Tribute to Julien-François Zbinden

Julien-François Zbinden died peacefully on the night of March 7-8, 2021 at the age of 103.

Pianist, composer, passionate about jazz and all things new, figurehead of Radio Suisse Romande and even writer.

Dedicated to music from an early age, Julien-François Zbinden, nicknamed JFZ, was a versatile musician. His longevity and career enabled him to meet and work with the greatest artists of the ^20th century: Igor Stravinsky, Arthur Honegger, Clara Haskil, Martha Argerich, Maurice Ravel, Alfred Cortot, Francis Poulenc, John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Armin Jordan, Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli, the entire French-speaking musical landscape and many others.

JFZ also served as president of the Swiss Musicians’ Association (1973-1979) and of SUISA, the Swiss copyright society (1987-1991).

Pianist

Zbinden’s musical career began as a jazz and variety band pianist.

Throughout his life, he continued to play the piano daily, practicing improvisation and improving his playing.

In October 2017, he was again seen sitting at the piano next to double bassist Antoire Ogay for the RTS program “JazzZ”. And in 2018, he appears one last time at the piano in trumpeter Olivier Theurillat’s album, Tie-Break, recorded live at Radio Suisse Romande’s Studio 15. He will improvise a Centenary Blues of his own inspiration.

Composer

Julien-François Zbinden is a self-taught composer. His style is neoclassical. In addition to jazz, he is influenced by Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Arthur Honegger, César Franck, Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss.

Despite his various occupations, JFZ never stopped composing throughout his life.

Nearly 200 compositions! His rich musical output spans all genres: operas, oratorios, symphonies and orchestral music, concertos, chamber music, stage and film music, vocal and choral music, as well as radio works. Many of his works have won him international awards.

JFZ is certainly one of the most widely performed Swiss composers in the world.

Jazzman

The discovery of jazz music played a decisive role in JFZ’s professional life.

With his friend Pierre Dudan – who went on to become a well-known songwriter and composer – they passionately discovered Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and Count Basie. They formed a small ensemble, The Hot Black Boys, where he and Dudan (drums) developed their jazz practice.

Julien-François Zbinden progressed rapidly and, from 1938 to 1947, he worked as a jazz and variety pianist in Switzerland’s main cities. Thanks to this activity, he was hired by Radio-Lausanne.

Figure from Radio Suisse Romande

It was as a “jack-of-all-trades pianist” that JFZ was hired by Radio-Lausanne’s music department in 1947. His role included accompanying song and music-hall stars such as Juliette Gréco, Pauline Carton, Bourvil and Joséphine Baker.

He then became music director and ended his radio career as deputy head of music at Radio Suisse Romande.

Writer

Julien-François Zbinden has always loved writing.

Throughout his life, he kept up an abundant correspondence, jotting down his thoughts and writing three collections of memoirs. He also wrote numerous poems, only twenty of which survived his harsh criticism. “It could all be useful one day,” he said.

Indeed, “that day” arrived in 2009. At the age of 92, he began his first literary work, A Tu et à Toi, which was published three years later by Editions de l’Aire in Vevey. In the presentation, he explains his motivation:

“At the end of a life with which I am still in passionate dialogue, I felt the need to offer a few reflections of my thoughts and a few images of my existence, because the sum total of my musical works reveals what I feel, but not who I am.

To mark the composer’s 100th birthday in 2017, Editions de l’Aire published the second volume, De Vous à moi. And in 2019, a third volume, Au prochain Top, completes the masterly sum of reflections and memories of an accomplished artist.

“It was finally time to deliver, in this third volume, the last memories which, I hope, deserve to illuminate, with a little added light, my life which is passing away after having offered me so much, memories which will live or die in friendly memories”.

Links

• Official website of the composer.
• Julien-François Zbinden in Patrinum.

To see and hear

• RTS radio tribute to mark the composer’s ^100th birthday.
• JazzZoduc – Julien-François Zbinden – 94 Varieties!
• Take advantage of the RTS Archives available on site at the BCUL (Riponne and Unithèque sites; ask at the counters): you’ll find sound recordings and interviews with JFZ. It’s well worth the detour!
• Sound documents from the Phonothèque nationale (available on site at BCUL site Riponne and site Unithèque; ask at the counters).