The Ex & Brass Unbound

Avant-garde band meets European improvisers in a vibrant ten-piece collective.

The Ex has existed since 1979 and has always experimented with styles, musical forms, and like-minded spirits, with a preference for improvisation over predictability. This keeps the band very much alive. Since the 1980s, they have collaborated with improvisers from all over the world, both on record and on stage. Think of the legendary Ex-festivals, the special collaboration with Tom Cora, and albums like Joggers & Smoggers, Instant, Een Rondje Holland, and The Ex at Bimhuis (1991-2015).

A special chapter in the history of The Ex is their project with Brass Unbound, which emerged from the collaboration with the Ethiopian legend Getatchew Mekuria. At those performances, improvisers such as Mats Gustafsson, Ken Vandermark, Wolter Wierbos, and Roy Paci joined, all of whom can be heard on the album Enormous Door from 2013. More than ten years later, The Ex resumes the collaboration with Brass Unbound. Familiar travel companions Ken Vandermark, Mats Gustafsson, and Roy Paci are joined by three younger musicians who have become part of their circle in recent years: Hanne De Backer, Signe Emmeluth, and Guro Kvale. A quartet and six guests: ten musicians in total.

Arnold de Boer guitar/vocals, Andy Moor guitar, Terrie Hessels guitar, Roy Paci trumpet, Signe Emmeluth alto sax, Ken Vandermark tenor sax/baritone sax, Hanne De Backer baritone sax, Mats Gustafsson tenor sax/baritone sax, Guro Kvale trombone, Katherina Bornefeld drums