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Andy Harder (born May 28, 1955 in Solothurn) is a Swiss jazz pianist and composer.

Life and education
Harder was raised in Solothurn and received classical piano lessons from an early age. Soon he began to experiment with composition and improvisation. Through the encounter with the music of Dollar Brand, Oscar Peterson and Keith Jarrett he developed an interest in jazz.

He attended the Hochschule für Musik Bern HKB, where he studied piano, arranging and composing, graduating with a master's degree in 1980. As a leader of his own trio and quartet, and as a member of various ensembles, he performed and toured in Switzerland, Italy, France, the Czech Republic and Germany. He has appeared on numerous festivals such as Montreux, Bern, Fribourg, Vienne and Bratislava.

Awards
Harder is the 1991 winner of the music prize of the canton of Solothurn.

Career
Harder collaborated with with an array of jazz musicians such as Glenn Ferris, Andy McGhee, Billy Cobham, Sal Nistico, Johnny Griffin, Reggie Johnson, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Roy Hargrove, Jimmy Woode, Oliver Jackson, Benny Bailey, Benny Waters, Dusko Gojkovitc and Milt Hinton. As a producer and pianist he is involved in many cd and concert productions with Swiss and international soloists.

Milt Hinton, for decades one of the most sought-after jazz bassists and accompanist of such prominent musicians as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Bing Crosby and Dizzy Gillespie, described Andy Harder after a joint concert as "one of the most swinging piano players I have ever worked with".

A composer of over 100 works, he wrote pieces for piano, jazz quartet and sextet, large formations and big bands, as well as compositions for clarinet and string quartet, 10 brass and brass band. Numerous commissions include the Swiss Wind Soloists, various Radio Big Bands, The Swiss Clarinet Players, The Swiss Jazz Summit, The Swiss Brass Consort and the Apollon Quartet) as well as compositions for media and film (latest film score "Der Wolf ist tot", 2020).

As a conductor and pianist Harder has worked with big bands such as the Take Off Big Band, the Big Band de Lausanne, the Swiss Jazz Orchestra, the SMV Big Band, the Zurich Jazz Orchestra, the Andy Harder Unit, the Big Band of the Hochschule für Musik Bern.

He is a member of the jazz department at the Zurich University of the Arts ZHdK, where he teaches piano and jazz ensemble.

Discography (selection)

 * Fo(u)r Clarinets Only  (Claves D-8605, 1986)
 * Jazz Club Uster Piano Session (Elite Special LP 50-153, 1989)
 * Good Vibes – Gregor Beck Trio & Benny Waters (BDC 7018-3, 1990)
 * A Monk’s Dream – Big Band de Lausanne (Planisphare/PL 1267-49 CD, 1991)
 * Out Of Twilight (TCB Records, 1991)
 * Ambassadors Swinging Message (ATJB, 1993)
 * A Lovely Attitude (TCB The Montreux Jazz Label/9320, 1993)
 * My Funny Valentine. Live At Atlans (Mons-Records, 1994)
 * Flying Towards Yourself (Brambus Records/199804-2, 1998)
 * Jive Concerto - Swiss Brass Consort (Obrasso Records/CD 868, 1998)
 * Lazy Afternoon (TCB The Montreux Jazz Label/20802, 1999)
 * Meret’s Delight – Swiss Jazz Summit (TCB The Montreux Jazz Label/9110, 2011)
 * From Heart To Heart (Schweizerische Herzstiftung, 2013)
 * Schoenberg & Harder - Apollon Quartet (Triart Recording/008, 2014)
 * Bad As Usual – Boris Pilleri’s Jammin’ (Sound Service/180316-2, 2016)

Literature

 * Bruno Spoerri (Hrsg.): Biografisches Lexikon des Schweizer Jazz. CD-Beilage zu: Bruno Spoerri (Hrsg.): Jazz in der Schweiz. Geschichte und Geschichten. Chronos-Verlag, Zürich 2005, ISBN 3-0340-0739-6

Weblinks

 * Website


 * Andy Harder on Discogs

Category:Swiss jazz pianists Category:Swiss jazz composers Category:Film score composers Category:Swiss musicians Category:Record producers Category:Swiss classical composers Category:1955 births