Saturday 5 March 2016, 8pm
Mats Gustafsson / baritone and tenor saxophones
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten / double bass and bass guitar
Paal Nilssen-Love / drums
The Thing return to OTO for the first time since 2013, with a colossal free improvisatory style that dives into an expansive songbook including everything from Don Cherry and Norman Howard to PJ Harvey and The White Stripes.
“Tapping into rock's most primal forces with the fire and fury that's something to behold.” – Mojo
“The sheer power they generate from wood, metal, breath and muscle is stunning” – BBC
After forming in 1999 as a Don Cherry recording project, Scandinavian garage, free jazz trio The Thing soon established themselves as one of the most important European jazz groups, playing a variety of compositions, including material by PJ Harvey, Albert Ayler, The White Stripes, Steve Lacy, The Stooges, The Sonics, The Cramps, Lightning Bolt and The Ex. They transformed the music of these artists into a contemporary context, making it their own.
The Thing has grown into one of the most successful and hardest working free jazz trio’s around, traveling all over the world. They have performed with guests like Joe McPhee, Ken Vandermark, Otomo Yoshihide, Jim O’Rourke, Thurston Moore, Peter Evans and Neneh Cherry.
After more than 600 concerts around the globe, five studio albums including their collaborative release with Neneh Cherry and a variety of live releases over the years, in 2013 The Thing presented their sixth studio album, BOOT! as the first release on their new label, The Thing Records. In 2014 followed The Thing with Thurston Moore LIVE, and in 2015 SHAKE.
With dedicated fans in the rock, noise and jazz communities, these new albums take The Thing’s music to new, uncompromising levels and continues to solidify The Thing’s special and important position in the contemporary independent music world.
