Joss Turnbull – Percussion an den Grenzen von Beatmusik und Klangkunst

We recently had the opportunity to experience percussionist Joss Turnbull with Iranian tar master Elshan Ghasimi in the Grüner Salon. He will now return as a soloist.

Turnbull is a “self-confident artistic free spirit” (SWR2) who has developed a sound language with his main instrument, the Iranian goblet drum tombak, that breaks with conventional boundaries. He searches for an expressive music that gains its energy from the moment and in which his drumming surprises as a delicate and lyrical voice. With the help of unorthodox instrumental extensions such as rubber balls, tremolo sticks, foils and live sampling, he creates acoustic spaces that are both minimalist and overwhelming at the same time. His music is characterized by tension and a willfulness that forces both the listener and himself to engage with the unpredictable moment. Turnbull sees his playing as “Struggle Drumming”: a form of musical expression that combines existential urgency with radical openness.

At the heart of his work are fundamental questions: How can traditional playing styles be combined with experimental improvisation? What happens when sound is used as a means of questioning listening habits? What does radical openness sound like?

Turnbull plays on international stages and has been described as one of the most exciting percussionists of his generation (Deutschlandradio Kultur). In 2019 he was awarded the 1st Kathrin Prize of the Jazzinstitut Darmstadt. This was followed in 2020 by a working scholarship from the Roger Willemsen Foundation at the Vila Willemsen/Mare Künstlerhaus. The subject of the artist residency was recordings that will be published under the title Turmoil in 2025.

„Today, Turnbull is considered one of the most important and experimental ambassadors of a mixture of jazz, world music, improvisation and contemporary music with the means of a multi-faceted and limitless percussion spectrum.“
Main-Echo

„…one of the most exciting percussionists of the young generation“
Deutschlandradio Kultur

„A self-confident artistic free spirit…“
SWR 2

„It’s hard to believe that only ten fingers are involved in creating such a witchcraft of tapping, scratching, rustling, grinding, fluttering and buzzing“
Neue Zeitschrift für Musik

youtu.be/9uW9gmjoNak?si=wTYXdVz-px8uelbz

Joss Turnbull has invited saxophonist Julius Gabriel to open the evening with his solo program. Like Turnbull, Julius Gabriel also explores the limits and subtleties of his instrument and is a convincing soloist.

Julius Gabriel explores the dynamic interplay of physicality, acoustics, transcendence and hypnosis. His musical foundation is deeply rooted in improvisation, drawing inspiration from an eclectic range of genres including jazz folk classical psychedelic noise minimalism drone and ambient music. An avid soloist, he has cultivated various branches of solo performance and continues to develop his craft. In his solo concerts, he meditatively immerses himself in the unique spatial dimensions and resonances of each performance space. He uses electronics to create otherworldly soundscapes, transforming the tenor saxophone into a percussion instrument and the soprano saxophone into a twin instrument. Julius Gabriel’s musical odyssey is reflected in several solo albums that bear witness to his versatile and innovative approach.

New York City Jazz Record: “The young Julius Gabriel plays ferocious baritone.”
ZDB: “Julius Gabriel is not only a jazz experimentalist, it is a world of encounters.”
Passos na Floresta: “Gabriel demonstrated that there can be virtuosos in non-conformist practices.”
The Fragmented Flaneur: “Gabriel’s sax lets you take the security of that foundation to really soar through a varied topology of the mind.”