Drawing from the vast toolbox of jazz, heavily influenced by Ethiopian jazz stars like Mulatu Astatke and singer Mahmoud Ahmed, Belgian five-piece band Black Flower explores the world and creates a highly original brew of genres and traditions.
Crashing drums, flutes, airy melodies and catchy arrangements are driven into an exciting mix of ethio-jazz, nu-jazz, psych and folk.
Since their acclaimed debut in 2014 with “Abyssinia Afterlife”, the band has been constantly exploring new territories and sounds, pushing boundaries, touring the world and signing to Sdban Records.
Band leader Nathan Daems alternates saxophones with the kaval and ney flutes, the former widely used in Balkan and the latter in Egyptian, Turkish and Arabic music. Both are blown directly against the flute reed. Cornetist Jon Birdsong is known from artists like Beck and bands like Calexico.
Electronic Sound writes:
“…This Belgian quintet are right at the future-jazz vanguard, and proffer a mesmeric, Ethiopian leaning psychedelic magic that’s just spellbinding (..) Knockout…”
Nathan Daems – saxophone, ney, kaval,
Jon Birdsong – cornet, cornet, shell,
Simon Seger – drums,
Filip Vandebril – bass,
Karel Cuelenaere – keyboard
Support this evening: Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer
The Åland archipelago, with its skerries and red granite cliffs, is undeniably magnificent. Now it is also set to music in the Los Angeles-based duo Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honers’ ethereally minimalist music that combines modular synthesizers, piano and viola on the album “Recordings From the Åland Islands”.
When you dig for references, Terry Riley and Brian Eno come up, although Jeremiah Chiu and Marta Sofia Honer develop a distinct sonic universe of their own. Ambient yes, transcendent perhaps, definitely meditative. And it’s perhaps not surprising to learn that the two musicians met while playing Riley’s legendary work “In C” with a large ensemble in Chicago, where they were both closely associated with the improv and experimental scene.
Since moving to Los Angeles, Marta Sofia Honer has become the first choice for artists like Adrian Younge and Beyoncé. She has also recorded with Angel Olsen, Fleet Foxes and Stanley Clarke. Jeremiah Chiu is an assistant professor at Otis College of Art & Design, is the house DJ at Dublab, and has collaborated with Celia Hollander, Booker Stardrum, Takako Minekawa, and Sam Prekop.
Why Åland? Well, they went there to help friends establish a small hotel. Once there, they decided to stay for a while and capture the essence of the Åland archipelago.
Now this cosmopolitan duo is sharing their impressions with the extraordinarily knowledgeable and eclectic audience of jazz club Fasching. An opportunity not to be missed.
