2-7 June 2015, Amsterdam at Bimhuis, Zaal 100, Pianola Museum, Torpedo Theater and Het Perron
Sparks will fly when ten top US musicians cross the Atlantic Ocean this June to work with ten of their Dutch counterparts. Six days full of intriguing music, where audiences get to know the work of living legend Anthony Braxton and immerse themselves in the world of improvisation.
This 13th edition of the Doek festival for improvised music is organized in collaboration with the Tri-Centric Foundation, which brings the music of no one less than Anthony Braxton to the world. The focus of 2015’s festival is the exploration of the territory where composition and improvisation meet, starting with the musical systems of Braxton and Dutch ‘instant composing.’
From 2 to 7 June, 20 musicians, including trumpet phenomenon Nate Wooley, rising star on piano Kaja Draksler, the sublime Michael Moore, and the internationally acclaimed guitarist Mary Halvorson, will rehearse, discuss, explore and perform in every conceivable line-up. Anthony Braxton himself will celebrate his 70th birthday with performances of some of his large-scale pieces in Amsterdam’s renowned Bimhuis.
The audience can get inside the skin of the musicians during open rehearsals, lectures, interviews, intimate concerts, podium-filling performances, or informally at the bar and during dinner. The Doek Festival closes with the Amsterdam Real Book Bicycle tour to four of the city’s smallest theatres. There we’ll explore the world of Misha Mengelberg, where music is theatre and theatre is always music.
Tickets, full programme and background information: www.doek.org
Participating musicians
Tri-Centric
Anthony Braxton (bildet) – sax, clarinet
Taylor Ho Bynum – cornet
Vincent Chancey – french horn
Nate Wooley – trumpet
James Fei – sax, Electronics
Ingrid Laubrock – tenor sax, soprano sax
Mary Halvorson – guitar
Brandon Seabrook – guitar, banjo
Tomeka Reid – cello
Carl Testa – double bass, electronics
Doek
Eric Boeren – cornet
Wolter Wierbos – trombone
John Dikeman – tenor sax, baritone sax
Michael Moore – alto sax, clarinet
Mary Oliver – violin, viola
Oscar Jan Hoogland – piano, electric clavichord
Kaja Draksler – piano
Wilbert de Joode – double bass
Michael Vatcher – drums
Onno Govaert – drums
Yedo Gibson Trio with Ab Baars
Yedo Gibson – reeds
Ab Baars – alto sax, clarinet, shakuhachi
Mikael Szafirowski – guitar
Gerri Jäger – drums
Bakfietsband
Jappe Groenendijk – tenor sax, vocals
Harald Austbø – cello, vocals
Oscar Jan Hoogland – piano
Jochem van Tol – drums
Other Amsterdam Real Book Bicycle Tour performers to be announced.
Program 2 June: Zaal 100 – rehearsals/open rehearsals/talk Braxton/concert
Tickets concert: €10
Open rehearsals: free entry
12:00 – 13:30 open rehearsal – free entry
14:30 – 16:00 open rehearsal
17:00 Talk by Anthony Braxton – Centrale OBA (Amsterdam central public library) – €10
18:00 – 20:00 Indonesian vegetarian dinner for musicians and public
20:30 Concert; discussions and interviews led by Kevin Whitehead
3 June: Zaal 100 –open rehearsals /concert
Tickets concert: €10
Open rehearsals: free entry
12:00 – 13:30 open rehearsal
14:30 – 16:00 open rehearsal
18:00 – 20:00 Organic vegetarian dinner for musicians and Public
20:30 Concert; discussions and interviews led by Kevin Whitehead
4 June: Bimhuis – Anthony Braxton birthday concert
Tickets: €25
20:30 Tri-Centric 10tet; Braxton piece for all 20 musicians
Concert preceded by talk on Anthony Braxton’s music by Taylor Ho Bynum
5 June: Bimhuis – concert
Tickets: €20
20:30 various size ensembles playing improvisations as well as compositions by Eric Boeren, Kaja Draksler (both new works), Taylor Ho Bynum & Carl Testa.
Concert will be interspersed with interviews of musicians by Kevin Whitehead.
6 June: Bimhuis – Misha Mengelberg birthday concert
Tickets: €20
20:30 various size ensembles playing improvisations, interpretations of Misha Mengelberg pieces and compositions from Michael Moore (new piece), James Fei & Ingrid Laubrock
7 June: Pianola Museum/Torpedo Theater/Het Perron
Tickets: €5 per concert, €15 for tour. Limit of 80 places
14:00 – 17:00 Amsterdam Real Book Bicycle Tour – with Bakfiestsband (other line-ups to be confirmed.)
In each venue there will be a mini theatre piece and a solo performance of a Mengelberg composition.
Zaal 100: Closing party
18:00 – 20:00 Indonesian dinner
20:30 Yedo Gibson trio featuring Ab Baars
21:30 – late Doek and Tri-Centric DJ’s
Doek and Tri-Centric
Doek is a collective of improvisers creating opportunities for experimentation, research and performance. Doek musicians share attitudes toward tactics, references, ancestors and antecedents in improvisation and push the musical practice forward in their many groups and ad hoc combinations. Through initiating, organizing and financing concerts, projects, tours and a yearly festival, Doek has become a central platform for improvisation. As a partner to established or emerging venues and organizations Doek exposes a broad public to a vibrant world of improvisation.
Doek organizes an annual international improvisation festival, which has been running since 2001 and aims to present the current state of improvised music and related art forms in all their diversity. The program has featured top national and international improvisers in new and existing ensembles, dance, film, installations, exhibitions, discussions and workshops. Events have included concerts, improvised dance workshops for children, interviews with musicians and a bicycle tour around Amsterdam’s underground music venues.
Guest musicians have included William Parker, Hamid Drake, Thurston Moore, Nicole Mitchell, Peter Evans (USA), Peter Brötzmann, Axel Dörner, Xu Fengxia (Germany), Misha Mengelberg, Han Bennink (Netherlands), Louis Moholo (South Africa), Joëlle Léandre, (France), John Butcher, Mark Sanders, Keith Rowe (UK), Mats Gustafsson (Sweden), Sylvie Courvoisier (Switzerland) and Paal Nilssen-Love (Norway).
The festival has grown from a one-day affair to a five-day event spread around various venues in Amsterdam, including the internationally renowned Bimhuis. We reach an audience of approximately 1200, with many more following via social media.
Tri-Centric
The Tri-Centric Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that supports the on-going work and legacy of Anthony Braxton while also cultivating and inspiring the next generation of creative artists to pursue their own visions with the kind of idealism and integrity Braxton has demonstrated throughout his distinguished career.
The term “Tri-Centric” derives from Braxton’s three-volume collection of philosophical investigations, The Tri-Axium Writings. Braxton believes creative thinking cannot be reduced to dichotomies, but must embrace multiple perspectives. For instance, music is not only composed or improvised, but also includes intuition. We must not only consider the past and the present, but also the future. It is not always this or that, it is often the other.
Tri-Centric exists to vigorously advocate for the crucial role risk-taking art plays in maintaining the health and vibrancy of our culture. Through a commitment to innovation, self-sufficiency, and artistic ambition, the organization looks to create a new model of artist empowerment and offer a supportive community to those in pursuit of “trans-idiomatic” creativity.
