BERLIN SOLO IMPRO / Music Festival for Solo Improvisation

GUNNHILDUR EINARSDÓTTIR / JOHANNA BORCHERT / CHRISTOPH TITZ / EDA ER / TILO WEBER / SILKE LANGE / MILES PERKIN / GUNNAR GEISSE / SOPHIE TASSIGNON / GÜNTER BABY SOMMER / PHILIPP GROPPER / ROLAND FIDEZUS / MATTHIAS MUCHE / SAADET TÜRKÖZ / Marta Zapparoli /

*Ticketing only online!*

There are only very few music festivals entirely devoted to solo improvisation. In the city of Berlin, curator Volker Meitz succeeded to establish an annual forum for this special and intimate format of musical performance, this year marking the fifth edition.

The venue, Acker Stadt Palast, is a very special place in Berlin: Located in the now posh city centre, it still breathes the atmosphere of the early 1990’s, when the Berlin Wall had just come down. Sustained by a non-profit foundation, it has retained the flair of squat buildings, patina and makeshift culture that was not least a breeding ground to the internationally reknowned Echtzeitmusik scene – protagonists of which have appeared at the festival, too.

On three days, altogether 15 musicians will be performing, stemming from diverse musical universes. Next to drawing on an abundance of artists from the local community which Berlin is famous for, Volker Meitz also invited national and international improvisers, such as Danish pianist Johanna Borchert, vocalist Saadet Türköz from Switzerland and Turkish electronic artist Eda Er. From different parts of Germany, trombonist Matthias Muche, guitarist Gunnar Geisse and drum legend Günter Baby Sommer will be appearing. Each night, three Berlin based artists will be meeting two national or international performers.

The evenings will kick off with a short podium discussion by all five musicians, after which they will perform solo for 20 minutes each. As a contrast, the finale features a collective improvisation, with the five artists reacting to one another, while they previously had been alone with themselves and the audience. Hence we get to know different faces of the musicians, which makes for an entertaining and diverse experience.

The line-up spans free jazz, contemporary and electronic music artists, partly falling under the umbrella term of the aforementioned Echtzeitmusik („real time music“), playing acoustic, amplified or purely electronic instruments – down to Marta Zapparoli who is listed under „antennae, radio receivers and tapes“. Next to old stagers of solo improvisation, we will have musicians performing solo for the very fist time, such as saxophonist Philipp Gropper, bassist Roland Fidezius and trumpet player Christoph Titz. Thus, we can expect three suspenseful everythings between melodious harmony and experimental noise.

Podium discussion / 5 solo performances / collecitve finale

LINE-UP

Tuesday June 21, 2022
GUNNHILDUR EINARSDÓTTIR – harp
JOHANNA BORCHERT (Kopenhagen / DK) – piano, vocals
CHRISTOPH TITZ – trumpet, electronics**
EDA ER (Istanbul / TUR) – electronics, vocals
TILO WEBER – drums, percussion, voice

Wednesday June 22, 2022
SILKE LANGE – accordeon, synthesizer, electronics
MILES PERKIN – double bass, vocals
GUNNAR GEISSE (München) – laptop guitar
SOPHIE TASSIGNON – vocals, electronics
GÜNTER BABY SOMMER (Dresden) - drums

Thursday June 23, 2022
PHILIPP GROPPER – tenor saxophone**
ROLAND FIDEZUS – E-Bass, Electronics**
MATTHIAS MUCHE (Köln) – trombone
SAADET TÜRKÖZ (Zürich / CH) – vocals
MARTA ZAPPAROLI – antenna, radio receiver, tape
**Solo-Debüt auf dem Festival

www.berlin-solo-impro.de / www.facebook.com/BerlinSoloImpro

With friendly support der Berliner Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Europa, der Initiative Neue Musik e.V., der IG Jazz Berlin und der Union Deutscher Jazzmusiker