Pepe Lienhard

The career of the native of Aargau (Switzerland) began in 1958, when he founded his first band at the age of 12: The College Stompers Lenzburg. Five years later, as a student at the Cantonal School in Aarau, he formed his first big band and won first prize in the big band category at the renowned Zurich Jazz Festival with this ensemble.

In 1969, Pepe Lienhard turned professional. With his now legendary Pepe Lienhard Sextet, he shook up the Swiss music scene. With hits such as ‘Sheila Baby’, ‘Piccolo Man’ and ‘Swiss Lady’ (Eurovision Song Contest 1977), he also achieved international breakthrough. Countless concerts, television appearances and LP releases followed.

In 1980, Pepe Lienhard took the plunge and founded a large ensemble. It was a decision he has never regretted, as his top-class big band quickly became a sought-after ensemble for accompanying world stars such as Frank Sinatra, Samy Davis Jr., Donna Summer, Shirley Bassey and many others. For 38 years, Pepe Lienhard accompanied the famous entertainer Udo Jürgens on his major concert tours around the world. In 2016, the big band successfully toured Germany, Austria and Switzerland on its own, thrilling audiences at over 30 concerts in a row. The Big Band set new standards with its 2018 tour, ‘World of Music’. It presented a wide range of musical styles: swing, film music, pop music and tributes to great entertainers, which was extremely well received by the audience and rewarded with standing ovations. The gala formation, the Pepe Lienhard Orchestra, regularly performs at large balls, private galas and on TV shows in Europe.

A big dream came true for the musician, who has been living in Frauenfeld since 2011, when he collaborated with his great idol Quincy Jones. As part of the Montreux Jazz Festival, he paid tribute to Quincy Jones on his 75th birthday in 2008, and the two of them performed together at the big birthday gala ‘50 Years of the Montreux Jazz Festival’.

We asked Pepe Lienhard if he still has any professional aspirations. ‘We have achieved a lot. Any dreams I have revolve solely around preserving what I have achieved until the end of my active days!’ This certainly does not mean standing still. Pepe wants to remain flexible and focused on the present. He does not want to commit himself to a fixed sound, because he can rightly claim: ‘My whole life is music!