Adventures in Sound combines the expected and the unexpected, with formal sets running alongside spontaneous collaborations, duets and small groups, drawn from some of the UK and Europe's top improvisers. Bands include Golden Age of Steam, ADA trio featuring Peter Brötzmann, Paal Nilssen-Love and Fred Longberg-Holm, Eve Risser, MeTal-O-PHoNe, Johannes Bauer and Per Åke Holmlander. Presented by BBC Radio 3's Jez Nelson.

For broadcast on Jazz on 3 at 11pm on Monday 3rd December.

GOLDEN AGE OF STEAM

The compositions of saxophonist James Allsopp drive this group comprising some of the UK’s most versatile jazz musicians. Adding to the original line-up of Troyka’s Kit Downes (Hammond and keyboards) and Tim Giles (drums), the trio has become a quintet, with the trumpet and electronics of Alex Bonney and bassist Ruth Goller (Acoustic Ladyland) expanding further the band’s varied sound, which ranges from spacey improvised textures to intricately-constructed funk grooves.

ADA TRIO (BRÖTZMANN, NILSSEN-LOVE, LONBERG-HOLM)

The mighty Peter Brötzmann leads Ada Trio, born from the inner ranks of his Chicago Tentet. Now in his eighth decade, the German reedsman shows no sign of backing down from the intense brand of improvised music that brought him to the forefront of European free jazz in the late sixties. Joining him are self-proclaimed “anti-cellist” Fred Lonberg-Holm and powerhouse drummer Paal Nilssen-Love of The Thing.

EVE RISSER

Pianist Eve Risser has emerged as one of the most important talents on the Parisian scene in recent years. An exciting presence within the line-up of France’s Orchestre National De Jazz, Risser’s solo sets show a different side to her playing, calling on a variety of home-made devices and piano preparations to extract new sounds from her instrument.

METAL-O-PHONE

The COAX collective in Paris has been a kernel of creative music since coalescing back in 2008 and MeTal-O-PHoNe is its flagship band. Featuring Benjamin Flament on vibraphone (amongst other metal things) alongside bassist Joachim Florent and drummer Elie Duris, the band’s sound blends gamelan-inspired textures and meditative ostinatos with hard-edged distortion effects and live electronic treatment.

JOHANNES BAUER & PER ÅKE HOLMLANDER

German trombonist Johannes Bauer and Swedish tuba player Per Åke Holmlander are perhaps best known for their powerful contributions to the Peter Brötzmann Tentet, a group that continues to produce exciting offshoots such as Sonore and Ada Trio. Virtuosic and visionary as individuals, they have established an exhilarating dynamic as a duo.

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Paal Nilssen-Love photo by Andy Newcombe

This event is part of the 2012 London Jazz Festival and Jazz in the New Europe supported by the Culture Programme of the European Union. It is supported by Bureau Export, Institut Français and SACEM.