Sat 18/4 20:00
Christian Marien Quartett (DE/NL/IT/GB) • E Converso

The star-studded quartet of Berlin drummer Christian Marien – with British saxophonist Tobias Delius, Dutch guitarist Jasper Stadhouders and Italian bassist Antonio Borghini – shares the stage in a double bill with the local power-jazz quartet E Converso.  

Christian Marien Quartett
Berlin drummer Christian Marien recorded his quartet’s latest album Beyond the Fingertips using the direct-to-disc method – without editing or post-production, cut straight into a lacquer master in a single, unrepeatable take. The quartet’s concerts follow the same spirit: full of risk, surprise, playfulness and wit. The musicians open a space where everything can be truthful – even mistakes and imperfections. They move in the tension between structure and freedom, abstraction and swing, chaos and calm. Their art also lies in letting go of self-control and trusting the moment. The music then emerges somewhere that cannot quite be grasped – beyond the fingertips.

Christian Marien invited distinctive personalities of the European improvisation scene into his band.Tobias Delius, an internationally respected and award-winning saxophonist, is a member of Misha Mengelberg’s legendary Instant Composers Pool, the wind supergroup Available Jelly, and Sean Bergin’s band MOB. He also leads his own projects such as Tobias Delius Quartet, Booklet, I Hear a Smell and Mullet. His playing style echoes the grand sound of the bebop tradition, yet his phrasing, harmonic agility and rhythmic approach are entirely original and contemporary.

Guitarist Jasper Stadhouders belongs among the most active European improvisers of today. He has shared the stage with Ken Vandermark, Dave Rempis and Jaap Blonk, and also develops his own projects such as Cactus Truck and PolyBand, as well as performing with the band Spinifex, which has already appeared several times at Divadlo 29.

Bassist Antonio Borghini is known as a collaborator of Tristan Honsinger, Hamid Drake and Alexander von Schlippenbach. He also performs with his band Banquet of Consequences and with the international ensemble Die Hochstapler.

Tobias Delius (GB) – tenor saxophone, clarinet
Jasper Stadhouders (NL) – guitar
Antonio Borghini (IT) – double bass
Christian Marien (DE) – drums

E Converso
Saxophonist and composer Michal Wróblewski describes the band E Converso, founded in 2011, as genre-open and freely improvising. “In our music we work with improvisation in every possible way. We connect influences of the New York downtown scene with free improvisation.”

E Converso work with mood, chance and emotion in such a way that their formally flexible compositions may sound – and do sound – different every night. With their dynamic and energetic music, original approach and a light touch of humor, the band pushes against musical conventions. Since its formation the group has performed regularly at concerts and festivals across the Czech Republic and beyond. At the Stimul festival they played before Colin Stetson, and at Jazz Goes to Town before the trio of Peter Brötzmann.

E Converso have released three albums so far: the critically acclaimed debut Konspirační teorie (2014), the live recording Umělecká sebevražda / Radikální kreativita (2018), and their most recent studio album from 2022 titled Pásla milá Satana.

Michal Wróblewski – alto saxophone
Vladimír Micenko – bass guitar
Jan Pisklák – guitar
Jan Chalupa – drums

www.christianmarienquartett.de
www.christianmarien.bandcamp.com
www.marecords.bandcamp.com

The concert is presented within the Jazzconnexion 2026 project with financial support from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Pardubice Region and the City of Pardubice.

 

Admission (pay what you want): 200 CZK / supporter 300 CZK
Ticket for ISIC and disability card holders: 150 CZK (available at the door)

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