Monday 23 February 2026, 7.30pm
Excited to host a first OTO show from the trio of John Edwards (double bass), Luis Vicente (trumpet) and Vasco Trilla (percussion) following the release of their excellent 'Choreography Of Fractures' album on Fundacja Słuchaj last year.
Choreography of Fractures unites three major figures of the European improvisation scene. Recorded in Portugal in early 2024, the album unfolds as a spontaneous suite of shifting dynamics and textures. From fractured rhythmic tension to lyrical openness, the trio explores sound as movement — a choreography of broken lines and fleeting connections. It’s a vivid example of collective creation where every gesture feels essential, balancing energy and silence with remarkable precision.
"Choreography Of Fractures" is my personal favourite in this list. It's a trio of British bassist John Edwards, Portuguese trumpet player Luis Vicente and Spanish percussionist Vasco Trilla. Their sound is totally open-ended and improvised. The overall tone set by the trumpet is one of melancholy and deep sadness. Vicente’s playing stretches into sensitive, resonant depths, while Edwards and Trilla intensify the sense of desolation through delicate accents and scattered sonic details that form a fractured world struggling to unify.
Vicente and Trilla have released several albums before, either in duets or in larger ensembles. The collaboration with Edwards is a winning situation. The music remains wholly unpredictable; even within its sensitivity, it can become harsh and ferocious without growing louder, relying instead on sheer expressive force. Edwards delivers remarkable tone and presence, both in plucked passages and bowed ones. Its relentless intensity is phenomenal. This is surely one for my end-of-year-list." – Stef Gijssels, the free jazz collective.
Luis Vicente is a portuguese trumpet player based in Lisbon. He’s a very active musician, playing in several groups with diferent concepts – from totally free to composed music – having always present the sense of freedom, which he can never leave aside.
He performed and recorded with Carlos Zingaro, Wilbert De Joode, Akira Sakata, Johannes Bauer, William Parker, Tony Malaby, Hamid Drake, Michael Moore, Roger Turner, Mars Williams, Jorrit Dijkstra, Jasper Stadhouders, Mary Oliver, Paal Nilsen Love, Joost Buis, Tobias Delius, Wolter Wierbos, Frank Gratkowski, Mark Sanders, John Edwards, Paul Dunmall, Olie Brice, Marco Franco, Mette Rasmussen, John Dikeman, Luke Stewart, Alexander Hawkins, Ziv Taubenfeld, Roberto Negro, John Butcher, João Lobo, Valentin Ceccaldi, Seppe Gebruers, Onno Govaert, Théo Ceccaldi.
He plays his own tunes in trio and quartet and is a member of: Vicente-Dikeman-Parker-Drake; Vicente-Gebruers-Govaert; Vicente-Trilla; Chamber 4; Vicente-Brice-Sanders; Twenty One 4tet; Frame Trio; Clocks and Clouds; Deux Maisons; In Layers; Vicente-Marjamaki; Ziv Taubenfeld’s Full Sun; Fail Better!.
John Edwards grew up in London and started experimenting with the bass guitar before he switched in his twenties to play double bass. He is deeply rooted in the creative free jazz and improvisation genre. Since the 80ties he is as soloist and in many groups and ensembles in Europe active and became one of the most renowned bass players. He played/plays regular for example with Peter Brötzmann, Joe Mc Phee, Phil Minton, Maggie Nichols, Evan Parker, Roscoe Michtell, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Mark Sanders, Caroline Kraabel, John Butcher, Pat Thomas, Irène Schweizer, Hans Koch, Florian Stoffner, Gabriele Mitelli, John Dikeman.
"I think John Edwards is absolutely remarkable: there’s never been anything like him before, anywhere in jazz." - Richard Williams, The Blue Moment
“Vasco is really one of the modern masters of a new ‘free sound approach’ to drum set and percussion. Defying the accepted conventions of speed, and ‘flashy’ drum set playing, he makes an incredible musical statement , taking us through a myriad of tones and emotions along a varied and tonally hybrid journey.”
Pete Lockett
“He is amazing in many aspects, he can use anything you want for creative drumming. Frankly speaking I hardly know anyone as inventive in drumming as him.”
Maciej Lewenstein, Polish Jazz and Beyond
