TIM BERNE SNAKEOIL

Thrilling compositions full of surprising melody lines performed by the group of New York alto saxophonist Tim Berne. ‘This music explores, deconstructs and, yes, it swings’ (Downbeat).

Alto saxophonist Tim Berne inspires countless musicians from his habitat New York with his no-nonsense, do-it-yourself attitude. His bands functioned as springboards for such players as Joey Baron, Bill Frisell and Jim Black. Listening to Berne is exciting, because his pieces all contain surprising changes. In Snakeoil his raw alto sax goes into counterpoint with Oscar Noriega’s bass clarinet and Ryan Ferreira’s distorted electric guitar. Their hypnotic melodies converge with the whimsical piano playing of Matt Mitchell and the richly varied percussion of Ches Smith.

Snakeoil keeps getting better with each release on the renowned ECM label, judging by the rave reviews for the most recent album You’ve Been Watching Me.

‘This music rocks and thinks, explores, deconstructs and, yes, it swings, in its own identifiably angular, Berne-ian way’ (Downbeat).

‘From the late Eric Dolphy and one-time World Saxophone Quartet linchpin Julius Hemphill to New Yorker Tim Berne, there’s a stylistic alto-sax line in which a caustic instrumental tone cohabits with a rigorous sense of structure’ (The Guardian).

The Bimhuis restaurant is open prior to the concert from 6.30 till 8.30PM (reservations via 020-7882158). After the concert, the Bimhuis Café is open (free entrance).