Muzikaret (Rubber Music) by Jaap Blonk from Stephen Malagodi on Vimeo.
Tonight at Neptune’s in Raleigh, noted trombonist Jeb Bishop and Dutch artist/writer/musician Jaap Blonk will perform together. Aside from that, though, we’re not entirely sure what to expect.
Bishop is a reliably adventurous improviser who has helped ferry a variety of avant-improv talent through the Triangle since moving back to Chapel Hill last year; his extensive jazz résumé is highlighted by collaborations with improv luminaries such as Ken Vandermark and Peter Brötzmann. Blonk, however, is something of a wild card. The restless Dutchman is perhaps most known for his sound poetry—wordless recitations that retain a sense of literary lyricism despite the non-semantic approach. But he’s also a noteworthy electronics improviser, a writer and composer, a lecturer and a performance artist.
In an interview with the Orlando Weekly earlier this month, Blonk promised some combination of all of his roles on this tour with Bishop: “Performances will indeed vary in character. Some will be completely improvised; some will include set pieces. … Some will be closer to sound poetry, others will be just music, [and] there will be some lectures also.”
Whichever shape tonight’s performance takes, however, it promises to be a challenging and compelling experiment from two artists defined by their willingness to take risks. The show starts at 8 p.m. in Neptune’s (beneath Kings), and donations are requested.
