MATS GUSTAFSSON - OREN AMBARCHI - ALF JACKSON (s/aus)

Three exceptional musicians, one electrifying sound

Three major figures of the international improvisation scene meet as a trio for the first time: MATS GUSTAFSSON, OREN AMBARCHI and ALF JACKSON.

Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson has been a defining presence at the intersection of free jazz, noise and experimental rock for decades. His powerful, often eruptive playing - marked by circular breathing, extended techniques and an unmistakable physical intensity - has shaped projects like Fire! and collaborations with artists ranging from Sonic Youth to Peter Brötzmann.

Australian guitarist Oren Ambarchi approaches his instrument from a very different angle: not as a melodic tool but as a source of textures, vibrations and electroacoustic phenomena. Subtle feedback loops, percussive patterns and minimalist structures place his work somewhere between drone, minimal music and free improvisation. Long-standing partnerships with Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke and John Zorn speak to his stylistic range.

Tasmanian drummer Alf Jackson brings an energy that is as physical as it is organic. His playing draws deeply on natural processes - pulsing, unpredictable and intense. Jackson treats the drum kit as a resonating body to be pushed to its limits through repetitive motion, eruptive outbursts and an almost trance-like endurance.

Together they form a sound that makes opposites work: Gustafsson's raw expressivity meets Ambarchi's finely calibrated sound surfaces, while Jackson rhythmically grounds both poles and simultaneously breaks them apart.

Given the breadth of projects these three have been involved in, this first meeting as a trio promises open, high-energy improvised music - dense and forceful, yet always shaped by the moment.