Résonances at Toulouse Lautrec Jazz Club

Résonances
Toulouse Lautrec Jazz Club
London
December 16, 2024

The very first Résonances took place at London's Vortex Jazz Club in 2017. Then, as now, the event was curated by the French-born visual artist and poet Aurélie Freoua who has become a regular conductor at the monthly performances by the London Improvisers Orchestra. While Résonances has happened several times at the Vortex (see YouTube below), in 2024 it relocated to the slightly larger Toulouse Lautrec Jazz Club, a sensible move as the new venue was jam-packed by the time the performance began. Prior to the beginning, there was much conversation in the audience about what they were about to experience; the audience could see two large plastic sheets facing them, one on either side of the stage. Just visible through these sheets, musical instruments could be seen closer to the back of the stage, including a piano, a cello, a large wooden bass recorder, a xylosynth and a drum kit...

Once the performance began, Aurélie Freoua was behind the left-hand sheet facing the audience, while the other artist Ley Loosh was on the right-hand side; both painted on their sheets, the results being clearly seen through the sheets by the audience. Behind them were the musicians who could be heard clearly and seen occasionally; they all improvised freely throughout, underpinning the entire evening. Also on stage were two dancers, the German-born Résonances resident dancer Petra Haller and Japan-born Maya Takeda who found space wherever they could, sometimes in amongst the audience. Unlike performances with her jazz trio in which she tap dances, Haller improvised freely to the music throughout, sometimes with Takeda, other times alone. The two poets, Shaun Rivers and Aurélie Freoua, were heard more than seen, using microphones to be heard but making sure they entered at appropriate moments.

While there is a long tradition of music and dance being joined together, and a later one of music and poetry combining, it is even more recently that artists have painted or drawn musicians while they are playing live, and more recently that artists have painted abstracts inspired by live music. Résonances is one of a rare breed of concerts which combines the four elements—music, dance, poetry and painting—in a live context. Based on the prolonged applause and enthusiasm from the audience at the end, we shall be singing the praises of Résonances for many years to come.

Personnel

Musicians: Julia Brüssels: violin; Olly Chalk: piano; Sam Eastmond: trumpet; Teresa Hackel: recorders; Cubby Howard: cello; Noah Ojomu: drums; Paul Romane: harmonica; Gloria Yehilevsky: xylosynth, sounds.
Dancers: Petra Haller, Maya Takeda.
Poets: Shaun Rivers, Aurélie Freoua.
Guest artist, projections: Oscar Hilton.
Visual artists and curators: Aurélie Freoua, Ley Loosh.