Thanks for the follow-up on Schweizer, Larry! I was reminded of him recently when I found the disc with his organ band in the sales bins and then again by a Normal Garden broadcast on swiss radio... his tunes, arrangements, indeed his ideas are special, yes!
Of course Von Freeman and Fred Anderson!
Irene Schweizer was a similar case. Until the Intakt label had been founded 20 years ago, she had some releases here and there (most notably on FMP), but she never quite "made it" and had day jobs etc. Great that Intakt is so dedicated to documenting her musical development! Her most recent solo disc, "First Choice: Piano Solo KKL Luzern" (Intakt CD 108) is great, and so is her "Chicago Piano Solo". As with Freeman or Anderson, she got rather well known over the course of the last two decades, so she is a bit beyond this thread...
Recently deceased Fredi Luescher, and before him also Urs Voerkel (he died a few years ago) would have qualified. A gifted pianist Luescher, and Voerkel some sort of father figure for the Zurich free scene.