The "Granularities" Trio inaugural tour in Italy in late September was a phenomenal success garnering a wonderful review from italian critic Ermes Rosina, to be found here, and many enthusiastic comments from audience members. A new page dedicated to the trio will appear on the site very soon.
Recently I returned from a most stimulating visit to northern Italy. I was invited to give a two day "Master Class" at the Conservatorio Monteverdi in Bolzano/Bozen in the Alto Adige, or Südtirol area close to the Austrian border. In two days I had to lead a disparate group of people, some with acoustic instruments, some with computers, to make a concert of improvised music. While there were one or two experienced improvisers, most of these people had not worked together previously, and some had only limited experience of improvisation. We were joined also by students from the Conservatorio Paganini di Genova. The second part of the invitation was for the group to perform at the Festival Eterotopie in Mantova. For this concert we were joined by the fabulous horn player Martin Mayes, who became a soloist and catalyst for the ensemble. The concert, billed as "Lawrence Casserley & Friends" was a huge success, and the group pulled together for some astonishingly good playing. I was amazed by what they were able to achieve in such a short time. There are now moves to keep the group going as the nucleus of a northern Italian improvising orchestra. I wish these wonderful people good fortune in their new endeavour. It was a great privilege to play a part in the birth of this new initiative.
At the end of September I will be back in Italy for a special project with Martin Mayes and Gianni Mimmo, the launch of a new trio called "Granularities". We open in a church in Torino on 26 September, followed by performances in Milano and Gianni's home town Pavia. After that I travel to Germany for concerts at mex in Dortmund and praxis-projektatelier staab in Köln. The first is a solo appearance in a triple bill shared with violinist Malcolm Goldstein and Köln-based duo PIRX. In Köln I will play in two duos, one with a familiar collaborator, Jeffrey Morgan, a launch of our recent CD "Room2Room" on Konnex, and the other a new pairing with the marvelous vocalist Bettina Wenzel. Bettina is a member of my vocal group "Intervolution", but we have not appeared previously as a duo.
I have three performances in London this autumn, or rather it might be two! I am booked to play with Gianni Mimmo and Hannah Marshall at Luna Fringe in Leytonstone on 29 October, but the series was cancelled suddenly in late August. Recently, however, I heard that the series may be reinstated in time for the October gig. Keep you fingers crossed and your eye on the Diary page!
Sadly, this concert will now definitely not take place.
On 15 November Adam Linson and I will play at Mopomoso, and on 23 November Rainer and Martin Bürck and I will perform with Sargasso:C at King's Place. This will be the official launch of our new CD on Sargasso, "Crystalline Strata".
In December I will be at Brass in Brussels performing in the MouthWind project with Jean-Michel van Schouwburg and others. Details on the Diary page
Plans for 2010 include a tour with Adam Linson in March and April, and performances with the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble in May.
For details of all these events please check the Diary page.