Screw and Straw

/ Concert / languages: German + English / zeitraumexit @ T6/18

The Erb-Lonberg-Holm duo brings together two influential voices in international improvisational music: the Swiss saxophonist Christoph Erb and the American cellist, composer, and sound architect Fred Lonberg-Holm. Their duo is an open laboratory for radical sound research, where compositional thinking, free improvisation, and raw energy mutually stimulate each other.

Saxophone: Christoph Erb. Cello + Electronics: Fred Lonberg-Holm

Christoph Erb is a Swiss saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer, known for his work in free improvisation and avant-garde jazz. Born in 1973 in Lucerne, Switzerland, he has established himself as a prominent figure in the contemporary improvised music scene. Erb has collaborated with a wide range of musicians from different musical backgrounds, including Gerry Hemingway, Magda Mayas, Paul Lovens, Tomeka Reid, Michael Vatcher, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Michael Zerang, Joshua Abrams and many others. He has strong ties to the Chicago experimental jazz scene, where he frequently performs with leading improvisers. In addition to his collaborations, Erb founded veto-records, an independent label that serves as a platform for his projects and other experimental musicians.His playing is characterized by a radical openness to sonic experimentation, and he is recognized for his ability to create complex musical structures spontaneously. Beyond his work as an improviser, Erb has also composed for various ensembles and projects. His music is marked by intense expressiveness and a deep exploration of sound and space. As a key figure in the Swiss experimental music scene, Christoph Erb has gained international recognition for his innovative contributions to contemporary improvised music. Various tours took him across Europe, the USA, Russia, Japan, and South America. In 2007, he founded his own label, veto-records, and in 2011, the sub-label veto-records/Exchange.

Fred Lonberg-Holm, cello and guitar. He (BS Brooklyn College, MA Mills College) has studied composition with  Morton Feldman, Anthony Braxton, Pauline Oliveros, Bunita Marcus and Noah Creshevsky and cello with Orlando Cole and Ardyth Alton. He currently lives in Chicago where he works with a wide variety of musicians in as many situations as possible. Current and ongoing projects include the Valentine Trio (with Jason Roebke andFrank Rosaly), the Peter Broetzmann Chicago Tentet, Joe Mcphee’s  Survival Unit III (with Michael Zerang), Friction Brothers (Colligan, Lonberg-Holm and Zerang), The Boxhead Ensemble, Horses Ha (Janet Bean and Jim Elkington), ADA trio (w/ Broetzmann and Nilssen-Love) Vox-Arcana, Sherpa, Stirrup, The Fast Citizen’s, Ballister as well as numerous one off projects.  He has appeared in numerous festivals on several continents. Improvisors he has worked with include Clare Cooper, Charlotte Hug, Andrea Neumann, Shelly Hirsch, Carrie Shull, Carrie Biolo, Birgitte Uhler, Rachel Wadham, Mary Halvorson, Joelle Leandre, Joanne Powers, Zeena Parkins, Judy Dunaway, Lotte Anker as well as a number of guys. He also leads a revolving cast large ensembles under the name Lightbox Orchestra.  His extensive discography includes free improvised and free jazz recordings as well as new music, pop, rock and noise. In addition to composing and performing he has made a number of sound installations including recently at the Lincoln Park Conservatory, Joymore and Geschiedle Galleries. 

Photo: Nancy Parisi