Fifteen pieces or nothing

Big Band jazz flourished in American ballrooms of the 1930s when the sound had to carry unaided across large floors. But when a modern European jazz band decides to perform as a collective of 15, surely it’s for something else.

Big Band jazz flourished in American ballrooms of the 1930s when the sound had to carry unaided across large floors. But when a modern European jazz band decides to perform as a collective of 15, surely it’s for something else.

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It has to do with the vision of Helge Sunde, the composer-bandleader of Ensemble Denada whose taut melodies are thrown open for improvisation by every other band member. Their album ‘Finding Nymo’, released late last year, has been described by a critic as “a love letter from Maria Schneider to Maurice Ravel”. Find out whether it’s a letter or a 15-chapter novel.

Ensemble Denada performs today at 6 pm at The Ashok Theatre, 50-B Diplomatic Enclave, Chanakyapuri