John Tilbury / Mark Sanders / John Edwards

Event information

John Tilbury is best known for his work with revolutionary improvising collective AMM and experimental composers such as Cornelius Cardew and John Cage. Over the last year or so, he’s been a frequent presence at Cafe Oto, including collaborations with musicians as diverse as Marcus Schmickler, Oren Ambarchi and Wadada Leo Smith, and memorable solo performances of Morton Feldman and Samuel Beckett.

Here, he appears in a trio with the peerless bass and drums pairing of John Edwards and Mark Sanders. A first glance this might seems like a surprisingly conventional setting (a piano trio, no less!), but a second, longer look dispels such a superficial impression. Edwards and Sanders are hardly a typical rhythm section, both being leading creative musicians in their own right, whose musical imaginations go far beyond the traditional roles ascribed to their instruments. This will be an encounter of three instrumentalists of the first order, unfettered by hierarchy or idiomatic expectations.

This is the first time all three have played together. John Edwards has played with John Tilbury occasionally over the years (including a memorable trio completed by Sebastian Lexer); this, however, will be Sanders’ first encounter with Tilbury and we’re particularly looking forward to hearing how his mastery of percussive timbre (especially of small, chiming objects) and use of multi-layered time meshes with the pianist’s array of sounds and compelling sense of space and form.



John Edwards' staggering range of techniques and boundless musical imagination have redefined the possibility of the double bass and dramatically expanded its role, whether playing solo or with others. Equally at home with fragile acoustic improvisation or driving free jazz, Edwards is quite deservedly one of the most in demand players of today, and has propelled encounters with Evan Parker, Roscoe Mitchell, Matthew Shipp, and many more.



Mark Sanders has been acclaimed as “the most exciting, original and overwhelmingly powerful drummer alive”(Steve Reynolds, Jazz Corner) and his precise and propulsive drumming has graced projects with, to name but a few, Evan Parker, Axel Dörner, Agusti Fernandez, John Butcher, Roswell Rudd, and Otomo Yoshihde.

"ubiquitous, diverse and constantly creative, drummer Mark Sanders always outdoes himself, whether playing with restraint or erupting like a dynamo." Bruce L Gallenter, Downtown Music Gallery. NY

"a gifted player capable of seamless movement between free-rhythms and propulsive swing" John Fordham. The Guardian