High voltage. The complete package: rhythmically, harmonically, sonically. The collaboration between the NDR Bigband and composer Darcy James Argue promises serious fun. An awareness of tradition is paired with the open horizon of the internet age and the desire to wildly combine and re-contextualise.
Keywords: Jazz & World
| NDR Bigband | |
| Darcy James Argue | Composition, Conductor |
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These events are similar in terms of concept, place, musicians or the program.
With his »Europeana« suite, Michael Gibbs has created a musical monument to the colourful continent. The journey in thirteen parts traverses many European traditions – from Norway and Scotland to France and Spain. »Europeana« combines jazz, symphonic music, folk music and improvisation in a unique, sensual way. In 1995, the album of the same name was celebrated as a »milestone« (All About Jazz) and received the annual German Record Critics Award. Thirty years later, the NDR Bigband musicians put »Europeana« back on their music stands and demonstrate how rich this source of rousing jazz still is today – and what a treasure lies in the diversity of Europe.
One day in November 2021, 27 refugees from African and Asian countries drowned during a desperate attempt to cross the English Channel. With his new project for the NDR Bigband, British trumpeter and composer Percy Pursglove sets out in search of the shades of the dead, who according to Greek mythology are now wandering restlessly between worlds. It is an attempt to come to terms with a humanitarian disaster. Difficult as it may be to broadcast a message of humanity and compassion using solely musical resources – sound and rhythm, melody and harmony –, the universality of music offers precisely the expressive range needed for the task. With »27: The Ferryman and His Unwanted Shades of the Dead« Percy Pursglove faces the paradoxical challenge of saying the unspeakable and giving people’s sense of shock an expression that is timeless. »Music is a powerful tool for increasing people’s awareness of current topics,« Pursglove writes, »especially in wartime, when far more people are forced to flee from their homes.« But at the same time, he doesn’t only want to put his finger in the wound with his music, he doesn’t only want to denounce the governments that are not prepared to combat the reasons for the waves of refugees, or at least save the lives of people drowning. Pursglove is also concerned to remember all those who had to lose their lives on the way to finding a better life for themselves and their families.
Please note: This concert originally took place in Studio 1 and was relocated to the Rolf Liebermann Studio.
The idea of a joint festival between the NDR Bigband and Ensemble Modern was born during a meeting of seven big band and six Ensemble Modern musicians in autumn 2023. In improvisation phases, they explored similarities and differences. New working structures developed. Five new works and the idea of a cooperative festival crystallised in the improvisations. A programme of music that originated here and will be premiered jointly by musicians from both ensembles will conclude the »NDR Bigband meets Ensemble Modern« festival.
»Polar Soundscapes« is Geir Lysne’s musical interpretation of the polar north: very personal, explosive and lyrical at the same time. Born in 1965 in Trondheim, Norway, saxophonist, composer and bandleader Geir Lysne has been Chief Conductor of the NDR Big Band since 2016. In his role as chief conductor, he has not only conducted great projects, but has also written a large number of unique musical pieces for the ensemble.
It’s all very colourful here! And not just because Steffen Schorn is bringing all sorts of things from his inexhaustible pool of low woodwind instruments to the concert with the NDR Big Band. »Colours of the World« is not only a foray through the landscape of reeds, but also one through the sonic imprints left behind by travels to 71 countries.
This concert has been relocated to the Rolf-Liebermann-Studio. Ticket buyers will be informed by e-mail. Tickets retain their validity. Go to replacement concert
NDR Bigband
A match made in heaven, and yet at the same time: earthly, lively and of the highest calibre: NDR Bigband meets the DSO. Not crossover. Not a stylistic mish-mash. But rather two top ensembles meeting as equals, with Nikki Iles, British bandleader, Geir Lysne, Norwegian arranger and composer, and Wayne Marshall, conductor specialised in gripping orchestra grooves. New sounds for the Philharmonic Hall in Berlin—and on the next day, on the banks of the Elbe as well.
»Good music by good people« is the simple formula with which Evi Filippou, who hails from Greece, outlines her artistic goals. In close collaboration with trumpeter and arranger Tim Hagans, Evi Filippou has composed a concert programme for the NDR Bigband that brings together the different worlds of her work: jazz, classical and improvised music; Greece and Central Europe.
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