Recorded live in Zurich, Feb 1968 -- predating "Santana" by 7 months, this newly unearthed tape captures the trio's earliest known performance.

Recorded live at Radio Studio Zurich on 19 February 1968, 'Bird Food' predates 'Santana' -- previously considered the trio's debut album -- by nearly seven months, making it the earliest known document of this historic formation.
The tape lay dormant in Pierre Favre's personal archive until he and trombonist-producer Samuel Blaser uncovered it while sorting through old recordings, a discovery that rewrites the timeline of the trio and captures, in vivid immediacy, the birth of a musical language.
Pierre Favre (drums) and Irène Schweizer (piano) first played together at the Paiste cymbal factory, improvising during breaks. Their musical partnership is here joined by Czech bassist Jiří Mráz, who would go on to become George Mraz in the United States, a first-call sideman for Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Stan Getz, and Tommy Flanagan.
Four tracks, 29 minutes: 'Bird Food' by Ornette Coleman, and three compositions by Irène Schweizer -- 'Sounds II,' 'Hinten,' and 'The Attack.' A free jazz at once fiery and attentive, where every musician listens as much as they play.
As Pierre Favre himself put it: he believes Irène Schweizer played at her very best on this recording -- a striking testament from the drummer himself to the quality of this long-buried session, now finally brought to light.

Track Listing

• Bird Food
• Sounds II
• Hinten
• The Attack

Additional Details

Label: Blaser Music

Genre: Jazz

Language: English

Run Time: 33 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 09/04/26

UPC: 730706018503