© fotozug.ch
Elmar Frey, Jazz Drummer, Switzerland
Born in 1964, Elmar Frey began at the age of 16 to play the drums. 1988-1992 he studied at the Swiss Jazz School Berne with Billie Brooks and Joe Haider.
Since the beginning of the Nineties he has been working as a professional musician in the bands of Roberto Bossard, Chris Wiesendanger, Daniel Schenker, Vince Benedetti, Stefan Stahel, Patrick Tompert, Jochen Baldes, Christoph Grab, Herbie Kopf, Peter Frei, Christian Münchinger, Alessandro d'Episcopo, Danilo Moccia, Alex Felix, Stefan Schlegel, Regula Schneider, Lilly Thornton, Pascal Dussex, Peggy Chew and with the group Organ-x Plus.
He composes and arranges for his own project Elmar Frey Sextet.
Elmar Frey has had the fortune to share the stage with following international jazz greats:
James Carter, Gerard Gibbs, Mark Soskin, Horace Parlan, Benny Golson, Barry Harris, New York Voices, Greg Osby, Mick Goodrick, George Gruntz, Dusko Gojkovic, Franco Ambrosetti, James Zollar, Bobby Shew, Reggie Johnson, Vince Benedetti, Isla Eckinger, Gary Barone, Joe Haider, Roman Schwaller, Jason Marshall, William Evans, Phil Wilson, Ack van Royen, Tony Lakatos, Adrian Mears, Seamus Blake, Ben Street, Chris Cheek, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Gene Perla, Barbara Dennerlein.
Discography (selection):
| True Blue | True Blue (1993) |
| Peggy Chew | Detour Ahead (1994) |
| Twobones | To Kai and Jay (1994) |
| Regula Schneider | Das tapfere Schneiderlein (1997) |
| Herbie Kopf / Elmar Frey | Inviting (1997) |
| Chris Wiesendanger Trio | Live at Moods (1998) |
| Regula Schneider | Let‘s Go (1999) |
| Slidestream | Cat Eyes (2000) |
| Organ-x | A Time To Talk (2000) |
| Sorry, it‘s jazz! | Sorry, it‘s jazz! (2001) |
| Chris Wiesendanger Trio | Bardo (2001) |
| Daniel Schenker Quartet | Iridium (2003) |
| Jochen Baldes | Subnoder (2003) |
| Soskin-Bossard-Frei-Frey | Atlantic Crossing (2003) |
| Elmar Frey Sextett | News From The Past (2004) |
| Roberto Bossard - The Trio | Monday Nights (2004) |
| Daniel Schenker Quartet | inviting Chris Cheek - Soundlines (2005) |
| Intuition | Lennie's Line (2005) |
| Christian Münchinger | Balanced Action (2005) |
| Alessandro d'Episcopo | Meraviglioso (2006) |
| Jochen Baldes Subnoder | The Moholo Songs (2006) |
| Organ-x | Organ-x Plus (2008) |
| Daniel Schenker Quartet | Jardim Bôtanico (2009) |
| Patrick Tompert Trio | Strollin' With O.P. (2010) |
| Alessandro d'Episcopo Trio | Solare (2011) |
| Ellingtonality | Ellingtonality Vol. 1 (2012) |
| Soskin-Bossard-Boclé-Frey | Atlantic Crossing - Another One (2013) |
| Organ-x Plus | You'll Be Fine (2014) |
| Mark Hauser Quartet | It's All About The Journey (2015) |
| Slidestream | Strade diverse (2017) |
| Gutfleisch/Schürmann/Frey | Jazz People (2017) |
| Christoph Grab's Tough Tenor | Basics (2018) |
| Renzo Spotti Trio - "Compassion" | Live at Rost & Gold (2018) |
| Daniel Schenker | Times Of Innocence (2019) |
| Gutfleisch-Schürmann-Frey | Sambâle (2019) |