Agustí Fernández & Yves Charuest (Spain/Québec)
Barcelona-based pianist Agustí Fernández is a giant of contemporary creative music, an improviser of boundless imagination and technical capability. Equally at ease in ‘unit structure’ cellular approach of the late great Cecil Taylor, the oblique and liquid melodic lines of Lennie Tristano, or a nuanced and rigorous approach inside the piano. This fact is borne through the calibre of his frequent collaborators over the years: Evan Parker, Barry Guy, Peter Kowald, and many more. In recent years, a lesser-known but no less inspiring collaborator has emerged in Montreal alto saxophonist Yves Charuest. Following a hiatus from playing, Charuest re-emerged since 2010 as one of the most original voices in Canadian music, with an approach to open improvisation that combines the oblique elegance of Lee Konitz-style line-forming and the post-Parker rhythmic inventiveness of Jimmy Lyons. In 2014, Charuest invited Fernández to perform with his trio at L’Off Festival, Montreal, and a subsequent studio session produced the brilliant recording, Stir (Tour de Bras). In Guelph, these two are invited to perform an intimate duo concert, plus a solo concert by Fernández.
Agustí Fernández & Yves Charuest:
Friday, 14 September, 8pm, Cooperators Hall, River Run Centre (on a bill with Steve Swell’s Soul Travelers), $30/$25
Agustí Fernández solo:
Thursday, 13 September, 12pm, Goldschmidt Room, 107 Mackinnon Building, University of Guelph (co-presented with the College of Arts ‘Thursday at Noon’ Series), free
Agustí Fernández website
Yves Charuest website
Stir on Tour de Bras’s Bandcamp