Gush

Sunday, May 25, at 21:00
main stage

Mats Gustafsson (reeds, flutes)
Sten Sandell (piano)
Raymond Strid (drums)

Photo: promo

Of the members of the Swedish trio Gush, reeds player Mats Gustafsson is perhaps the most familiar to Slovenian audiences. A regular presence on our stages, he has performed here with numerous bands or in improvised collaborations – from The Thing, to the thunderous trio Sonores (whose first Slovenian concert was here in Cerkno), to the modern big band Fire! Orchestra. But it’s important to note that the remaining duo are also heavyweights and pillars of Scandinavian free jazz. We have hosted drummer Raymond Strid in Slovenia (and also in Cerkno) several times with various bands, such as ESS Trio, The Electrics or Trespass Trio. Pianist Sten Sandell, who earned a doctorate in music performance and interpretation in 2013, has collaborated with top improvisers such as Paal Nilssen-Love, Evan Parker, Chris Cutler and Sofia Jernberg. Among the trio’s acclaimed albums, it is worth mentioning the triple concert album Kraków 2018 (NotTwo Records), which documents concerts at the famous Kraków club Alchemia, where the trio hosted many other musicians during a residency to celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary. The dynamics of Gush, founded in 1988 by Raymond Strid, were described in All About Jazz magazine like this: “Surprise is an element that keeps movement on edge, but there is something more. (…) Yet, to their credit, time has not staled their impulses. Creativity is still ripe. And it is in that that their music bristles and stirs the senses.”