London Jazz Festival, in association with BBC Radio 3, Friday 11 to Sunday 20 November 2011

Phronesis took the Barbican stage on Saturday evening to play an opening slot that most musicians would kill for - supporting seminal saxophonist, and one of the most original and admired jazz composers, Wayne Shorter. Their set was deservedly well received by the 1900-strong crowd and since by the critics, with mentions for the group being swept up in a series of 4 and 5* reviews.

We’ll be posting more about the Wayne Shorter gig on the Serious blog. But here, we're going to talk a bit more about Phronesis.

Looking ahead, their next London appearance will be at the Festival, where they’ll give the London premiere of their new project Pitch Black. The project is the live incarnation of the trio’s 2009 album Green Delay which leader Jasper Høiby wrote for, and dedicated to, his sister who lost her eyesight due to severe cataracts. Pitch Black aims to explore whether the absence of one sense heightens our other senses, and how the loss alters our experience of the world. It was first performed at the Brecon Jazz Festival this summer. We’ve since caught up with Jasper to ask a few questions about the experience of performing in complete darkness, and what they’ve taken from this. Sandra Nicholls-Marcy, who writes for the Social Jazz Blog, and has contributed a number of articles to the Festival blog, conducted the interview, and has drawn together the highlights. 

What was different for you, Ivo and Anton about the connections between yourselves, the music and the audience as a result of playing in complete darkness?

"I guess for me instantly the big difference is that I felt a closer connection to the music and the audience. Sometimes you have to work on the atmosphere to get to that ‘zone’ where you can focus and be in the moment but turning the lights off certainly helps that along. There’s a very strong bond between the three of us anyway and turning the lights off only seemed to increase it."

Did you hear anything in the music that you’ve not noticed before?

"I wouldn’t say that I heard new things but rather that we seemed to find or explore new avenues of the music that we haven’t touched upon before."

Being such an unfamiliar concept, the audience might have been forgiven for being a little reticent at the beginning. How did the mood in the room change as the concert progressed?

"The mood changed quite drastically in my opinion. Midway through the gig I told everyone not to forget how they’d normally interact at a gig if the lights were on and that definitely seemed to make people relax a little more. I got the feeling that it felt quite fragile to the audience and hence the hesitation to clap or participate in the ways they might usually have done, but in the end everyone seemed to get involved and enjoy themselves."

How did you go about preparing for the concert?

"We spent some time talking about the things that would be different from a ‘normal’ gig, then I wrote some notes and changed a few cues into musical cues as opposed to visual ones. After that we rehearsed in a dark room with sleeping masks on."

Now that you’ve had time to reflect, what would you say is the lasting impression this performance has for you?

"It felt really good being able to make people think about and appreciate their sight and also focus entirely on the listening experience. After all listening is what we (musicians) are all about when we play and communicate through sound and spread and share emotions in this manner. Personally it also felt good for me to get such great feedback from the people who participated in the concert. I hope that some of that positivity somehow gets passed on to my sister, she is after all the reason for doing it in the first place."

The Pitch Black concert is on Wednesday 16 November at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre. Tickets are selling fast, so booking early is recommended.

Phronesis goodies up for grabs

For one lucky winner, we have a Phronesis goody pack to give away, which includes a Green Delay poster, a signed drumstick, and signed copies of all three albums - Organic Warfare, Green Delay and Alive.

For two runners-up, we have an extra two signed copies of Green Delay. To win, please answer the following question:

What is the name of the second track on Green Delay?

Email your answers to amy.coombe@serious.org.uk by midday tomorrow (Tuesday).

For your viewing pleasure, here are a couple of photos that Cat Munro took in Brecon: