Expect the Unexpected

So, what happens when there are 20 guests, with 22 new pieces, all in two marathon events? This was the premise of John Cumming, director of the EFG London Jazz Festival and Peter Wiegold, in the conceiving of 'Expect the Unexpected', when planning a celebration of 25 years of the Festival. Each guest would be asked to contribute a 'one-page' score, then the performances would take place without rehearsal, with just some basic directing signals given by Peter. A wonderful variety of pieces emerged, from written instructions through to graphic scores to fully-fleshed grooves, melodies, and harmonies. The expansive set of choices of guest musicians was made by John Cumming, ranging from exciting young talent that had emerged through Serious' Take-5 scheme to experienced and distinguished UK jazz musicians. In the two marathon days at Club Inégales in November 2017 each performance lasted some 20-25' and have been edited here to 3-7'. Unrehearsed, Peter Wiegold signaled which sections to go to, and used his basic signals like 'loop' 'solo' 'sustain' and so on to bring moments of focus. But often the bands took over and the music did evolve into quite unexpected places, such as the beautiful timeless end to Kuljit Bhamra's Tabla Tune, which began as a simple 3-note melody.