Downstairs at Blue Nile was a full-house when New Orleans International Sound Exchange’s (N.O.I.S.E.) annual HIP Fest kicked off on Tuesday night.
Musicians from New Orleans and around the world gathered over six different sets of free improvised music. The four duos and two trios combined unconventional instrumentation, and most combos consisted of musicians performing together for the first time. This format brought out the musicians’ ability to communicate, exchange and construct dialogues in music with complete expressive freedom.
“Why do we talk?” said Italian pianist Fabrizio Puglisi before the performance. “Why would we have to talk when we can just play?”
Puglisi opened the first set pairing up with New Orleans trombonist Mark McGrain. A second piano and trombone duo followed with local pianist Oscar Rossignoli and Downbeat’s 2015 Rising Star Tyshawn Sorey. The following set was a trio gathering critically-acclaimed young alto saxophonist Steve Lehman with local bassist Nobu Ozaki and drummer Brad Webb.
After an intermission, Jeff Albert joined McGrain and Sorey for an all-trombone trio set. New Orleans’ cellist and vocalist Helen Gillet then sat with Lehman for a duo set, and the night ended with a percussive powerhouse merging Mike Dillon’s vibes and wide-range percussion with Marcello Benetti‘s drums and Puglisi on piano.
HIP Fest continues at the Contemporary Arts Center on Wednesday night with more performances from Puglisi, Lehman, Sorey’s three-man project Fieldwork and Downbeat’s 2015 Jazz Artist of the Year, pianist and composer Vijay Iyer.
The CAC show starts at 8 p.m. and costs $25 ($20 for students, seniors, and CAC members.) Visit www.cacno.org or call (504) 528-3800 for tickets or more information.
Mike Dillon at HIP Fest 2015. Photo by Noé Cugny
All photos by Noé Cugny. Click here to view the gallery on Flickr.
