Root Area: The groove runs deep

ROOT AREA doesn’t have a bass. Yet you won’t miss it. Marcel Thomi handles the low-end lines on the Hammond organ. Added to this are drums and two saxophones. This line-up alone creates a sound that immediately sticks in your mind.
Christoph Grab founded ROOT AREA as a soul-jazz band. However, he doesn’t interpret the term too narrowly. The tracks feature boogaloo, gospel, reggae, Afrobeats and New Orleans rhythms. Sometimes just for a few bars, sometimes they define an entire piece.
Grab has been part of the Swiss jazz scene for many years and received the Swiss Jazz Award in 2023. He writes and arranges a large part of the music for ROOT AREA. At the concert in Klosters, Charlotte Lang will be sharing the spotlight with him. The Basel-born musician plays the alto and baritone saxophones; she studied at Jazzcampus Basel and later at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
The Hammond organ plays a special role in this band. It not only handles the low notes but also provides chords and solos. This gives ROOT AREA that rich, warm sound that one quickly associates with soul jazz. Elmar Frey is on drums and has been one of Grab’s regular musical partners for years.

The album *In Pursuit of Happiness* was released in 2025. ROOT AREA recorded nine new tracks for it. The entire session took place in a single afternoon at Hardstudio in Winterthur. The band played live in the studio. Alongside Grab, the album features saxophonist Nicole Johänntgen; at the concert in Klosters, Charlotte Lang will take on this role.
Previously, ROOT AREA had explored the music of Ray Charles on *The RAY Session*. *In Pursuit of Happiness*, by contrast, consists of new original tracks. Both projects are fitting for a band that does not view its soul jazz as a look back.
For the Klosters gig, the line-up remains notably unusual: two saxophones, a Hammond organ and drums. There is no bass, but the low notes are certainly not missing.