Michael Arbenz
A classically-trained pianist and self-taught jazz performer, Michael Arbenz brings the passionate curiosity of his self-directed investigations in jazz to the rigour of his classical performance practice.

After studying classical piano in Basel, Michael Arbenz’s international classical career has included collaborations with Pierre Boulez, Heinz Holliger, Jürg Wyttenbach and the Swiss new music ensemble Contrechamps.

Discovering a love of jazz as a child, his self-guided exploration of both the techniques of improvisation and the history of jazz was fresh and personal, and his approach to improvisation is multilayered rather than linear, using the piano as an orchestra.

His jazz influences are very eclectic and include major jazz pianists across the history of the music, as well as colours and ideas from classical music. He has performed widely with the acclaimed VEIN trio, and has collaborated with international stars including Greg Osby, Glenn Ferris, Dave Liebman, Marc Johnson, Wolfgang Puschnig, and Andy Sheppard. Michael Arbenz also works as a composer and arranger and teaches in the Jazz Department at the University of Lucerne.

Thomas Lähns
Double bass player Thomas Lähns is a highly distinguished performer of both classical music and jazz. He combines the sophisticated bowing technique of the classical orchestra with the spontaneity of the jazz ensemble.

His classical performances include appearances with Heinz Holliger and Peter Eötvös at the Salzburger Festspiele and Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, and regular classical solo performances across Europe and South America. He is one of the few players to perform Hans Werner Henze’s Concerto for Double Bass. As a teenager his first musical ambition was to play electric bass, inspired by a love of Iron Maiden – until he fell in love with jazz and learnt the double bass.

He studied classical music in Basel with Wolfgang Güttler and Botond Kostyak and took masterclasses with Marc Dresser. He is much in demand on the jazz scene, playing in over 100 jazz gigs a year.

As co-leader of VEIN Trio, he makes guest appearances with artists including Christoph Stiefel, Johannes Mössinger and Kolsimcha. His approach is in the tradition of Scott LaFaro, Richard Davis, Miroslav Vitous and especially the great exponents of jazz bowing such as Slam Stewart and Major Holley.

Florian Arbenz
One of Europe’s most versatile and accomplished drummers, Florian Arbenz has an unsurpassed jazz pedigree with the acclaimed Swiss trio VEIN.

He got to know jazz through acquaintances such as Kirk Lightsey and Famadou Don Moye, and studied with Ed Thigpen and Steve Smith. He is also a classically trained percussionist, with extensive international orchestral experience, and has performed with Peter Eötvös, György Kurtag and Christoph von Dohnanyi, among others.

As a student, he spent six months at Cuba’s University of the Arts, and has maintained an active interest in the international scene ever since, incorporating elements from Asian technique, as well as Afro- Cuban, in his own playing.

Florian follows the careers of cutting-edge practitioners such as Chris Dave, and Eric Harland very closely, and hones his own technique with a similarly innovative focus.