MESH! Die neue Jazzreihe der UnvermeidBAR

MESH! — the new concert series at UnvermeidBAR, Baden (2026/27 season)

The new concert series MESH! at UnvermeidBAR in Baden creates an ongoing platform for a collective of musicians from the contemporary Swiss jazz scene. The series is curated by Lino Blöchlinger, Sebastian Strinning, Valeria Zangger, Christoph Grab, Christoph Baumann, and theater artist Stella Palino. All participants are highly active in the arts and collectively possess an extensive network.

After 25 years of the house quartet’s influential presence at Stella Palino’s various venues and the conclusion of its final series, there is a clear consensus: the Thursday concerts should continue and be transformed into a new format. In the past, opening the series to other bands has already proven successful—it brought fresh energy and attracted a younger audience. The new concept builds on this.

At its core is the fusion of jazz, contemporary music, and theater. MESH! is specifically designed as a testing ground: the goal is to create new formats, enable artistic risks, and foster cross-disciplinary collaborations. The exchange with other media—such as spoken word, film, and theater—broadens the reach and appeals to diverse cultural interest groups.

MESH! is organized and curated by a dedicated collective of musicians. Responsibility and decision-making deliberately rest with the artists themselves—right where artistic practice takes shape. This gives rise to flexible, direct, and resilient structures that do not administer but rather enable. Here, self-management becomes an artistic stance: reacting quickly, taking risks, venturing into the new—without detours.

At the heart of it all is the creation and safeguarding of ongoing performance opportunities for a vibrant contemporary music scene. Especially in contemporary jazz and improvisational music, such venues are by no means a given. They serve as a breeding ground, a laboratory, and a resonant space all at once—crucial for development, exchange, and visibility.

The existing infrastructure of UnvermeidBAR continues to be generously provided by the theater association and forms the stable foundation upon which this artistic initiative can grow.

Two central conceptual ideas shape the series:

The concept of a network: Musicians from the pool perform in rotating formations—with existing projects and newly initiated collaborations. Building and maintaining an active network (mesh) is central to this music both artistically and economically and provides sustainable momentum for the scene.

Collective formats: The season opener and closer are each organized as “Tutti” evenings—joint music and theater productions by the collective.

In addition, approximately four concert slots per season are allocated to invited musicians from the Baden/Zurich region. This specifically expands and strengthens low-threshold performance opportunities.

The tried-and-true core ritual remains: meetings on Thursday afternoons for joint rehearsals, followed by a focused concert in the evening. This direct connection between the creative process and the performance is an essential component of the MESH! concerts.

The 2026/27 season comprises a total of 25 concert evenings and is divided into two blocks:

• November 5, 2026, through January 28, 2027

• February 11, 2027, through May 13, 2027

The admission price remains CHF 20.–.

With MESH! at the UnvermeidBAR in Baden, a long-standing cultural tradition is being carried forward while simultaneously being developed independently for the future—as a vibrant hub for new music, exchange, and artistic initiative in the region.

Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.