Free improvised music blossoms in Europe, with Amsterdam and Berlin as anchor points. In this two-part concert, the younger generation meets the avant-garde of players who have been active for decades. In the first part, pianist Aki Takase meets drummer Sun-Mi Hong. And in the second part saxophonist Tobias Delius teams up with drummer Christian Lillinger.

Aki Takase/Sun-Mi Hong

Aki Takase got her first piano lesson at age three. In the seventies she moved from Tokyo to New York, where she became an acclaimed pianist playing with Lester Bowie and David Murray, among others. Her eccentric path led to Berlin, where she went on to work with such artists as Alexander Von Schlippenbach, Fred Frith en Paul Lovens. Sun-Mi Hong has mastered the sounds and techniques of traditional jazz drumming, but she’s gladly willing to forge new paths. Coming from Korea and living in Amsterdam, she has won an Edison Award for her album A Self-Strewn Portrait.

Tobias Delius/Christian Lillinger

The collaboration between Tobias Delius and Christian Lillinger is a fully improvised meeting of the minds that conveys absolute enthusiasm, wit and surprise. English saxophonist Tobias Delius speaks the language of the American tenor giants and he’s able to break out into powerful, passionate solos. However, he prefers to move off the beaten track, for example with ICP Orchestra. Christian Lillinger gave dazzling performances on our stage in bands with telling names such as Hyperactive Kid and Amok Amor. The Berlin drummer is indeed known as adventurous and superenergetic.

Aki Takase piano, Sun-Mi Hong drums

Tobias Delius tenor sax, Christian Lillinger drums