Earlier this week myself (Lucy) and Elly had the pleasure of attending Ben's performance at Redbeer'd in Birmingham, and I’m so glad I brought my camera along to capture the experience. Ben was joined by the inventive double bassist Trevor Lines and the boundary-pushing saxophonist Brue Coates for an evening of 'free jazz' that defied all expectations. While I’d seen this trio perform before, it was always in a more traditional jazz standards setting - never in this stripped back experimental form. Trevor talked about the event being a kind of ‘anti-gig’. I really love this concept. It perfectly encapsulated how the conventional idea of a jazz performance was stripped down to its core and rebuilt into something utterly fresh and one-of-a-kind.
The creativity on display was mesmerizing. Ben took his trumpet apart - literally deconstructing it - yet still coaxed out sounds that somehow held together in a strange, beautiful logic. At one point, he wielded two horns simultaneously, and I’d swear they were playing entirely different melodies! Bruce, meanwhile, had what looked like a Coke can jammed into the bell of his saxophone, producing tones that were as bizarre as they were captivating. Trevor’s approach to the double bass was equally unorthodox, drawing wonderfully dissonant, raw sounds from the strings in a way that felt gloriously unrestrained. This felt like more than ‘just a gig’ - it was a full-on artistic happening. Between duo and trio improvisations, and even a bit of performance art (which I was thrilled to join in on), the night unfolded like a living, breathing art piece, bursting with color, movement, and texture.
What struck me most was the atmosphere: warm, inclusive, and devoid of any pretension. Despite the high-art nature of the performance, there was no hint of snobbery or intimidation - just an open invitation to engage in a creative conversation. The music, entirely improvised, was a marvel of controlled chaos, with Ben, Trevor, and Bruce maintaining a seamless dialogue amid infinite possibilities. I felt quite at home here and felt happy to be making new friends including writer Richard Bruce Clay, whose work I’m eager to explore. This 'anti-gig' was a vibrant web of connections and ideas, and I can’t wait to see more events like it. These are the creative networks worth diving into headfirst!
