Fizzle Birmingham

Fizzle Birmingham Freely improvised & experimental music promoters based in Birmingham

Fizzle is an organisation that has been putting on freely improvised and experimental music performances in Birmingham, UK for over 20 years. We currently work with partner organisation TDE Promotions (run by veteran jazz promoter Tony Dudley-Evans) to put on gigs in various venues around the West Midlands. The UK has a strong history of freely improvised music led by pioneering musicians like Der

ek Bailey and Evan Parker. At Fizzle we want to promote the continuing vibrancy of this legacy as well as championing new and exciting developments in experimental music. This means that we work regularly with internationally renowned improvisers like Paul Dunmall and Mark Sanders, host touring acts from the UK and Europe, and support both emerging and established local musicians.

LET SPIN8pm, Thu 16 AprHexagon; macLet Spin are a cutting edge post-jazz quartet comprised of players at the forefront ...
09/04/2026

LET SPIN
8pm, Thu 16 Apr
Hexagon; mac

Let Spin are a cutting edge post-jazz quartet comprised of players at the forefront of the vibrant UK contemporary music scene. Their incendiary live shows conjure a mean mix of musical styles with a focus on improvisation for exploring new ground. ‘I am Alien’, the band’s latest and strongest record to date, captures the chemistry and curiosity of a band that lives for adventure.

The band comprises guitarist Moss Freed (Union Division; Spike Orchestra), saxophonist Chris Williams (Led Bib; Sarathy Korwar), bassist Ruth Goller (Skylla; Melt Yourself Down) & drummer Finlay Panter (Beats & Pieces Big Band).

“Boisterous punk jazz at its best” Jazzwise

This concert will last approximately 2 hours.

Tickets: from £11.95
Student discount: enter code TDESTUDENT at checkout
Available from our website.

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Let Spin are coming to the mac next week!
07/04/2026

Let Spin are coming to the mac next week!

We've had a jam-packed first quarter of 2026! As we prepare for the rest of the season, we're having a look back at the ...
07/04/2026

We've had a jam-packed first quarter of 2026! As we prepare for the rest of the season, we're having a look back at the Fizzle + TDE gigs so far this year.

As many of you know, we're having continued issues with funding this year. We are so incredibly grateful for all the support we're received through donations as well as attending our concerts, we couldn't continue our programme without you!

Tickets for our upcoming gigs are available through our website. We can't wait to bring you more incredible music from all over the world - we're looking forward to seeing you soon!

The Fizzle + TDE team

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AYLER IN SWEDEN+ IN MOTION8pm, Fri 27 MarHexagon; macWe're very excited to welcome a double bill in which both bands bri...
24/03/2026

AYLER IN SWEDEN
+ IN MOTION
8pm, Fri 27 Mar
Hexagon; mac

We're very excited to welcome a double bill in which both bands bring together elements of folk music and free jazz.

‘Ayler in Sweden’ imagines a world in which free jazz pioneer Albert Ayler, after beginning his recording career in Sweden in 1962, remained in Scandinavia, instead of moving back to the US, and incorporated Nordic traditional music into his playing, fusing the ecstatic melodies and asymmetrical rhythms of Swedish folk music with visceral and explosive free jazz.

Newcastle-based violinist Richard Scott has spent the last 12 years immersed in the rarely-overlapping worlds of free improvisation and Scandinavian folk music. He has performed and recorded with Angharad Davies, Hannah Marshall, Mark Sanders, Rachel Musson, Phil Durrant, Jorge Boehringer, Xhosa Cole and many others, and has played and run workshops at folk festivals and events across the UK, Denmark and Sweden. Joining him for this project's second performance (following its debut at Newcastle Festival of Jazz and Improvised Music in September last year) are award-winning Swiss saxophonist Tapiwa Svosve, Cardiff-based tenor player and instrument builder Joe Wright, fellow Tyneside legend John Pope on bass, and the brilliant Leeds-based Norwegian drummer Emil Karlsen.

in//motion blends contemporary jazz with folk and post-rock influences, as well as drawing inspiration from the likes of John Coltrane, the Brian Blade Fellowship band, Radiohead and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Leader Luke Chakrabarti (alto sax) has been performing regularly with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and his in//motion group will feature Dan Kemshell and Julien Durand on guitar, Rick Yarborough on drums and bassist Josh Vadiveloo.

This concert will last approximately 2 hours.

Tickets: from £11.95
Student discount: enter code TDESTUDENT at checkout
Available from our website.

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EMILIE SKRIJELJ / TOM MALMENDIER+ ALAN NIBLOCK / PAUL DUNMALL / MARK SANDERS2pm, Sun 22 MarCentralaWe are thrilled to we...
19/03/2026

EMILIE SKRIJELJ / TOM MALMENDIER
+ ALAN NIBLOCK / PAUL DUNMALL / MARK SANDERS
2pm, Sun 22 Mar
Centrala

We are thrilled to welcome Emilie Skrijelj and Tom Malmendier to Fizzle for the first time. This exciting duo began working together in 2019, with ‘Les Marquises’, an electric and intense duo featuring Emilie on turntable, amplified accordion and electronics, and Tom on drums. Their latest CD, ‘Live in Nickelsdorf’ was released on their own label ‘eux sæm’.

Emilie and Tom have since developed other projects in collaborations with international musicians, such as Michael Thieke, Otomo Yoshihide, Christine Abdelnour, Angelica Castello, and Mike Ladd.

Their set will feature a more acoustic setup, with Tom on snare drum only, and a small portable turntable for Emilie.

Paul Dunmall is certainly no stranger to Fizzle and TDE Promotions, and this month we’re excited for this trio featuring fellow-Fizzle stalwart Mark Sanders and prominent Irish double bassist Alan Niblock.

Belfast-born double bassist, composer and improviser Alan Niblock is well recognised in the avant-garde free jazz scene. He founded the ensemble ‘Ambient Forces’ in 2002, and later began his solo career with his debut release ‘Scratching the Surface’ on FMR. His record 'Dark Energy’ (released on FMR 2018) features this fantastic trio.

Doors - 1:45pm
This concert will last approximately 2 hours.

Tickets: £10.5 (£5.5 stu.)
Available from our website or on the door.

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IAIN BALLAMY / ARNIE SOMOGYI / MARK SANDERS8pm, Thu 12 MarHexagon; macAfter a thrilling gig two years ago, TDE Promotion...
09/03/2026

IAIN BALLAMY / ARNIE SOMOGYI / MARK SANDERS
8pm, Thu 12 Mar
Hexagon; mac

After a thrilling gig two years ago, TDE Promotions welcomes back this brilliant line-up of Iain Ballamy (saxophone), Arnie Somogyi (double bass) and Mark Sanders (drums). The trio brings together three versatile players with different approaches to the music, demonstrating that the jazz community is one where all traditions are respected.

This performance will be a special benefit gig to raise money for the continuation of the Fizzle & TDE Promotions programme.

The concert will last approximately 2 hours.

Tickets: from £11.95
Available from our website.

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◼◾ SPRING 2026◾◼What a better way to welcome the longer days and warmer weather than a full programme of incredible musi...
03/03/2026

◼◾ SPRING 2026◾◼

What a better way to welcome the longer days and warmer weather than a full programme of incredible musicians from all over the world! We hope to see you at one (or more!) of our upcoming gigs.

We'd like to say an enormous thank you to everyone who has come to a gig so far this year, and especially those who have donated to our fundraiser so far. Your donations are keeping us going while we look for alternate funding sources, so without you these gigs simply wouldn't be able to run!

As always, tickets are available on our website.

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03/03/2026

⭐️🎷 Paul Dunmall Invites: Tom Challenger 🎷⭐️

This Paul Dunmall Invites session will be a 'tough tenors' gig with two brilliant tenor saxophonists, Tom Challenger (pictured) and George Crowley, joining Paul, also on tenor saxophone.

This promises to be a unique and exciting event, especially as the saxophonists will be driven by the forceful playing of bass player Olie Brice and drummer Will Glaser.

📍 Thu 5 Mar, 6.30pm

🎟️ https://www.bcu.ac.uk/conservatoire/events-calendar/paul-dunmall-invites-tom-challenger-05-03-2025

FINDING WAYS8pm, Fri 27 FebHexagon; macDrummer and composer Seb Rochford has always been a force in British jazz. He fou...
23/02/2026

FINDING WAYS
8pm, Fri 27 Feb
Hexagon; mac

Drummer and composer Seb Rochford has always been a force in British jazz. He founded the very influential Polar Bear that was nominated twice for the Mercury Music Prize, was a member of Shabaka Hutchings' Sons of Kemet and has recently been touring with the American punk singer songwriter Patti Smith.

Rochford’s new project, Finding Ways, released their first album in November of 2025. Of the project, he says, “The name Finding Ways comes from having to navigate multiple significant life events in a short period of time, my way through was and is, to find ways each day to keep myself positive and buoyant, transforming these challenges into something meaningful.” This gig will feature a reduced version of the band: two guitarists, David Preston and Tara Cunningham, as well as bass player Anders Christensen.

This concert will last approximately 2 hours.

Tickets: from £11.95
Available from our website.

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JOHN EDWARDS TRIO+ CHRIS CUNDY2pm, Sun 22 FebCentralaThis month we’re excited to welcome a trio of John Edwards, Luís Vi...
18/02/2026

JOHN EDWARDS TRIO
+ CHRIS CUNDY
2pm, Sun 22 Feb
Centrala

This month we’re excited to welcome a trio of John Edwards, Luís Vicente and Vasco Trilla, as well as a solo set from long-standing Fizzle collaborator Chris Cundy.

With two albums released as a duo (“A Brighter Side of Darkness” and “Made of Mist”), the duo of Lisbon-based trumpeter Luís Vicente and Barcelona-based percussionist Vasco Trilla have joined forces with legendary bassist John Edwards to form an electrifying trio.

Embracing the creative side of free jazz with the nuances of free improvisation, the trio navigates a myriad of sound tapestries, making each concert a unique and energetic performance.

Bass clarinettist and saxophonist Chris Cundy is a composer, performer, and sound installation artist based in the South West of England. He has released four solo albums: The Disruptive Forest, Gustav Lost, Crude Attempt, and Of All The Common Flowers. ​In recent years his practice has focussed on site-specific phenomena incorporating 3D sound mappings and ambient location recordings.

Important partnerships with The Roman Baths and Corinium Museum have resulted in a number of ensemble works incorporating objects, field recordings, and reconstructed historic texts. Chris will be performing an acoustic solo bass clarinet set.

Doors @ 1:45pm; Duration ~2h

Tickets: £10.5 (£5.5 stu.)
Available from our website, or on the door.

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