne Ambuehl / Thrive
Release Date: 17th January 2025
CD & Digital Formats / UBU0166
Fabienne Ambuehl (Photographer: Kirill Kuletski)
Ubuntu Music is delighted to announce the signing of Swiss vocalist/pianist/composer Fabienne Ambuehl for the release of her next project, Thrive, on 17th January 2025.
Fabienne shares her thoughts about her latest venture: “One summer during the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, I got to know Yuri Goloubev (bassist) and Asaf Sirkis (percussionist), as we were all playing in the band of Swiss guitarist Marco Cortesi. The piano trio had been the instrumentation of my choice since my final recitals at Hochschule Lucerne Switzerland. The new line-up with Yuri on bass and Asaf on drums toured and recorded ‘Glitterwoods’, which was released on Traumton Records Berlin in 2015 and highly rated by the jazz press. Playing trio feels right for my slightly dense compositional language, which projects clearly through the transparency of this format.
“After having moved to London, which was as a huge change for me, I formed a new band. With Matt Ridley on bass and Jon Scott on drums, I am thrilled to have two of my favourite musicians on the UK scene in my band. I am really looking forward to playing the music live in the UK, after mainly having performed with them in Switzerland, so far.”
Jon Scott, Fabienne Ambuehl, Matt Ridley (Photographer: Greg De Wode)
Fabienne continues, concerning the new album: “’Thrive’ is the result of introspection, questions of belonging, moving country just before lockdown was announced, and sometimes not knowing what place to call home. Many songs are inspired by nature, which I believe is a healing power. ‘New Ones’ features Ant Law on guitar, whose strong solo captures the thought of the song perfectly: alien life arriving on earth and supplanting humanity. ‘Thrive’, the title track, with words by D.H. Lawrence, describes ‘a small bird who will drop frozen dead from a bough, without ever having felt sorry for itself.’ Tom Ollendorff’s expressive guitar sound is such a luminous addition to the trio as, for example, on ‘Immaculate Rain’, where I am singing about feeling renewed after venturing into pouring rain.
“One of the great lessons I learned while writing this album, is to multitask less, in general. ‘Thrive’ is an invitation to be more present within the little moments in life, undistracted. Although the music is rooted in jazz, influenced by folk, and plays with the lyrical aspects of Romantic music, I hope that it can speak for itself.”
Fabienne Ambuehl, Matt Ridley, Jon Scott (Photographer: Rolf Fassbind)
Fabienne goes on to describe her new relationship with Ubuntu Music: “I am really excited to be releasing ‘Thrive’ as my debut with Ubuntu Music. Many musicians whom I admire are on its roster. Martin’s unique work, passion for, and dedication to (jazz) music is contagious and a true asset for us musicians and the UK jazz scene. I feel privileged and proud to become a part of this musical family and would like to thank the Ubuntu team for the outstanding support in the process, and their faith in my music.”
Martin Hummel, Director of Ubuntu Music, concludes: “It’s a pleasure for us to be working with Fabienne on ‘Thrive’, her upcomoing project. The compositions, along with the performances behind each, are exceptional and a joy for the ears to absorb. Her superb trio – Matt Ridley (bass) and Jon Scott (drums) – along with guttarists Ant Law and Tom Ollendorff, are all previous Ubuntu recording musicians which makes this a particularly special release. We are so happy to have them in the Ubuntu Family.”
Jon Scott, Fabienne Ambuehl, Matt Ridley (Photographer: Greg De Wode)
For further information, please contact:
Fabienne Ambuehl/Artist: info@fabienneambuehl.com
Rupert Burley/Dynamic Agency (International PR): rupert@dynamicagency.co.uk
Martina Weinmar/MaWeMarketing (Europe): mweinmar@email.de
Martin Hummel/Ubuntu Music (Worldwide): martin@ubuntumanagementgroup.com
FABIENNE AMBUEHL BIOGRAPHY:
Fabienne Ambuehl is a Swiss pianist, singer and composer, living in London. With her trio she released her debut album, Glitterwoods (Traumton Berlin), which was well-received in the European jazz press. Thrive, her upcoming release, features Jon Scott on drums, Matt Ridley on bass, with Tom Ollendorff and also Ant Law on guitar.
As well as performing with her trio and solo, in the recent past Fabienne has performed with the Noga Ritter band and worked and toured in Senegal for a musical residency, supported by Arts Council England. With Neele & the Soundvoyage she released an EP and the album Visions (QFTF Berlin 2018) and toured Switzerland and Germany. As a singer and soloist of the Jazz Choir Freiburg, Fabienne toured Germany and Austria. In July 2017 she was their soloist at the Eurovision Song Contest for choirs in Riga, Latvia.
Fabienne completed her masters degree at Lucerne School of Music. She studied with Hans Feigenwinter and Chris Wiesendanger alongside vocal studies with Bruno Amstad and Lauren Newton. Fabienne continued her studies with Jean Paul Brodbeck, Christoph Stiefel, Asaf Sirkis and Gwilym Simcock.
Fabienne won a scholarship from Friedl Wald Stiftung and studied at the Complete Vocal institute in Copenhagen. She is the winner of a Förderpreis of the Kanton Zug and with Harmonie Greber was selected for Suisse Diagonales Jazz.
