Abdullah Ibrahim in Ichertswil: An Interview with Six Trutt

For many years from 1973 onwards, the farmhouse in Ichertswil in Canton Solothurn owned by Six and Renate Trutt served as Abdullah Ibrahim’s home from home when he visited Europe. Christian Steulet spoke with Six Trutt (1936–2024) on 4 October 2019. On 20 February and 21 August 2023, Steff Rohrbach met Six and his son Daniel in order to revise and update Christian’s interview, which is given here in its final form. “Felli Farm” is the name of the Trutt family home as given on the LPs that were recorded there. It’s been many years since it was a real farm and today stands alone, almost secluded, on a slight incline by the edge of the forest near Ichertswil, some five miles to the south-west of the city of Solothurn. In 1961, Ichertswil amalgamated with the neighbouring parish of Lüterkofen and is today a tiny town with some 900 inhabitants. The Felli Farm exudes a warm, cosy atmosphere. Together with the beauty of its surrounding landscape, this makes it hardly surprising that so many musicians have felt at home here. And the fact that it is the actual home of a music-loving, generous, open-hearted family is the icing on the cake. Six Trutt, the pater familias, was a gifted amateur musician who played cello in the Solothurn City Orchestra1 and was also a passionate jazz pianist who performed on the local scene with his own trio. His wife, Renate, died in 2018. They had three sons together: Samuel (*1962), Emanuel (*1964) and Daniel (*1961). Daniel works today as a sound engineer and was present during both conversations in 2023.