Martin Jäger
(b. 20/3, 1953) studied piano at the conservatory of Music in Zürich, Switzerland. At the
age of 17 he was an exchange student near Seattle, where the Bremerton High School Orchestra
featured him as a soloist for Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue". During that time he became
acquainted with American ragtime. Ever since he has been playing and performing ragtime in
various places in the US, as well as in Germany and Switzerland.
In 1993 Martin Jäger formed the Swiss Ragtimers together with drummer and washboard player Felix Fürer. Together they appear at ragtime festivals throughout the US. Besides classic ragtime "Swiss Ragtimers" perform Martin's own compositions, such as "China Rag", "Swiss Rag", or the second prize winner at the 2000 Scott Joplin Ragtime Composition Contest, entitled "Arabian Rag". In Switzerland they give ragtime concerts all over the country. On most occasions they add a silent movie, accompanied by ragtime music. In February 2002 they appeared on Swiss National TV with Martin's "China Rag". Besides being a performing artist and a ragtime composer, Martin Jäger is professor of music and head of the music department at the Kantonsschule Enge in Zürich, Switzerland. |