Sat 5/4 20:00
Jessica Pavone (US) • Spinifex Maxximus (NL/DE/GR/PT/US)
The concert features the fantastic sextet Spinifex from Amsterdam, known for their jazzcore, oriental hypnotism, anarchist urgency, and jazzrock elevation. The band will spend a week at D29 to rehearse and record their new album in the unique formation Spinifex Maxximus, which includes a string section. This will be the exclusive premiere of their new program in celebration of the band's 20th anniversary! Before Spinifex Maxximus, Jessica Pavone, a pivotal figure in the contemporary New York scene, will perform solo.
Violist and composer Jessica Pavone focuses on exploring the tactile and sensory experience of music in her work. She is interested in intuition and instinct, and how music affects us when it is played and heard. Pavone is particularly intrigued by how sound vibrations influence the human body and impact emotional well-being. She performs solo, leads the acclaimed J. Pavone String Ensemble, and has recorded several albums with guitarist Mary Halvorson. Her albums have been released on respected labels like Tzadik and Relative Pitch Records. In The Wire, Julian Cowley remarked that “Pavone [is] not like other composers, she is uniquely herself, and from that stems the improbable strength of her music.”
Spinifex is an international sextet based in Amsterdam. The incredibly intense music they produce is an original fusion of modern jazz, Oriental music (especially Sufi musical traditions), avant-garde, thrash metal, and hardcore. Their genre-defying musical whirlwind is characterized by mathematically precise rhythmic structures, intricately composed passages, extreme tempo and rhythm shifts, explosive improvisations, unexpected melodic twists, virtuosic solos, and crushingly powerful grooves. With anarchic urgency, hypnotic melodies infused with Oriental influences, and jazz-rock fluidity, the sextet functions as a single organism, drawing the listener in from the very first note.
The residency of the expanded Spinifex Maxximus ensemble at Divadlo 29 will serve as a rehearsal and recording session for their new album, celebrating the band's 20th anniversary. For this special occasion, the group has invited three exceptional musicians: renowned American violist Jessica Pavone, German violinist Elisabeth Coudoux, and Greek vibraphonist Evi Filippou.
Following their excellent 2019 album Soufifex, which was heavily influenced by Sufi music, Spinifex released Beats the Plague in 2021. This album, whose intensity could "beat even the plague," continues their unique approach to Oriental music, featuring compositions dedicated to legendary Iranian traditional singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Turkish Romani clarinet virtuoso Selim Sesler. In 2022, Spinifex released Spinifex Sings, collaborating with two outstanding vocalists: Indian musician Priya Purushothaman and Björk Níelsdóttir from Iceland.
Tobias Klein (DE) – alto saxophone / John Dikeman (US) – tenor saxophone / Bart Maris (NL) – trumpet / Jasper Stadhouders (NL) – electric guitar / Gonçalo Almeida (PT) – bass guitar / Philipp Moser (DE) – drums Jessica Pavone (US) – viola / Elisabeth Coudoux (DE) – cello / Evi Filippou (GR) – vibraphone
www.jessicapavone.com
www.spinifexmusic.nl
The concert is organized as part of the Jazzconnexion 2025 and Electroconnexion 2025 projects with financial support from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, the Pardubice Region, and the City of Pardubice.
Spinifex Maxximus is supported by Performing Arts Fund NL, Cultuurfonds, Amsterdam Fund for the Arts.
Admission: 300 CZK (students and disabled persons: 50% discount on-site)
Early bird: 240 CZK (until March 5, 2024)
