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Switzerland-based Irish guitarist
Christy Doran,
a founding member of the Swiss free-jazz and jazz-rock quartet Om with saxophonist Urs Leimgruber, drummer Fredy Study and bassist Bobbi Burri that released Kirikuki (october 1975), Rautionaha (december 1976), OM with Dom um Ramao (august 1977) and especially Cerberus (january 1980),
established his credentials as a "creative" improviser through the solo albums Harsh Romantics (october 1984),
The Returning Dream Of The Leaving Ship (june 1986),
Phoenix (april 1990) and What a Band (june 1991). Among his projects were Corporate Art (june 1991), a tight quartet with saxophonist Gary Thomas, bassist Mark Helias and drummer Bobby Previte, and the abstract jazz-rock quartet with vocals New Bag, that debuted with Confusing the Spirit (march 1999).
Collaborations included:
Half A Lifetime (april 1979) with Studer,
Red Twist & Tuned Arrow (november 1986) with Studer and keyboardist Stephan Wittwer,
Henceforward (may 1988) with pianist John Wolf Brennan,
Doran/Studer/Burri/Magnenat (august 1989), featuring three members of Om and bassist Olivier Magnenat,
Musik Fur Zwei Kontrabasse, Elektrische Gitarre & Schlagzeug (may 1990) for the same quartet,
Shaman (2000) with cellist Boris Salchak, and percussionist Airto Moreira,
Triangulation (august 2003) with pianist John Wolf Brennan and cellist Patrice Heral.
In The Corner Of The Eye (june 1991) documents a quintet with Hank Roberts (cello), Marty Ehrlich (clarinet, tenor sax), Urs Leimgruber (soprano sax) and Ray Anderson (trombone).
Christy Doran's New Bag, with guest vocalist Bruno Amstad, released
Take The Floor And Lift The Roof (may 2011), a heavily electronic work
(Hans-Peter Pfammatter on keyboards and Vincent Membrez on mini-Moog synthesizer).
After the death of drummer Fabian Kurati in 2008 and the departure of
vocalist Bruno Amstad in 2011, Christy Doran's introduced new
vocalist Sara Buechi on Mesmerized
(january 2013 - Double Moon, 2013).
Bunter Hund was formed as a
quartet with Christian Weber (double bass), Patricia Draeger
(accordion) and Lionel Friedli (drums), documented on
Walkin' The Dog (2013).
New Bag's Elsewhere (january 2015)
featured Sarah Buechi on vocals,
Vincent Membrez on keyboards and Lionel Friedl on
percussion.
The Christy Doran trio, with Swiss bassist Lukas Mantel and Argentinean drummer Franco Fontanarrosa, recorded the
live Undercurrent (september 2017)
The one-hour
144 Strings For A Broken Chord (september 2016),
composed in 2015, is a composition for
twenty guitarists, four bassists and a drummer.
Sound Fountain, a trio with Lukas Mantel (drums) and Franco Fontanarrosa (bass), debuted with the live Belle Epoque (september 2015), followed by
the live Undercurrent (september 2017),
For The Kick Of It (november 2017) and
Lift The Bar (may 2019).
The OM project, i.e. Urs Leimgruber (soprano and tenor saxes), Christy Doran (electric guitar and devices), and the Swiss rhythm section of Bobby Burri (double bass and devices) and Fredy Studer (drums, percussion, bowed metal), is documented on:
Montreux Live & More (september 1974), containing the side-long (Fuddler) On The Roof (recorded live in july 1974);
Kirikuki (october 1975);
Rautionaha (december 1976);
With Dom Um Romao (august 1977);
Cerberus (january 1980);
the live Willisau (august 2008);
It's About Time (february 2020);
and
OM 50 (february 2022).
OM's drummer Fredy Studer died in 2022.
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