Space Is The Place with Pietre, Hydra, SSS and Yoshida x Takeda

Space is the Place (SITP) firmly believes in the unconditional, unrelenting, qualitative, and original archetype of the performing arts: improvisation. Since 2015, Amsterdam-based SITP has organized over 1000 progressive and adventurous concerts with a focus on improvised music, experimentation, and jazz. SITP forms a creative breeding ground that stimulates its local, internationally-oriented improv scene, always keen on crossing genres and disciplines as well as challenging artists to perform in new formations—both through SITProductions and by encouraging new concepts.

For WORM this is the second time we mix with SITP, and they do eactly what we think is necessary for a healthy Dutch (improv) music scene, so we’re very happy to renew our acquaintancy and add two acts to the bill.

Alessandro Fongaro; Pietre
For the fifth consecutive year, North Sea Round Town (NSRT) unveils its Artist in Focus. From June 27th to July 14th, 2024, the spotlight shines on bassist and composer Alessandro Fongaro, offering him a platform to showcase his (dream)project and an array of performances in Rotterdam, the city he calls home. The Artist in Focus trajectory is a culmination of a year of personal artistic development, which re-questions the musical and artistic values Fongaro means to put forward when composing and performing. For more info about the Artist in Focus please read his latest interview here.

Pietre is the latest project of bassist and composer Alessandro Fongaro. Pietre is the Italian word for stones, which is intended by Fongaro as ‘feelings’. The themes of the compositions portray specific images and moments, all somewhat related to love and friendship, that Fongaro carefully collected as some sort of personal diary. The music of Pietre is a combination of stuttering rhythms, improvisation and melodies. In a raw and yet romantic way, the ensemble performs such themes creating a dialog that allows intensity, sensitivity and vulnerability to manifest in the playing, using chances and risks to shape their story.

The band features Alessandro Fongaro on double bass, Sun-Mi Hong on drums, Jesse Schilderink on baritone and tenor saxophone and Nicolò Ricci on tenor saxophone. “First time (a)live.” is the debut album of the band, which was published independently in 2022. The album was very well received by the public and the press and the ensemble had the chance to present the music, among others, at: North Sea Jazz Festival, BIMHUIS, De Doelen, Injazz, Ham Sessions Gent, Stadtgarten Köln, De Ruimte etc.
Line-up:
Nicolò Ricci – tenor saxophone
Jesse Schilderink – baritone saxophone
Alessandro Fongaro – double bass
Sun-Mi Hong – drums

Saturno Santos’ Something
A radiant 9-piece ensemble led by Gabriel de Oliveira, draws together multicultural expressions from young voices versed in languages of jazz, pop, and folk traditions – all with a collective punk ethos. With genuine magical thinking and the intent of exploring the in-betweens of songwriting and improvisation, they cast explosive grooves and subtle melodies into a bright-colored ritual. In their main constellation, SSS assembles:

Chen Har-Even, Niels Luteijn – drums; Zenzele Mthembu-Salter – bass;
Chaerin Im – piano, keys; Alkistis Misouli – viola; Lezaam Beets – trombone;
Helena Casella, Beatrice Sberna – vocals; Gabriel de Oliveira – guitar, vocals.

Hydra
Hydra Ensemble is an electroacoustic quartet based in Rotterdam. The ensemble is a juncture of four distinctive expressions finding common ground. Together they form a four-headed entity that emerges from highly pensive collective improvisations, creating an intricate patchwork of concurrent melodic lines, textural explorations and expansive drones. The quartet’s sonic language exists on the cracks of free improvisation, minimalism and experimental foreboding ambience. Hydra Ensemble’s sonic language is as ominous and majestic as the multi-headed Greek mythical animal they’re named after.

Nina Hitz (cello)
Lucija Gregov (cello)
Gonçalo Almeida (double bass)
Rutger Zuydervelt aka Machinefabriek (electronics).

Tatsuya Yoshida x Risa Takeda
This is Tokyo’s most notable improv duo at the moment. The duo consisting of Tatsuya Yoshida, the strongest drummer in the avant-prog scene (remember! The Ruins), and Risa Takeda, the keyboardist who is currently attracting the most attention in Tokyo’s improv scene, will be touring Europe for the first time. An unparalleled worldview brought about by thrilling antagonism and harmony unfolding at high speed. The highly structured and highly improvised performance, which freely moves between classical, contemporary music, progressive rock, and jazz rock, overwhelms the audience with the number and sound pressure of a band, even though it is performed by two people.

ism. NORTH SEA ROUNDTOWN
*About North Sea Round Town

Fringe festival North Sea Round Town (NSRT) is a city-wide festival that continues to develop as an adventurous playground for rising jazz stars and beyond. For two and half weeks, the festival connects artists, makers, audiences, and the city of Rotterdam with over 325 concerts on 125 locations varying from (jazz) venues and public squares to churches, (former) swimming pools, art galleries, nursing homes and many more. The city forms a challenging scenery and the connecting factor for rising stars and contemporary acts on a local and (inter)national level. The keyword here is collaboration, because NSRT is a festival where everything revolves around joining forces with new young voices and collective making. Discover the best jazz, soul, R&B, funk, improv, electronica, hip-hop and pop in Rotterdam.*