Elsie Bianchi

Swiss Jazz Musician She was born November 5th, 1930 in Zurich, Switzerland and died on July 17, 2016 in the USA. Awarded as a pianist on the first "Amateur Jazz Festival" Zurich in 1953, Elsie Brunner also impressed the audience there on accordion. Her brothers played trumpet, saxophone and other instruments in the musical family, but above all, collected all American jazz records they could find. As early as 1946 Elsie and her siblings were invited to an international accordion competition in Paris, where they won first prizes. In those early days there were also jam sessions in Zurich, from which Elsie should constitute her first own formation. On bass and Clarinet was Siro Bianchi, whom she later married and with whom she moved to the United States in 1958 - first as music professionals, then as farm owners. Today Elsie and Siro Bianchi-Brunner live in Royston, Georgia. For the first time in 1958 the two traveled to the U.S. and had engagements in Palm Springs and Sun Valley from spring to autumn, along with an American drummer. They were also working together with other American jazz musicians now: Elsa and Siro played with Bob Cooper and his Allstar Ensemble at a session in Hermosa Beach and were good friends of Hampton Hawes, Pete Jolly and Curtis Counce. From August 1959 to March 1962 they returned to Switzerland and played in Basel (mostly at the Atlantis) as well as in a hotel in Les Diablerets. In April 1962 Elsa and Siro went back to the States. Until 1968 the band toured the U.S. and also played some concerts in Canada. In between, they were always active in Switzerland, especially at the Atlantis/ Basel or in the well-known Swiss winter resorts. During her time in the U.S. Elsa and Siro played with American drummers, while back home they were accompanied by Swiss drummers. In those days Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer of the Saba/ MPS Records label from Villingen heard the band at the Atlantis Club in Basel and provided them with a spontaneous music production, this time accompanied by drummer Charly Antolini. The album entitled "The Sweetest Sound" was recorded and released in 1965. Until 1968 the trio played in Houston, Fort Worth and Fort Walton. For two years they were accompanied by the drummer Kenny Schmidt from Basel. Sometimes Siro also played flute or tenor saxophone. In winter 1968, they received an engagement at the Grand Hotel in Gstaad. Then they decided to stop the travelling. Already in the summer of 1967 Elsa and Siro bought a house in Atlanta, Georgia and settled there in spring 1968. From this year, Elsie`s nephew Peter Brunner was sitting at the drums. In 1968 they received a permanent commitment there and played this club for ten long years. In 1977, Elsie and Siro participated in the "K-Swiss Sportshoe Factory" Atlanta, whose California headquarters were managed by Elsie`s two brothers. The trio worked at the Fleur De Lis until the tennis shoe factory was built. Then they withdrew from the music business. In 1987 K-Swiss was sold. They bought a first ranch in Marysville, Georgia. In 1995, they found their dream farm in Royston, where they live till today.