Mathias Kunzli, Percussion
Hailing from Switzerland, multi-disciplined drummer/percussionist Mathias Kunzli has become ubiquitous in the New York City music scene and has made Los Angeles is second home.
As a teenager he became the drummer for the Swiss Youth Jazz Orchestra, received two scholarships from Boston’s prestigious Berklee College of Music and moved to the United States in 1995.
Kunzli’s desire and ability to adapt to a wide range of musical styles have enabled him to tour extensively in six continents and he has appeared in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, arenas, and festivals including Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Royal Festival Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Outside Lands Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, and many more.
National TV appearances in the US include: Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Colbert Report, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Good Morning America, Late Late Show with James Corden, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Late Night with Seth Meyers.
Besides having recorded on well over a hundred albums, Mathias released his first solo-album. “Playground” is a live recording of an all-improvised solo-show in NYC.
As a drummer and percussionist, he has had the chance to collaborate with artists as varied as Regina Spektor, Moby, Lauryn Hill, Yo-Yo Ma Silk Road Project, Vieux Farka Toure, John Zorn’s Electric Masada, Hal Crook, Jamey Haddad, Yanka Roupkina, Theodosii Spassov, Bakithi Kumalo, Savina Yannatou, The Paul Winter Consort, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Matt Dariau, Frank London, Gina Gershon, Keyhan Kalhor, Mary Wilson, Steve Gorn, Howard Johnson, Brooklyn Rider, Steff La Cheffe, Erika Stucky etc.
Some current projects/artists include Regina Spektor, Ljova and the Kontraband, Jihae, Pharaoh’s Daughter, Rashanim, Blivet, Duke Bojadziev, Sarah Alden etc.