Bigger Picture
This multinational quartet of musicians is based in Berlin, and features Devon-born pianist Laurie Rich
Presented by: Ashburton Arts Centre| 0 | ASHBURTON: Arts Centre (info) |
|---|---|
| P | Tuesday 4th February, 2025 |
| N | Door time: 7:00pm Start time: 7:30pm |
| . | All ages |
| C | Music - Folk/blues/world |
Event information
Laurie Rich, piano (UK)
Tobias Bech, trumpet (Denmark)
Seth Sjoström, guitar (Sweden)
Dominic Witte, drums (Germany)
Bigger Picture is a collective of musicians deriving from Berlin, centered around the compositions of members Tobias Bech (DK) and Laurie Rich (UK). The duo met in Berlin in March 2024 and quickly began playing and writing music together. Through a shared love of free-improvisational music, modern jazz and folk music from around the world, they were able to quickly develop a common musical language that clearly appears in their compositions. Inspired by their experiences of the Berlin scene, the two young musicians began to aim for an approach to free improvisation with a delicate and considered touch.
Soon into this process, they set themselves the goal of recording an album before the end of the year and booked a day session in Berlin's legendary Hansa Studios with Swedish engineer Nanni Johansson, where they recorded a total of 11 tracks. Later that year, the duo began to explore their music in a larger capacity by introducing Swedish bassist Seth Sjöström and later German drummer Dominik Witte. Together they created the quartet “Bigger Picture” and played a series of concerts in Berlin before Laurie had to travel back to the UK in July 2024. The success of these performances manifested itself in the same venues booking the quartet to play again later that year, which has enabled the project to arrange tours for 2025, including a series of concerts across the UK in January/February 2025 to celebrate the record.
On the record, the renowned Swedish vocalist Irma Neumüller is heard on 6 of the titles - a creative decision that was inspired by a shared love for Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor and Norma Winstone's 'Azimuth' project. Going forward, the group, in its many manifestations, aim to record newly written music in London in February 2025 and to share this music at festivals in wider Europe.
We are delighted to be having Seth and Dominik both able to join us from afar for this gig at Ashburton and it is a pleasure to bring our music to a venue so close to where I (Laurie) grew up!
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