Hans Koller's Bird Migration

Event Has Passed

Last Show: Wednesday 23 rd September 2020

PizzaExpress Jazz Club (Soho)

A 13-piece ensemble exploring and celebrating musical ideas and imagined movements of Charlie 'Bird' Parker. Bird Migration is an innovative, cross-genre project from critically acclaimed composer and multi-instrumentalist Hans Koller. This new project is a natural development of Koller’s critically acclaimed 2016 JazzLines commission Twelve Re-inventions for George Russell which was premiered at the CBSO centre in Birmingham and recorded for BBC Radio 3.  

“the most expansive, expressive and exciting new jazz orchestral sound to have emerged in this country since the late-lamented Loose Tubes”

John Fordham, The Guardian

Bird Migration will build and further develop the compositional methods used that helped bring together the different worlds of contemporary jazz and contemporary classical music inspired by Parker’s interest in Stravinsky, Varèse and others. Yet, the central theme is one of connection with the jazz tradition and a musical re-imagination of Parker's close relationships with his peers Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Tadd Dameron, Fats Navarro and others.

The project brings together players that have experience in diverse musical worlds, are characterised by a willingness to experiment, and are all committed to open improvising as well as being a disciplined part of an overall, innovative sound world.

Band Lineup

John O'Gallagher, Zhenya Strigalev , Alex Garnett, Josephine Davies (saxophones)

Byron Wallen, Percy Pursglove, Robbie Robson (trumpets)

Trevor Mires, Winston Rollins, Richard Henry (trombones)

Hans Koller (piano)

Calum Gourlay (bass)

Shane Forbes (drums)