Chris Brown – Ben Davis Duo

In the organizer's words:

cuba culture in the BLACK BOX at CUBA

STAGE off LIMITS | Chris Brown - Ben Davis Duo

The Brown - Davis duo has been a fixture in the San Francisco Bay Area's creative music scene since 2021. Their music draws from experiences in contemporary new music, jazz, free jazz, classical and early music, with sonic diversity ranging from pure intonation to noise. On their 2026 European tour, they will perform with a live sampling system that fragments and expands their improvisations into instantly rendered orchestral textures.

"With sufficient technical dexterity that allowed everyone to achieve solo concert skills, the warmth emanating from the expected interaction between cello and piano can also be heard at times. However, since the session is devoted to improvisation rather than impressionism, rough blows against the wood of both instruments and pinched keys or strings are as common as soft and moderate sounds." (Ken Waxman, Jazzword)

Chris Brown, composer, pianist and electronic musician, makes music with self-developed sound systems that include acoustic and electro-acoustic instruments, interactive software, computer networks, microtonal tunings and improvisation. His compositions are designs for performances in which people bring to life the musical structures embedded in scores, instruments and machines. He has performed and recorded music by Henry Cowell, Luc Ferrari, John Zorn, David Rosenboom, Wadada Leo Smith, Pauline Oliveros, Fred Frith, the Rova Saxophone Quartet, Frank Gratkowski, William Winant and many others.

Ben Davis (cellist/composer) combines his experience of classical, jazz and contemporary music into a raw vehicle of acoustic expression. In the UK he has worked with Evan Parker, Louis Moholo, Vincent Courtois, Wadada Leo Smith, Ingrid Laubrock, Simon Nabatov and Bobby McFerrin. His own group Basquiat Strings worked with Ellery Eskerlin at the BBC Electric Proms and was nominated for the Mercury Music Awards 2007. He was a member of the London collective F-IRE and worked individually with many of its artists. Most recently he has worked with Tomeka Reid, Mary Halverson, Ben Goldberg, Jim Campilongo, Zeena Parkins, Gerald Cleaver, William Winant, Roscoe Mitchell and Nicole Mitchell. He performed "Quiver," a solo cello piece by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Raven Chacon.

Cast:

Chris Brown - piano, live electronics
Ben Davis - cello, percussion

Price information:

12 € normal price, 8 € reduced, under 20s free admission