SOPHIE AGNEL / JOHN BUTCHER

FRANCE, ENGLAND
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE

SATURDAY MAY 18   
CARRÉ 150 (Salle F. Lemaire)
3 PM - $32 

Sophie Agnel : piano
John Butcher : saxophones soprano et ténor

British saxophonist JOHN BUTCHER is a luminary figure in FIMAV’s history, including several fondly recalled concerts going back to 1997, Phil Minton’s “Mouthfull of Ecstacy.” Here he is paired with the remarkable French pianist, SOPHIE AGNEL, with whom he shares key territories of musical interest: rich, unfolding timbres — and their rhythmic and harmonic implications — to be developed in the collective action of discovery and transformation. These qualities are manifested in abundance on La Pierre Tachée (2022), one of an amazing series of records featuring BUTCHER on the exceptional Luxembourger label, Ni Vu Ni Connu. AGNEL’s early training in classical music and interest in modern jazz give her the most solid of foundations for her pianistic flights of imagination. Meanwhile, JOHN BUTCHER remains a singular virtuoso on soprano and tenor saxophones whose contributions to the field of creative improvised music are often astonishing and ever inspiring.