Daniel Gubelmann was born on December 21, 1978 in Zurich. He studied performance and pedagogy at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) with Christoph Grab and at the Swiss Jazz-School in Bern (HKB) with Andy Scherrer. In addition, he took masterclass workshops and lessons with Chris Cheek, Kenny Garret, Perico Sambeat, Art Lande, Enrico Rava, Claudio Fasoli, Stefano Battaglia, Franco D’Andrea, Achille Succi. In 2004 he won the promotion prize of the Friedel Wald Foundation. In 2005 Daniel Gubelmann completed his music studies at the ZHdK with a grade of “very good”. In 2006 he was awarded the “Accademia Nazionale del Jazz” in Siena, Italy with a sponsorship prize and scholarship. Longer stays abroad in South Africa, Asia and South America followed. In 2014 he studied classical and modern composition with Daniel Hector Montes in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In addition to classical concerts for solo saxophone with the Winterthur Orchestra Society and as a leader and soloist with the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and the City Light Symphony Orchestra, he has performed with the Zurich Jazz Orchestra, Pepe Lienhart Big Band, Flamenco Big Band with Perico Sambeat, Bert Joris, Joris Roelofs, Michael Zisman, Paul Kuhn, Düde Dürst, Thomy Jordi, David Regan, Roman Schwaller, Adrian Mears, Isfar Sarabsky and many more. But he has also been on stage with musicians from show business such as Seven, Stefanie Heinzmann and Max Mutzke. At the Radio Pilatus Night 2016, Daniel Gubelmann played a solo spot in the concert programme with DJ Bobo and fascinated the audience in the sold-out KKL. In 2023, Gubelmann even received a solo spot with Ronan Keating live at the Symphony in the Royal Albert Hall in London. At the final rehearsal for Annastacia live at the Symphony 2024, Anastacia was so impressed by Gubelmann’s saxophone sounds that she asked for more interjections between her vocals after his solo.

Furthermore, he is composer and bandleader of the formations FIVE ON FIRE strings attached and combines jazz with classical music, the fusion of a jazz quartet with a string quartet. In 2022, the framework was expanded once again: On the album “Eternal Movement,” FIVE ON FIRE performs with a large string ensemble from the renowned Musikkollegium Winterthur. This cooperation is mainly thanks to the broadcaster SRF 2 Kultur, who made the recording possible.

He can also be found in smaller formations and plays regularly with the Duo Lumbago and in numerous other formations. As a saxophonist he is constantly searching for the perfect sound, if there is one…

During his jazz studies at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), Daniel Gubelmann studied Composing & Arranging with Andre Bellmont and wrote various arrangements for smaller instrumentations to big bands. In 2010 he performed as a soloist with the Orchestergesellschaft Winterthur and fell in love with the sound of violins, violas and cellos. This resulted in several compositions for string quartet and jazz quartet for his newly created formation FIVE ON FIRE strings attached, with which he released several albums. In 2014 Daniel Gubelmann studied classical and modern composition with Daniel Hector Montes in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 2022, the scope was expanded once again: On the album “Eternal Movement” FIVE ON FIRE make music with a large string ensemble of the renowned Musikkollegium Winterthur. This cooperation is mainly thanks to the broadcaster SRF 2 Kultur, which made the recording possible.