Founded in 2011 by Hispano-Dutch saxophonist Bernard van Rossum, the
BvR Flamenco Big Band is a unique phenomenon: a 21-piece big band that fuses jazz and flamenco.
Traditional flamenco rhythms, Van Rossum’s rich orchestrations, and big-band dynamics propel the music into another sphere.
For these concerts, the band collaborates excitingly with virtuoso guitarist and ud player Karim Baggili to create music that steps beyond flamenco-jazz, gathering sounds from different corners of world music to reach new territory.
Baggili follows an impressive line of former collaborators with the BvR Flamenco Big Band , including the dancer Karen Lugo, and members of the legendary Paco de Lucia band.
Karim Baggili is a Belgian of Yugoslavian and Jordanian extraction, who takes his inspiration in playing both ud and guitar from his identity and past memories, opening a door on tradition to allow in the modern and offbeat, and adding personal interpretations to create music that goes beyond frontiers and pushes at horizons.