Jazz in Città

JORDINA MILLÀ – BARRY GUY Duo For the first time, Bergamo Jazz hosts one of the most imaginative minds in advanced European jazz and beyond, a central figure in improvised music since the late 1960s: the Englishman Barry Guy. Summarizing his frenetic activity in a few lines is at least limiting. However, it's worth mentioning his collaborations with fellow countrymen Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Paul Rutherford, Tony Oxley and Paul Lytton, and with Americans Cecil Taylor, Roscoe Mitchell and Marilyn Crispell. The London Jazz Composer's Orchestra deserves a chapter of its own, being one of the most brilliant experiences in integrating composition and improvisation, which along its path has crossed paths with Anthony Braxton's reeds and Irene Schweizer's piano. With a technical-expressive background that allows him unparalleled mastery of his instrument, Barry Guy has also played with classical orchestras (The Orchestra of St. John's Smith Square, City of London Sinfonia, Monteverdi Orchestra, The Academy of Ancient Music, Kent Opera, The London Classical Players) and with violinist Maya Homburger, his life partner, he also explores the world of early music. The partnership with Jordina Millà is quite recent: it began in 2017, when the English double bassist involved the Catalan pianist, a student of her compatriot Agustì Fernandez, in an ensemble of improvisers gathered for the Barcelona's Mixtur Festival. Subsequently, the two musicians recorded String Fables, released in 2021 by the Polish label Fundacja Słuchaj. In February 2022, they recorded the album Live In Munich, released last year by ECM. Listening to this latest album reveals a perfect harmony of intentions that underlies an absolutely equal dialogue with palpable expressive tension, combining free improvisation with elements of classical-contemporary language Playbill JORDINA MILLÀ – BARRY GUY Duo Jordina Millà piano Barry Guy double bass

TANIA GIANNOULI NIK BÄRTSCH Piano Duo Already protagonists of Bergamo Jazz in 2022 and 2023 respectively, with their solo performances, the Greek Tania Giannouli and the Swiss Nik Bärtsch, two of the most interesting and highly regarded exponents of European pianism in recent decades, return to the Festival to present the Italian premiere of a duo that has already made a name for itself in several other festivals across the Old Continent. What binds the two pianists is a shared vision that has already led them to be defined as "ideal musical partners," each bringing something different while remaining true to themselves and at the same time serving the dialogue with their instrument colleague. The duo moves between hypnotic and dynamic atmospheres, where a touch of sensuality also peeks through. Nik Bärtsch has released seven albums with ECM since his debut with the German label in 2006. His music is richly conceptual and strongly influenced by minimalism and contemporary classical composition. Tania Giannouli, whose popularity is steadily growing, including in Italy, has a more lyrical style that subtly alludes to the folk melodies of her country of origin. The duo pushes the boundaries of what is meant by "playing the piano." Bärtsch can be particularly rhythmic and possesses a total mastery of the keyboard, also enhancing its percussive peculiarities, while Giannouli expresses herself mainly through a natural melodic vein, also exploiting the most hidden resources of her instrument. Together, the two pianists promise music open to the invention of the moment, where unpredictability and communicative physicality interpenetrate. In collaboration with FONDAZIONE MIA Playbill TANIA GIANNOULI & NIK BÄRTSCH Piano Duo Tania Giannouli piano Nik Bärtsch piano