Presented by Free Range

A rare opportunity to hear John Zorn's Bagatelles arranged by Sam Eastmond for a stunning big band featuring 13 of the best improvising musicians in the UK.

Described by John Zorn as “Spine-tingling music from one of the most creative ensembles in the world.” Sam Eastmond’s Bagatelles record (Volume 16 on Tzadik Label) was the latest iteration of over a decades worth of transatlantic collaborations between London based Eastmond and the legendary New York Downtown alchemist John Zorn (including Zorn’s MASADA Books Two and Three and albums of Eastmond’s original compositions on Tzadik.)

Eastmond’s Big Band more than rises to the challenge posed by these selected Bagatelles. Arranged for 12 musicians, the ensemble features some of Europe’s most celebrated creative musicians and improvisors alongside young rising stars of the UK scene. Across the work, there’s the sense of choreography and the speed with which the players interact and slip in and out of the spotlight, the precision with which they follow the demands of Eastmond’s arrangement and directions, the blurred virtuosic handling of improvised and written material, the way they switch moods and tones, from the ferocious to the mellifluous, is astounding.

This programme will comprise material from Eastmond’s work with Zorn alongside new material inspired by touring and playing around the UK and their trip to the largest cultural festival in Central America in Mexico, featuring packed stadium performances, live TV presentations and hand painted Owls.

“Eastmond has produced something truly awesome, a cavalcade of music that rides the paradoxes and juxtapositions of Zorn’s methodology with absolute assurance and delivers a properly integrated whole every time.” – Jazzwise **** Editors Choice

This event is promoted by Free Range in collaboration with the Gulbenkian Arts Centre. Tickets are free to regular Free Range donors.