Gianni Mimmo, saxophones / Mark Sanders, percussion / Alison Blunt, violin
The coming together of three composer-musicians well-established on the international arts scenes, Mimmo, Sanders and Blunt will perform together this evening for the first time. Musical fireworks perchance.
‘Remember, remember the 5th of November…’ commemorating a courageous man who sought to free the people from a corrupt and oppressive regime, free sparklers will be provided with each purchased beverage and merchandise item.
Doors open 7:30 | music 8pm | entry £7
Mark Sanders has been acclaimed as “the most exciting, original and overwhelmingly powerful drummer alive” (Steve Reynolds, Jazz Corner) and his precise and propulsive drumming has graced projects with, to name but a few, Evan Parker, Jah Wobble, Broadcast, Agusti Fernandez, Christian Marclay, Matthew Shipp, John Butcher, Roswell Rudd, Henry Grimes and Otomo Yoshihide.
“…ubiquitous, diverse and constantly creative, drummer Mark Sanders always outdoes himself, whether playing with restraint or erupting like a dynamo.” Bruce L Gallenter, Downtown Music Gallery. NY
Gianni Mimmo has built an international reputation for his unique treatment of musical timbre and his exploration of the advanced techniques on the soprano saxophone. His peculiar work is mainly focused on the relationship among distant artistic declinations and his style is based on a deep knowledge of the instrument and on a sound consciousness which is the constitutional element of his voice.
Gianni has developed a unique blend of abstract lyricism and contemporary flavours. His projects have been excellently reviewed by international magazines and webzines.
In the last few years some features of his music have shifted to unsuspected directions and his personal curiosity led him to new connections adding some fresh subtleness to his instrumental tone and developing a more compositional attitude to his improvisation.
As composer he often works with graphic scores where elements coming from different musical languages find a new form where fragments and more unbound ideas ask for a fresher interpretation and performing responsibility.
His pantheon is pretty crowded and includes several names coming from art, music and philosophy: painters like Jackson Pollock, John McLaughlin, Toti Scialoja, Mario Sironi, Felice Casorati; adventurous jazz musicians like Steve Lacy, Roscoe Mitchell, contemporary souls like John Cage, Robert Ashely, Earle Brown, philosophers and beautiful minds like Giorgio Agamben and John Berger, writers like Yasunari Kawabata and Herman Melville, poets like Marina Cvetaeva and Wisława Szymborska.
His current projects include collaboration with musicians as Harri Sjöström, Alison Blunt, John Russell, Daniel Levin, Hannah Marshall, Elisabeth Harnik, Clementine Gasser, Gianni Lenoci, Cristiano Calcagnile, Lawrence Casserley, Martin Mayes, Vinny Golia, Garrison Fewell, Benedict Taylor, Gino Robair, Jean-Michel van Schouwburg, Nicholas Isherwood, Ove Volquartz, Nicola Guazzaloca, Xabier Iriondo, Michele Marelli, Teppo Hauta-hao ,Mario Arcari, Achim Kaufmann, Matthias Bauer, Veli Kujala, Enzo Rocco, Angelo Contini, Stefano Pastor, Stefano Giust, Alessio Pisani, with dancers Marcella Fanzaga, Norontako Bagus Kentus, Sebastian Prantl, photographer Elda Papa, video artists and poets as well.
He extensively tours in Europe and USA invited by international festivals and venues and runs the indie label Amirani Records.
“From Rimbaud to Lacan: lots of words have been writtenabout the “Speaking Self” indeterminacy. In Gianni Mimmo’s flexible musical poetry I’ve always found millions of voices and immediate proof of the Freudian intuition: brilliant musician, cultural provoker, and a distinguished and eminent hierophant of the holy cult of Musica Degenere (as Carmelo Bene used to say), a sort of spontaneous music prophet, a poet of the ephemeral and an archivist of sounds and cultures as well…” Massimo Marchini, Rockerilla.
Alison Blunt‘s fascination with sound, motion and space has led her into international projects exploring boundaries between art forms and new music. She has performed throughout the UK, Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and the USA and is a member of several large and small well-established ensembles including ‘music terrorist’ string trio Barrel, Berlin-based HANAM Quintet, Austrian/British Barcode Quartet, Pierette Ensemble and London and Berlin Improvisers Orchestras. She has worked with a diverse array of artists, ensembles and theatre projects and her activities include commissions for radio, film, theatre, dance and performing, composing, arranging and recording all kinds of music and facilitating creative music workshops for all ages and abilities. Alison refuses to be pigeonholed. ”Alison Blunt’s playing is unique. Eerie, gut-ripping rattles and chokes from hell are interrupted by ringing notes of heavenly hope. I have never heard anything like it…” Jeffery Taylor, Sunday Express
