NOVA
- The trio is born
- 2017
- The quintet is formed
- 2022
- Albums on Igloo Records
- 3
01 The project
NOVA brings together leading musicians from the international jazz scene around Félix Zurstrassen’s compositions. Driven by outstanding improvisers, the music takes shape in the moment. This collective approach continually opens up new perspectives, giving the musicians the freedom to explore the repertoire and let spontaneous music emerge. Each concert becomes a vibrant and generous experience, where deliberately leaving room for the unexpected allows the music to renew itself.
An evolving project rooted in modern and contemporary jazz
Leuven Jazz Festival, 29 March 2026. Photo: Geoffrey Meuli
02 An evolving line-up
NOVA has developed over time alongside some of the most distinctive musicians of its generation: Franco-Brazilian guitarist Nelson Veras, Dutch alto saxophonist Ben van Gelder, British pianist Kit Downes and Belgian drummer Antoine Pierre.
The project first emerged as a trio with Veras and Pierre, with van Gelder joining as a guest on the debut album, NOVA, released by Igloo Records in February 2020. Recorded in 2019, the album moves between trio and quartet formats, establishing the foundations of Zurstrassen’s work as a composer and bandleader.
In 2021, the arrival of Kit Downes brought a new dimension to the music. His distinctive approach to harmony and improvisation naturally expanded the group’s sound, helping shape the quintet heard on NOVA LIVE and Elusive.
Released digitally in May 2023, NOVA LIVE captures the energy of the group in concert. The studio album Elusive, released by Igloo Records on 9 February 2024, reflects the evolution of Félix Zurstrassen’s writing and the musical chemistry between the five musicians.
03 New encounters
While rooted in the musical relationships that have shaped the group, NOVA remains open to new encounters and perspectives.
In May 2024, the project performed at the Like A Jazz Machine festival in Luxembourg with two special guests: American pianist Aaron Parks and drummer Jeff Ballard, who joined Félix Zurstrassen in place of Kit Downes and Antoine Pierre.
The collaboration continued in March 2026 with a five-concert tour across Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, exploring Zurstrassen’s compositions through the distinctive musical personalities and improvisational approaches of Parks and Ballard.
04 Albums & live performances
Across its three releases, NOVA traces the evolution of a project that moves between carefully crafted compositions and the freedom of collective improvisation. Each recording offers a different perspective on Zurstrassen’s music, while live performances remain central to the group’s ongoing exploration.
Timeline
On stage
Press
★★★★
Although he draws on classical and contemporary music, Félix Zurstrassen’s jazz is above all melodic and organic, with shifting and surprising forms that make it a veritable living substance. […] The result is an enthralling piece of work that demands the utmost respect for its depth and rigour.
Félix Zurstrassen’s rare virtuosity combines the extreme demands of his music and the way in which he knows how to deliver it to the public: like a clear, collective and generous adventure. Offering an ensemble made up of the finest blades of European Jazz compositions that he dedicates to them, he draws a world of surprises, like so many decors that the listener discovers, flabbergasted by so much invention, carried away by the masterful cohesion of an ideal group, of staggering maturity.
★★★★
The marvellous chemistry between these musicians produces an album of great class. Everything sounds so natural, so joyful, so detached, so free. It’s hardly surprising that these musicians continue to come together for new projects or groups, such is their chemistry. Elusive is great ‘European’ jazz.