Biography
Daniel Breitenstein, alias Breiti, is originally from Wohlen (AG), where he learned to play the piano and clarinet as a child. At 16, colleagues gave him a boogie-woogie record and ragtime sheet music. From that moment on, he continued to take classical piano lessons, but only practiced playing Scott Joplin's "Maple Leaf Rag" and tried to reproduce boogies from the record. After forming a first band with young people from the village, at 20 he joined the famous "Black Bottom Stompers" of Zurich. This group is still known today beyond the country's borders for its compact and rhythmic sound. In 95 and 97, the formation won first prizes twice at the Saint-Raphaël international old-time jazz festival.
Today, Breiti lives in French-speaking Switzerland, in La Neuveville. For many years, he has regularly visited New Orleans where, thanks to good contacts with local musicians, he always finds the opportunity to play in clubs, bars, or on the Mississippi steamboat. During his visit to the jazz metropolis in the spring of 2005, he notably had the opportunity to play in the legendary Preservation Hall - no one suspected at that time the catastrophic floods that would occur a few months later! In this birthplace of jazz, he also discovered the particular sound of "New Orleans Piano" in the style of Professor Longhair or James Booker. Daniel Breitenstein is one of the few pianists to practice this style here. After years of success in Switzerland and abroad with the group "Breit'n'Wark and the Street Rats", Breiti founded his own Louisiana group "little BIG Easy" in 2007. Since late 2017, he calls his formations, whose composition varies according to events, "Breiti & the BIG easy Gators". Besides lively boogie-woogie and rock'n roll, one also hears sensitive blues and gospel, joyous "Mardi Gras" carnivals, wild rhythm & blues, funky brass band groove, and dixie.
Breiti also performs regularly with the "New Orleans Hot Shots" from Murten and "DixieOnAir" from Biel. He also regularly helps out as a substitute or guest musician in various formations in Switzerland and abroad. Occasionally, he also performs solo or in a trio formation.
Among Daniel Breitenstein's models are stride specialists James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, boogie legends Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis, and New Orleans R&B pianists Prof. Longhair, James Booker, Dr. John, and Marcia Ball.
Today, Breiti lives in French-speaking Switzerland, in La Neuveville. For many years, he has regularly visited New Orleans where, thanks to good contacts with local musicians, he always finds the opportunity to play in clubs, bars, or on the Mississippi steamboat. During his visit to the jazz metropolis in the spring of 2005, he notably had the opportunity to play in the legendary Preservation Hall - no one suspected at that time the catastrophic floods that would occur a few months later! In this birthplace of jazz, he also discovered the particular sound of "New Orleans Piano" in the style of Professor Longhair or James Booker. Daniel Breitenstein is one of the few pianists to practice this style here. After years of success in Switzerland and abroad with the group "Breit'n'Wark and the Street Rats", Breiti founded his own Louisiana group "little BIG Easy" in 2007. Since late 2017, he calls his formations, whose composition varies according to events, "Breiti & the BIG easy Gators". Besides lively boogie-woogie and rock'n roll, one also hears sensitive blues and gospel, joyous "Mardi Gras" carnivals, wild rhythm & blues, funky brass band groove, and dixie.
Breiti also performs regularly with the "New Orleans Hot Shots" from Murten and "DixieOnAir" from Biel. He also regularly helps out as a substitute or guest musician in various formations in Switzerland and abroad. Occasionally, he also performs solo or in a trio formation.
Among Daniel Breitenstein's models are stride specialists James P. Johnson and Fats Waller, boogie legends Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis, and New Orleans R&B pianists Prof. Longhair, James Booker, Dr. John, and Marcia Ball.
