UK guitarist Steve Saunders and Berlin saxophonist Asger Nissen (Jim Black, Jeff Ballard, Loren Stillman) present ‘arche’ (ar-kay), a unique, bassless trio infused with contemporary classical and jazz/improvised music influences.

‘Arche’ have performed throughout the UK and Europe at venues ranging from the prestigious Birmingham Symphony Hall Stage with legendary New York jazz drummer Jeff Williams to Donau115 in Berlin, where Asger and Steve worked with rising German drummer Marius Wankel.

The group perform original compositions collaboratively composed by Asger and Steve, exploring contemporary music techniques within an open, improvisatory framework. The result is an original, unified language in which compositions and improvisations blend seamlessly together, demonstrating diverse influences from classical figures such as Pierre Boulez, Elliott Carter, Morton Feldman and Milton Babbitt, all whilst drawing upon the depth of the jazz and improvised music tradition.

For this concert, they will be performing with electroacoustic composer and drummer Kai Chareunsy.

An open instrumentation set forth by the great Paul Motian, 'arche' provides a contrasting and contemporary take on this unique ensemble configuration whilst keeping in tradition with its legacy.