Eastley, Butcher & Beresford

Max Eastley, John Butcher and Steve Beresford

Concert at La Ferme-Asile concert hall, Friday, September 22, 9:30 p.m.

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Eastley, Butcher and Beresford are three key protagonists of the second wave of British improvisers. They have collaborated with hundreds of artists worldwide on performances and recordings. They are all individually known as musicians and composers in other registers such as popular music, contemporary classical music, film scores, acoustic exploration, dance music, compositions for events and sound sculptures. They will bring to the Biennale Son a collaboration in free improvisation that promises to be full of surprising innovation and spontaneous creativity.

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Max Eastley

Born in 1944 in Devon, United Kingdom

Lives in London

After studying fine art in Devon and London, Max Eastley developed his artistic practice between sculpture and music. He created his own instrument, The Arc, based on an aeolian sculpture. It consists of a single string stretched lengthwise across a long piece of wood, and can be played with a bow, fingers or short glass rods. A microphone is attached to the end of the instrument so that the basic sound can be amplified, recorded and run through sound effects programs.

In addition to his solo work, Max Eastley has collaborated with numerous artists and musicians since the 1970s, on visual arts projects, musical performances and recordings.

In his sculptural installations, as in his music, he readily uses the energy of wind, water, electricity and even ice, seeking to involve the audience both visually and aurally.

He is involved in the Cape Farewell project, which creates opportunities for collaboration between the arts and sciences, to highlight humanity's destructive impact on the earth and inspire action for sustainable cultural change. In this context, he has made several trips to Spitsbergen.

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John Butcher

Born in 1950 in Brighton, United Kingdom

Lives in London

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John Butcher wrote a thesis in quantum chromodynamics, defended in 1982, before leaving academia to devote himself to music. A saxophonist (soprano and tenor), his work involves improvisation and composition. From his many years of practice with string players, he has developed a subtle way of playing so that his instrument does not overwhelm the sound of others. Since the late 1990s, he has also confronted his sounds with those produced by electronics.

For both performing and recording, John Butcher favors unusual locations and situations. Such site-specific work grew out of a 2002 experiment in the caves of the Utsunomiya stone quarries in Japan. Other locations and special acoustics he has been able to exploit include a 200-meter-high gasometer in Oberhausen, Germany; The Hill, immense stone constructions made in the Chihuahuan desert near El Paso by solo artist James Magee (with saxophonist Joe McPhee); and the bunkers of Cape Hope, Newfoundland. The Resonant Spaces tour sought out special locations in Scotland and Orkney.

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Steve Beresford

Born in 1950 in Shropshire, United Kingdom

Lives in London

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Born into a musical family, Steve Beresford began playing the piano at the age of 7. As a teenager, he played trumpet in a small soul band.

After studying at the University of York, he discovered musical improvisation in London in the mid-1970s, and went on to collaborate with a number of avant-garde musicians, playing bass in various formations. By 1979, he had also become a familiar figure on the downtown New York scene.

Thereafter, he continued to compose in a variety of fields, from theater, in which he showed an early interest, to fashion design, film and television.

Free improvisation is central to his work, usually involving piano and/or electronics. He has an extensive discography as a multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer and producer.

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