A rare treat at the Zig Zag Jazz Club: Aurora Nealand, US multi-instrumentalist and New Yorker by choice, comes to Berlin and pays tribute to the great musical tradition of her hometown New Orleans - especially the music of Sidney Bechet. Nealand will be accompanied by a band of Berliners and old and new friends.
Aurora Nealand strives to explore the intersection of art, music and everyday life. She is a sound artist and multi-instrumentalist (saxophones, accordion, voice), born, as well as jazz in New Orleans. Her musical portfolio is characterized by an almost limitless breadth: She is the leader of The Royal Roses, a non-traditional traditional jazz band whose approach is based on collective improvisation, ranging from the traditions of early New Orleans jazz to AACM to collage sound art and musique concrete. Nealand's other musical projects include The Monocle Ensemble - her original music project and installation ensemble, redrawblak Trio, Instigation Orchestra, John Hollenbeck's GEORGE, and the Danger Dangers. In 2019/2020, she debuted KindHumanKind- a 90-minute fully staged theater show at the Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans based on her original music. She also works regularly as a musical facilitator with Found Sound Nation-an organization that promotes international musical collaboration, and has been involved with the Walden School for Young Composers (as a teacher/performer) for 20 years.
Nealand has performed at national and international festivals including the Montreal Jazz Festival, Istanbul Jazz Festival, Big Ears Festival, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, MPB Jazz Festival (Natal, Brazil), Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Summerstage NYC, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. She has collaborated with Pauline Oliveros, Jonathan Hart Makwaia, Preservation Hall Allstars, Bill Frisell, Tim Berne, James Singleton, David Torn, Arto Lindsey, Germaine Bazzle, John Boutte, Johnny Vidacovich and many others.
“In performance, Nealand brings an effervescence to her presentation whether she’s sitting onstage, standing on the street, or marching in a parade. Her eyes light up as the music ignites, and her smile encourages other musicians to play their best, and the audience to get into it and dance, bounce or sway. It’s obvious that she takes the music seriously, but that exploring while playing is an aesthetic priority. She is definitely one to watch as an innovator and creator.”
— Downbeat Magazine
- AURORA NEALAND - CLARINET/SOPRANO SAXOPHONE (USA)
- ELDAR TSALIKOV - CLARINET/C MELODY SAXOPHONE (RUS)
- DECLAN FORDE - PIANO (UK)
- JAMES BANNER - DOUBLE BASS (UK)
- UGO ALUNNI - DRUMS (ITA)