On the opening night, GIO and the Gaelic arts organisation Ceòl’s Craic will explore themes of migrant identities and nature. Singers Debbie Armour and Alasdair Whyte and saxophonist Alípio C Neto are featured guests. This collaboration will include new graphic scores by GIO bassist Una MacGlone, spoken word, song and soundscapes based on poems from Fo Bhlàth (Flourishing), a recent collection from Glasgow’s first poet laureate, Niall O’Gallagher who will also perform.
Friday will feature a collaboration with the international improvisation collective The Noisebringers, who bringing noise in all possible and unimaginable areas, music, objects, art, games, performances, books, poetry, and more. The three members of the collective, Brice Catherin, Maria Sappho and Henry McPherson have decided that love is more important than music: love for life, friendship, creation, fables, mythology, speculative storytelling, transformation. They love, laugh, create, think inside out, together and they will do all this and more with GIO.
On Saturday Joëlle Léandre will return to work the ensemble after a gloriously euphoric encounter at the Glasgow Jazz Festival in 2019.
Also featured is a series of new films:
“Howard Riley - Cheerfully Beyond Category” by Cath Longbottom profiling Howard Riley “What Is Man and What Is Guitar? A Film About Keith Rowe” by Bob Burnett and Alan Jones . Keith Rowe left a beautiful and indelible mark on GIO when we spent 3 days collaborating with him early in our development in 2003 And a series of films from artist filmmaker Ross Birrell who has been recording, editing and remixing all of GIO online improvisation sessions.
Plus some new films to be shown online.
Many concerts livestreamed for free! Please check our programme for more details.
The festival will also feature GIOdynamics, a public small group improvisation session run by Jer Reid. Also, GIObabies, a session for young improvisers run by Una MacGlone.
