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CHEFA ALONSO / ALBERT KAUL - Primero es el Deseo
(CR17, 2013)
Clamshell Records. Serie Vector

Chefa Alonso – soprano saxophone, percussion
Albert Kaul – piano, clavichord, live electronics

In “Primero es el Deseo” (First Comes Desire), Chefa Alonso and Albert Kaul bring together, confront and juxtapose different musical traditions, from free jazz and contemporary music to Spanish and Latin American folk. Their particular musical origins bring a refreshingly complex musical discussion to their performance, magically integrating their traditions into a cohesive entity, pushing their boundaries beyond musical stereotype.

Chefa Alonso’s career in improvised music spans 20 years. She has composed and performed music for theatre and dance, taught free improvisation to musicians, dancers, actors and poets and conducted large ensembles such as Omega, Entenguerengue, Orquesta FOCO or Orquesta Carnival. She is also a member of the London Improvisers Orchestra and three ensembles: Uz, a woodwind jazz trio; Sin Red, a quartet that combines poetry and improvised music; and Molimo, a trio with vocalist Cova Villegas and cellist Barbara Meyer that will soon release their debut album on Vector Sounds. In 2007, Chefa Alonso published the book "Improvisación libre. La composición en movimiento" [Free Improvisation. Composition in motion], followed in 2014 by "Enseñanza y aprendizaje de la improvisación libre. Propuestas y reflexiones." [Teaching and learning free improvisation. Proposals and reflections.]

Albert Kaul teaches piano, composition, improvisation and musicology focusing on contemporary and experimental music, often in connection with other arts. His main musical interest is transcending boundaries, not only between different musical styles and genres, improvisation and composition, but also involving aspects of musical communication such as teaching and learning or performance and audience experience. Since 1995, Kaul is a founding member of the Grisette Orchester, an ensemble for experimental music.