JOHN EDWARDS / PHIL MINTON

“Minton’s range . . . runs from the sounds of a man choking on his own vomit to the sounds that grandpa makes when you finally decide to pull the plug on his respirator. He’s like a little kid who’s contact-miked himself playing yo-yo with his saliva … Minton forces us to ponder the musical qualities of noises that we’d rather not deal with . . .” - Kenneth Goldsmith

“Hear the bass fully exploited as a total sound source, as Edwards scrabbles up and down the neck like a fearlessly exploratory spider. The strings are plucked and scraped, the bow rattles the hollow body, something tickles the bridge, silence and space give way to sudden motions or sustained undulations. Here, each moment is a new beginning.” - Stewart Lee, The Sunday Times

Long-awaited duo appearance of extraordinary vocalist Phil Minton and bass virtuoso John Edwards, two of the world’s most physical and compelling improvisers. Both completely immerse themselves in their chosen materials, dredging up hidden treasures and strange new organisms from the unsounded depths of mouth and throat, metal and wood, fingers and bow, spittle and breath. Totally committed and completely engaged, this should be an utterly memorable performance.




JOHN BUTCHER / MARK SANDERS

“Butcher began on tenor, slipping effortlessly between sharp trills, quavering overtones, and high chirps. Sanders responded with slowly tolling drums and cymbal splashes, gradually gaining velocity. From there, the two masterfully balanced dense crescendos and open interplay. On soprano, Butcher interlaced breathy streams with Sanders' shaded gongs, bells, and scraped drumheads; both musicians played with palpable sensitivity to the resonance of the concert space. Back on tenor, Butcher unleashed waves of insistent honks and cries against Sanders' fervent intensity, building to a bracing, explosive climax.” - Michael Rosenstein, Paris Transatlantic

John Butcher and Mark Sanders have only been playing as a duo for a few years, but they’ve already emerged as one of the great saxophone/drums duos, the next stage after Coltrane/Ali and Parker/Lytton. Like all great artists, they don’t just continue a tradition, they transform and renew it, using their sensitivity and invention to open up new areas of exploration and cast fresh light on a classic instrumental combination.

The four will also play as a quartet, an improvised encounter which promises to be intensely physical, delicately poised and vigorously polymorphous.