Punkt is a Norwegian festival in which the concerts are remixed so that the audience hears immediately after the concert a remixed version of that concert. Sometimes the remix picks up and builds on some of the key elements of the original, on other occasions the remix is a totally new piece drawn from the sounds of the original.
I mention all this because there was to be a Birmingham version of Punkt in March 2020, but, sadly, the pandemic put paid to that. One of the main concerts that was to feature in the Birmingham Punkt was a duo between saxophonist Trish Clowes and cellist Louise McMonagle. We were really looking forward to that event, so it is now to appear as part of the TDE Promotions series in the intimate Hexagon Theatre at mac Birmingham. This will be on Thursday 25th November at 8pm. It will be a double bill with Adam Fairhall and Johnny Hunter’s Winifred Atwell Revisited, see my blog about that project on this site.
Trish Clowes moves very easily between jazz and contemporary classical music. She leads the My Iris band, but also the Emulsion ensemble that brings together jazz and contemporary classical music, and which has been at the centre of a series of innovative festivals that Trish has curated. She is now an Associate Artist at Wigmore Hall, the haven of small scale contemporary music, but also plays Ronnie Scott’s with her My Iris band. In a recent streamed session from Ronnies Louise sat in with the group and Trish spoke about her disappointment at the cancellation of their duo performance. That was the impetus for setting up this gig.
Louise is mostly active as a performer and composer in contemporary music contexts; she is a key member of the Riot Ensemble and has been described as ‘vocanically creative’ (The New Yorker), but has also played in improvised music settings with Evan Parker and Kit Downes as well as Trish Clowes.
For the Birmingham concert they will be presenting new pieces by both Trish and Louise, arrangements of other pieces such as Song for Saariaho and Dance With Me, plus some free improvisations. The focus will be on texture and minimalism.
Tickets are available via the mac Box Office and online here.
TDE Promotions 