"When Xu Fengxia was 5 years old she started to learn instruments. She first played the Chinese lute "Pipa", but when she started to study at the Shanghai Music Conservatory she focussed on the "Sanxian" (usually a plucked instrument, but as you can see it also is possible to use a bow!). The picture was taken during her first solo concert at the Conservatory. She mastered four instruments: guzheng, guqin, sanxian and a small lute called liuqin. After her graduation Xu Fengxia joined the famous Shanghai Orchestra of Chinese Music. She worked there as a soloist on the sanxian. Some of her early solo work has been documented on a Hugo Records (Hongkong) sampler. Meanwhile Xu Fengxia also played solo music of Paganini and was the soloist in a contemporary concert for sanxian and symphony orchestra.

The 80s brought new cultural influences to China. Young people got interested in Rock and Pop music from abroad. So, Xu Fengxia started to play the bass in Shanghai`s first Ladies Rockband. They played also possible venues from bars to football stadiums.

In the 90s Xu Fengxia began to live in Germany. She joined the Gufeng Ensemble which was the most famous group for traditional Chinese music in Europe.

Xu Fengxia had been playing the first concert with musicians of jazz and improvised music 1990 in Shanghai (with flutist Albert Preisfeld and violinist and composer Lutz Wagner). The 90`s brought a band called Shanghai Connection. It began as a trio with Xu Fengxia, Albert Preisfeld and Lutz Wagner. Later it was a sextet with Rolf Sudmann (piano), Zhang Zhenfang (erhu), Rudi Mahall (clarinet), Roland H.H.Bisswurm (drums), Li Jing Xia (pipa) and Xu Fengxia. They played compositions of Lutz Wagner. This was the first time when Xu Fengxia "got mad" and started improvising.

In the mid 90`s Xu Fengxia began an intensive collaboration with the late Peter Kowald, one of the main figures in improvised music worldwide.With Gunda Gottschalk (violin) and Peter Kowald (bass) Xu Fengxia performed worldwide. The trio which was called "Global Village" played at the Vision Festival in New York, at the Poschiavo,Lucerne and Taktlos festivals in Switzerland. With Peter Kowald and reed player Alfred Harth Xu Fengxia played the Moscow Pushkin Festival. When she had duo concerts with Peter in Boston and New York in september 2002 he all of the sudden died of a heart attack.Xu Fengxia describes Peter Kowald as her main influence to open up for new musical horizons. Also, Peter was a wonderful person and a good friend.The picture was taken after a concert in Hagen/ GermanyXu Fengxia works with composers and orchestras

Until now, Xu Fengxia often plays solo parts in the compositions of Chinese Composers like Tan Dun, Qu Xiaosong, Kee Yong, Xu Shuya, Qin Wencheng and many more. She cooperated with the Nieuw ensemble Amsterdam, the Flemish Symphony Brugge, Ensemble Recherche, Staatstheater Saarbruck and others."

"Lucas Niggli was born in a thunderbolt in 1968, West Kamerun. He lived there before he moved to Switzerland. Today he lives in Uster with his three children, Felix, Gaudenz and Emilia and his partner Annette Meier.

IntroHis affinity to Music, especially to percussion instruments, was quite strong at a very young age. Between 1987 and 1995, he played at the experimental New Jazz formation "Kieloor Entartet". The group published three CDs, conquered many stages in diverse countries, formed a not every day orchestra, "ENAO91 and ENAO93", and connected to other artists and composers. After that, Lucas Niggli took charge of the management of the alternative Swiss label "UNIT-Records" until 1998; he was the president of the Swiss Professional Association of Jazz and Improvisation Musicians, SMS, and a long member of the board of the WIM (werkstatt für improvisierte Musik Zurich).

Working Bands

In 1995 he founded the avant-core band "Steamboat Switzerland" with Dominik Blum and Marino Pliakas. More than 150 concerts, 4 cd and 2 vinyl recordings testify to the group's intense and hard work. "Lucas Niggli's Zoom" was founded in 1999 (with Nils Wogram And Philipp Schaufelberger) They performed at all of Europe's big festivals, (Moers, Saalfelden, Willisau, Le Mans) as well n Vancouver and they recorded a first cd in 2001 followed by a CD in 2003. As an extension of this trio, Lucas Niggli created "Big Zoom", a quintet with Claudio Puntin and Peter Herbert as guests, with two releases (Big Ball, Sweat). Since 2002 he plays regularly in the Piano Trio with Jacques Demierre and Barry Guy. Since 1994 Lucas Niggli has played in a variety of different bands with Pierre Favre as his partner. These are, amongst others, "Singing Drums", "European Chamber Ensemble", "The Drummers", as well as a duo.Since 2006 he is composing for and performing with the international Drum Quartet Beat Bag Bohemia (with Kesivan Naidoo (SA), RolandoLamussene (MZ), and Peter Conradin Zumthor (CH). The Duo Black Lotos with chinese Guzheng Player Xu Fengxia is also a long lasting working band, like the Drum Duo Lucas Niggli and Peter Conradin Zumthor. Since 2011 the Trio Biondini - Godard - Niggli with Luciano Biondini and Michel Godard tours extensivly in Europe with two CD Productions for Intakt Records. Since 2013 regulary also in Projects with the Drum Trio Klick with Fritz Hauser and P.C.Zumthor and in a Duo with Swiss Singer Andreas Schaerer.

Other World

Lucas Niggli was always musically active. He toured through all of Europe with different musicians, played on stages in Russia and America, Egypt and Canada, China and Southafria, Taiwan and m.o. He performed on major Jazz festivals in Vancouver, Berlin, Moers, Saalfelden, Willisau, Rome, Nürnberg, Capetown, Le Mans, Münster and Zurich. And New Music Festivals like Huddersfield (UK), Donaueschingen ( D) , Ultima (N), MaerzMusik (D). He is always being tempted into different corners of the music business. If he doesn't perform a contemporary piece by David Dramm, Michael Werthmüller, Felix Profos, Sam Hayden, Kagel, Polanski, Cage, or Rzewski; he will regularly improvise in the Zurich "Werkstatt für Improvisierte Musik." And he plaied in several Bands from Swiss Singer Erika Stucky, like "Bubble and Bangs".

In Best Memories

In his bands and projects, Lucas Niggli had the chance to work hand in hand with musicians from all over the world, from all kinds of different scenes. People like Barry Guy, John Cale, Pierre Favre, Butch Morris, Trevor Watts, Fred Frith, Hans Koch, Peter Kowald, Peter Waters, Samul Nori, Tom Cora, Ikue Mori, Tenko, Michel Doneda, Michel Wintsch, Collegium Novum, Urs Leimgruber, Arkadij Shilklopper, Jean-Luis Matinier, Martin Schütz, Irene Schweizer, Susanne Abbuehl, Wu Wei, Phil Minton, the filmmaker Peter Mettler , Susanne Abbuehl, Erika Stucky, ARTE Quartet, Andrew Cyrille, Andreas Schaerer, Tim Berne and many more."