Iain Ballamy & Stian Carstensen aka The Little Radio – Jazz at NAC

Get set for a genuinely magical evening with these two great creative geniuses!

Iain Ballamy – tenor saxophone

Stian Carstensen – button accordion

The resonance of button accordion and tenor saxophone is a rare, rich and beautiful sonority. In the hands of these two master musicians it is a combination capable of a huge range of moods and textures, at times showing great dexterity and alternately a full and rich resonance seemingly far larger than the sum of its parts.

Their repertoire ranges widely from Chopin to Whitney Houston via Eric Satie and Kurt Weill, incorporating classic songs, jazz standards, original works, tangos and even children’s songs to make a rich and diverse programme in a new and imaginative setting.

Stian Carstensen, (b.Norway 1971) plays accordion, a traditional Bulgarian flute called the Kaval, bagpipes, guitar, violin, mandolin and banjo. He’s a far-reaching musician, having studied Bulgarian polyphony in Bulgaria and American Afro-Celtic music in the Appalachians. At the age of 9 when began playing and learning from his father he was quickly recognised as a child prodigy and became a regular on Norwegian TV, radio and at festivals. He’s also toured America playing classical music. At the same time he developed an interest in swing, performing standards with his father playing bass.

At the age of 15 in a fit of teenage angst, Stian threw away his accordion and began to play electric guitar in a rock band. Fortunately this brief spell bored him considerably and his interest in jazz re-emerged. He went on to study jazz at Trondheim Conservatory, soon forming his now legendary group called Farmers Market.

His remarkable, uncategorisable 2021 album Musical Sanatorium, with guests including Mike Patton, Arve Henriksen and Jacob Collier, was heralded by Andrew Cronshaw of RootsWorld as “a brilliant piece of work by an extraordinary musician; for me, his greatest yet”.

Stian took to learning pedal steel guitar having been prosecuted under Norwegian law for the unique traffic offence of playing the violin whilst driving. www.stiancarstensen.com

Saxophonist and composer Iain Ballamy (b.Guildford 1964) is recognised internationally as an original, uncompromising and forward-thinking musician.

He spent his formative years in the 80s on the road and in the studio with the revered, anarchic big-band Loose Tubes where his fast thinking and ingenious soloing were consistent gig highlights, amid the mayhem and irrepressible fun. He was soon signed up by drum legend Bill Bruford, along with Tubes colleague Django Bates, for the jazz-with-electronics outfit Earthworks, and began recording his own ingenious solo albums, which have continued to defy convention.

His work is eclectic, contemporary and un-encumbered by formality and tradition as is clearly evident in his writing commissions for Arve Henriksen and the London Sinfonietta, The Henri Oguike Dance Company and the soundtrack for Mirrormask, the highly acclaimed movie directed by Dave McKean for the Jim Henson Company.

Food, a group he co-led with drummer, composer and electronics wizard Thomas Stronen, released three intriguing albums on ECM Records. Quercus, a unique trio featuring Ballamy with pianist Huw Warren and the legendary folk singer June Tabor, celebrated its second ECM release in May 2017.

Ballamy is a specialist tutor at The Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall and Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. Ballamy is a keen metal detectorist.

www.ballamy.com