Legendary drummer Pheeroan akLaff (USA) is one of the greats of jazz and improvised music. Since the 1970’s Pheeroan has been at the forefront of innovative new music, collaborating with renowned artists such as Sam Rivers, Oliver Lake, Andrew Hill, Reggie Workman, Cecil Taylor, Amina Claudine Myers, Liu Sola and many, many more.

Audio Foundation and Pyramid Club have collaborated to present Pheeroan akLaff in Aotearoa, in a program including solo drum concerts, hard blowing quintets, improvised music with prepared piano and Taonga Pūoro and more.
“Pheeroan akLaff believes in drums first, rather than last. He can drive an ensemble forward with the machine-gun attack of his snare and the rolling thunder of his bass and toms, compounding and enriching the music with dense polyrhythms, or using the metallic shimmer of his cymbals to surmount it all with a luminous, celebratory grace.” – Stuart Broomer

When akLaff speaks of the jazz drumming tradition, he speaks with the rhythmic energy of his drumming and the fluidity of a Beat poet. For him, it’s “piloting a fearless flight of one thousand passengers. It’s the sensation of conducting the breath and heartbeat of a joyous few, of having a tradition of mentor and devotee with a transcendental bond. It’s making others dance with you, making others hear what is not apparently audible or imaginable.”

Pheeroan akLaff – drums/percussion
Hermione Johnson – prepared piano
Abigail Aroha Jensen – Taonga Pūoro
Susana Lei’ataua – spoken word

Tuesday 25 October, 7:30PM
Audio Foundation
Tickets from Undertheradar