Baptiste Stanek is a French multi-instrumentalist and composer based in Basel, Switzerland. He is the co-founder of the Basel Jazz Orchestra and an active musician on the Basel scene. His work focuses on sound, timbre, and the use of unusual instruments in jazz. He enjoys writing for medium and large ensembles, including sextets, octets, and big bands.
Stanek performs regularly in Switzerland, Europe, and South America. He has played in Romania, Belgium, France, Spain, Poland, Uruguay, and Argentina. During his South American tour in 2024, he developed a strong connection with the UTEC school in Mercedes, Uruguay, where he taught workshops in August of that year.
He began his musical studies in Strasbourg, where he learned both classical music and jazz. He later moved to Basel to complete a bachelor’s degree in saxophone at the Jazz Campus. He also holds a master’s degree in pedagogy and took part in the Focusyear program, performing with Kendrick Scott, Lionel Loueke, Django Bates, Chris Cheek, and the 2024 Focusyear cohort.
Stanek is active on the European jazz scene and performs frequently in France. He was a member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra from 2019 to 2023. As a bandleader, he currently leads two projects. The first is the Baptiste Stanek 5tet with Ben Van Gelder. The second is TRIIIO, a new project featuring Petter Eldh and Paul Amereller, with a release planned soon.
His discography includes Extended Techniques in 2021, Wisdom Tooth in 2024, and Basel Smash released in May 2025. Basel Smash is his first quintet album. His next album, also in a quintet formation, will be released on LOUMI Records inn October 2026.
Stanek is committed to the local Basel scene. He works to support musical exchange, record with local musicians, and create accessible artistic projects. He is regularly invited for concerts and recordings and contributes actively to the development of the jazz community in the city.
He plays all saxophones, Bâ™ and Eâ™ clarinets, bass clarinet, flute, and piccolo. He has collaborated with musicians such as Nduduzo Makhathini, Mark Turner, Diego Pinera, Jorge Rossy, Yumi Ito, Song Yi Jeon, and Tineke Postma, as well as colleagues including Tabea Kind, Marta Wajdzik, Vaclav Palka, Wajdi Riahi, Noe Clerc, and Francesca Gaza.
Outside of performance, he is involved in the technical and manufacturing side of saxophones. His expertise has led to collaborations with Lupifaro, JLV Sound, and Antigua. Since 2023, he plays an Inderbinen saxophone.
