The Ex & Brass Unbound
About the event
The Ex has been around since 1979 and has always experimented with styles, musical forms, and like-minded spirits, with a preference for improvisation over predictability. As a result, the band is still very much alive. At Bimhuis, the Dutch avant-garde band meets European improvisers in a vibrant ten-piece collective. The Ex
Since the 1980s, they have collaborated with improvisers from all over the world, on record and on stage. Think of the legendary Ex Festivals, the special collaboration with Tom Cora, and albums such as 'Joggers & Smoggers', 'Instant', 'Een Rondje Holland', and 'The Ex at Bimhuis (1991-2015)'. A special chapter in the history of The Ex is their project with Brass Unbound, which stemmed from the collaboration with Ethiopian legend Getatchew Mekuria. Improvisers such as Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, Wolter Wierbos, and Roy Paci joined those performances, all of whom can be heard on the 2013 album 'Enormous Door'.
Brass Unbound
More than ten years later, The Ex reprises its collaboration with Brass Unbound. Trusted travel companions Ken Vandermark, Mats Gustafsson, and Roy Paci are on board, joined by three younger musicians who have joined their circle in recent years: Hanne De Backer, Signe Emmeluth, and Guro Kvale. A quartet and six guests: ten musicians in total. Featuring Arnold de Boer, guitar and vocals, Andy Moor, guitar, Terrie Hessels, guitar, Roy Paci, trumpet, Signe Emmeluth, alto sax, Ken Vandermark, tenor/baritone sax, Hanne De Backer, baritone sax, Mats Gustafsson, tenor/baritone sax, Guro Kvale, trombone, and Katherina Bornefeld on drums.
