Dave Rempis/Fred Lonberg-Holm/Paal Nilssen-Love/ Ballister Trio at Maas Building

Ars Nova Workshop presents the Philadelphia debut of heavy-hitting power-trio Ballister, and a rare solo performance by Norwegian noise artist Lasse Marhaug.

“They use their instruments like artillery, launching a barrage of explosive free improvisation,” the Chicago Reader correctly observes about Ballister's debut LP, Bastard String. “Though individual players occasionally drop out and the group sometimes turns down the heat, giving the performances dynamic range, the music is never polite.”

Saxophonist Dave Rempis, bassist Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love have played together for years in various ensembles—Rempis and Lonberg-Holm in the Vandermark 5, Longberg-Holm and Nilssen-Love in Peter Brötzmann's Chicago Tentet, and all three in Vandermark's Territory Band. Individually, they've worked with many of the most celebrated jazz and experimental artists around the world, such as Mats Gustafsson, Hamid Drake, Kevin Drumm, Roscoe Mitchell, Jim O'Rourke, Joe McPhee, Axel Doerner and Frode Gjerstad....

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Ars Nova Workshop presents the Philadelphia debut of heavy-hitting power-trio Ballister, and a rare solo performance by Norwegian noise artist Lasse Marhaug.

“They use their instruments like artillery, launching a barrage of explosive free improvisation,” the Chicago Reader correctly observes about Ballister's debut LP, Bastard String. “Though individual players occasionally drop out and the group sometimes turns down the heat, giving the performances dynamic range, the music is never polite.”

Saxophonist Dave Rempis, bassist Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love have played together for years in various ensembles—Rempis and Lonberg-Holm in the Vandermark 5, Longberg-Holm and Nilssen-Love in Peter Brötzmann's Chicago Tentet, and all three in Vandermark's Territory Band. Individually, they've worked with many of the most celebrated jazz and experimental artists around the world, such as Mats Gustafsson, Hamid Drake, Kevin Drumm, Roscoe Mitchell, Jim O'Rourke, Joe McPhee, Axel Doerner and Frode Gjerstad.

But Ballister didn't form until spring 2009, when Norwegian Nilssen-Love visited Rempis and Lonberg-Holm in Chicago. They embarked on their first US tour in 2010, which resulted in the release of Bastard String, captured live from their set at The Hideout in Chicago. Its three tracks—two of which are over 30 minutes long—showcase the trio's furious capacity for daring improvisation, blistering solos and compelling group dialogue. Don't miss Ballister as they redefine a whole new type of “power” from within the power-trio context.

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