Christoph Irniger / Marc Perrenoud | New Lines | March 27, 2026
Two of Switzerland’s most distinctive jazz voices come together on New Lines, a duo recording that finds tenor saxophonist Christoph Irniger and pianist Marc Perrenoud re-examining the language of jazz standards through a shared compositional lens. Marking their first recorded collaboration as a duo — and their first time committing this more “traditional” format to record, New Lines is set for release on March 27th, 2026 via Unit Records.
Both Irniger and Perrenoud are established figures on the international jazz scene, known for projects that balance strong compositional identity with improvisational freedom. Here, stripped back to saxophone and piano, their long-standing musical affinity comes into sharp focus. Rather than revisiting standards directly, New Lines adopts a conceptual approach inspired by Lennie Tristano: taking familiar harmonic frameworks as points of departure, then writing entirely new melodic material over them.
The result is music that acknowledges tradition while refusing to replicate it. Charlie Parker’s Confirmation becomes Dry Sensation; Bill Evans’ Time Remembered re-emerges as Deja Vu. Elsewhere, pieces such as Fast Finish (based on Coltrane’s Countdown) and Bluesetto (a reimagining of Toots Thielemans’ Bluesette) illustrate how Irniger and Perrenoud allow form, harmony, and intuition to interact, and then move beyond their original models entirely.
Importantly, New Lines doesn’t remain bound to its conceptual framework. As the album unfolds, the duo increasingly steps away from reference points, closing with compositions that stand fully on their own. Intricate interplay is marked by clarity, restraint, and a shared instinct for when to let ideas breathe, or move on.
Irniger and Perrenoud first began performing as a duo in 2022, driven simply by curiosity and mutual respect. “We play standards all the time for ourselves,” Irniger explains, “but we’d never recorded an album in this style before. Now we just felt like doing it.”
Even for listeners unfamiliar with Tristano’s legacy, the album offers an engaging journey through shifting tempos, moods, and perspectives. It’s a recording rooted in jazz history, but animated by forward motion: a dialogue between structure and spontaneity, intimacy and momentum, tradition and reinvention.
Line up
Christoph Irniger | Tenor Saxophone Marc Perrenoud | Piano
Track Listing
Dry Sensation
Bluesetto
Luce Oscura
Fast Finish
Abanndoned Eggs in a Pan
Belle
Hold Up
Deja Vu
Gizmo
Night Owl
The Unit
PR Quotes
UK Vibe (UK)
“Irniger and Perrenoud have created music that demands repeated listening while still remaining elusive”
Paris-move (FR)
“une expérience d’écoute intime, réfléchie et accessible”
SK Jazz (SK)
“The changes and melodies dance around each other, challenging, motivating and inspiring each other, developing their own symbiotic life, just as Irniger and Perrenoud’s intuitions naturally intertwine”
Jazzism (NL)
“These are not musicians who just dabble in jazz; oh no – these are people who have thoroughly absorbed jazz history”
Esensja (PL)
“will give connoisseurs a lot of satisfaction”
Salt-peanuts (DK)
“A nice and down-to-earth release where we meet two musicians who flourish in each other’s company.”
Jazz a babor (FR)
“Something incredible always happens in the new lines by Irniger and Perrenoud: listen to to be convinced!“
Donos (PL)
“This is an album you want to return to, because each time it reveals something you missed before.”
Jazz Weekly (USA)
“I’m a sucker for jazz duet albums, and this one that has tenor saxist Christoph Irniger teamed with pianist Marc Perrenoud is a real treat”
JazzMania (BE)
“Irniger and Perrenoud thus prove that they not only master their classics, but also possess the experience and inspiration necessary to offer a fresh concept each time”
Jazz Views (UK)
“This is an album that you should expect to spend some time with… to dig beneath the surface to unravel the clues behind the pieces”
All About Jazz (US)
“the quiet joy of two masterful voices finishing each other’s thoughts with economy, elegance, and deep mutual understanding”
La Habitacion del Jazz (ES)
“Saxophone and piano, bare and unaccompanied, present a seemingly simple format that conceals a rich dialogue, some classical, others jazzy, brimming with imagination. Intellectualism is present, but not cloying, creating fluid conversations that require more than one listen to fully appreciate their depth”
Goldmine Magazine (USA)
“I guess I never really thought about jazz in Switzerland, but it is certainly in more-than-capable hands with Christoph Irniger and Marc Perrenoud! New Lines is”
Musi an sich (DE)
“It alternates between serenity, melancholy, and spirited moods full of playfulness and objectivity, always as music of high quality and intensity of expression”
Culture Jazz (FR)
“Un grand moment de musicalité, de finesse assumée, servi par deux artistes qui ne manquent pas de fond. Vivement recommandé“
Cuttings
