 
Cor Fuhler - piano, organ/synthi, clavinet, compositions
Anne La Berge - flutes, electronics
Ab Baars - clarinet, tenor saxophone
Tobias Delius - tenor saxophone, clarinet
Andy Moor - electric guitar
Nora Mulder - cimbalom
Michael Vatcher - percussion, singing saw
Tony Buck - percussion
Wilbert de Joode - double bass
Corkestra: individual biographies
Ab Baars started playing the saxophone at the age of 15. He studied saxophone with at the Rotterdam Conservatory of music and attended workshops organized by cornet player/composer/director Butch Morris. With his first group Cumulus he attempted to break through the conventional form of theme-solo-theme by using improvisations primarily as a means to influence the progressive development of the compositions rather than just improvising for its own sake.
Influenced by the American Saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell with whom he worked in 1987, and his participation in the Monk Project performed by the Instant Composers Pool under the direction of Misha Mengelberg, Baars adopted a more personal style, or 'ab music' as Misha Mengelberg calls it. In 1989 Baars was presented with the prestigious Boy Edgar Award.
In addition to the Ab Baars Trio he plays in Misha Mengelberg's ICP Orchestra and duo's with viola player Ig Henneman and saxophonist/flautist Mariëtte Rouppe van der Voort. He is a regular guest with the EX, Cor Fuhler, Michael Moore and Guus Janssen. Baars has also worked with Francois Houle, John Carter, Roger Turner, Sunny Murray, George Lewis, Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, and Gerry Hemingway among others.
Anne La Berge is a pioneer flutist/composer, working since the late '70's with interactive computer systems, micro tonality, and improvisation and as a leading interpreter of contemporary chamber music. At the core of her work lies the sound that first gained her an international reputation, paving the way for a new, more physical approach to the flute: "The miracle of her sound technique is supported by, among other things, different lip-positions, attacks, ways of breathing, distance from the microphone-everything has been foreseen and elaborated,” writes Muusika. “Her textures are often two-voiced. It is all so complicated that it defies description and yet it sounds very natural, like a bird's song." Entracte adds, “This next to, and often combined with, normal flute playing; her playing is fully virtuosic.”
Anne La Berge grew up in Minnesota, USA and has lived since 1989 in Amsterdam. She currently performs with David Dramm, Cor Fuhler, Gert Jan Prins, and Anna McMichael and in numerous improvisation and chamber music projects in Europe and the US. She can be heard in a range of settings from modern ballet music in the music theaters of Holland to improvised electronic music in the local squat buildings. In October 1999 she co-founded the series "Kraakgeluiden in de Binnenstad" for weekly electro-acoustic improvisation sessions in Amsterdam.
She is adviser for Brannen and Kingma flute companies, specifically for the development of extended-system flutes. Her repertoire is composed for these instruments.
Born in Sydney in 1962, Tony Buck is regarded as one of Australia's most creative and adventurous exports, with vast experience across the globe. He has been involved in a highly diverse array of projects. Apart from The Necks, he is probably best known as leader of hardcore/impro band PERIL.
After graduating from the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, he became very involved in the jazz scene in Australia, often touring with visiting international artists. Following time spent in Japan, where he formed PERIL with Otomo Yoshihide and Kato Hideki, Tony moved to
Europe, and has involved himself in many projects there, including the development of new "virtual" MIDI controllers at STEIM in Amsterdam.
Tony has played, toured or recorded with, among others, Jon Rose, Nicolas Collins, Tenko, John Zorn, Tom Cora, Phil Minton, Haino, Switchbox, The Machine for Making Sense, Ne Zhdall, The EX, Peter Brotzmann, Hans Reichel, The Little Red Spiders, Subrito Roy Chowdury, Clifford Jordan,
Kletka Red, Han Bennink, Shelley Hirsch, Wayne Horvitz, Palinckx, and Ground Zero.
Tobias Delius was born on 15 July 1964 in Oxford, England. He began playing saxophone in 1980 in the German Ruhr region. In 1983/84 he lived in Mexico City where he played in the “Cuarteto Mexicano de Jazz” led by pianist Francixco Téllez. Delius moved to Amsterdam in 1984 and studied for a short while at the Sweelinck Conservatorium. He quickly became involved with Amsterdam improvisers and dropped his studies to immerse himself in the improvised music scene. In 1990 he was awarded the Podiumprijs from the organization Stichting Jazz in Nederland. He has worked in Europe and overseas with such musicians as Steve Lacy, Louis Moholo's Viva-la-black, Bill Frisell, Mark Feldman and Trio Clusone, Misha Mengelberg, Steve Beresford, Jeb Bishop, Kent Kessler, Hamid Drake and Ray Anderson. Tobias Delius leads his own quartet with Tristan Honsinger, Joe Williamson) and Han Bennink. The CDs “The Heron”, “Toby's Mloby” and “Pelikanismus” were enthusiastically received both at home and abroad. Delius has a duo with bassist Wilbert de Joode, forms a trio with keyboard player Cor Fuhler and various drummers (Louis Mohole and Paul Lovens to name two), and initiated the Trio San Francisco with reed players Sean Bergen and Daniele D'Agaro. He has recently formed apa ini, a group with Wilbert de Joode, Hilary Jeffery (trombone) and Serigne Gueye (djembe). He can be heard in a variety of groups, including Available Jelly, Sean Bergin's MOB, Chris Abelen Quintet, Joost Buis and his Famous Astronotes, Frank van Bommel Quartet and Curtis Clark.
Cor Fuhler began playing the piano, organ, and self-made instruments at the age of six and graduated in '89 from the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. He began exploring music in groups such as Carduelis Carduelis and Wayang Detective (a combination of improv, gamelan and shadow puppets). He formed the trio Fuhler-Bennink-de Joode that is still active. Another important project was Olympicnic: a theatrical concert about technological extremes: super 8 films, live finger cameras, powerbook, modular synths, shadow play inside the grand piano and turntables. ConundrumCD, a mini label, provides an alternative avenue for exploring compositional ideas by "computer dubbing" of various musical materials. The Corkestra and Cortet are two of his most recent initiatives.
His interest in the possibilities of extending the piano sound has led him to collect and build various acoustic instruments (keyolin) as well as working with electronics. Depending on the situation he mixes all these in different installations and set-ups.
Groups with which he is involved include Palinckx, Mimeo (with Jerome Noetinger, Keith Rowe, Peter Rehberg, Phil Durrant and many others), the Flirts (with Gert-Jan Prins), Monitor (with Michael Moore and Tristan Honsinger) and Delius-Lovens-Fuhler (with Tobias Delius and Paul Lovens).
Wilbert de Joode (1955) is a veritable research scientist of bass pizzicato and bowing techniques. A self-taught musician, he has been playing the double-bass since 1982 and is currently one of the most active bass players on the Dutch improvised music circuit. His individual style and musicality transforms the double bass into an equal partner in the most varied ensembles. A personal tone color, exploration of the outer registers, idiosyncratic improvisations and the use of gut strings contribute to an instantly recognizable and intriguing sound. Beside the Ab Baars Trio de Joode is active in the following groups: Ig Henneman, Eric Boeren 4tet, Michiel Braam, trio Fuhler/Bennink/DeJoode, the Chris Abelen Quintet and the extravagant INTERMISSION. He plays in various groups with Joost Buis and together with bass saxophonist Klaas Hekman has set up a bass group which features three double bass players - William Parker (USA), Hideji Taninaka (Japan) and de Joode himself. New developments include solo concerts, a duo with Tobias Delius and work with dance improvisers such as David Zambrano en Eileen Standley.
Other musical partners include: Steve Lacy, Rosswell Rudd, The Ex, NU-ensemble, Jaap Blonk, Charles Gayle, Misha Mengelberg, Sunny Marray, John Tchicai, Fred Frith, Mariëtte Rouppe van de Voort, Denis Charles, Steve Arguelles, Dylan van der Schyff, Thomas Lehn, Achim Kauffman, Johannes Bauer, Frank Gratkowski, Martin Blume, Paul Termos, Willem van Manen, Barre Phillips and Derek Bailey. De Joode plays regularly in festivals and concerts throughout the world.
Andy Moore began his musical life in Edinburgh, Scotland, playing guitar with the band Dog Faced Hermans, a multi faceted eclectic group that mixed post punk energy with traditional tunes and improvisations. In 1990 he moved to the Netherlands to join Dutch band The Ex, and is still a full time member of that group. In 95 he performed his first series of completely improvised concerts as a duet with Terrie Ex. In 1996 he began Kletka Red with Tony Buck, Joe Williamson and Leonid Soybelman, fusing klezmer, Greek and Russians songs with their own frantic playing styles. In recent years Andy has involved himself increasingly with the Amsterdam improv scene. Recent projects include a trio with John Butcher and Thomas Lehn and collaborations with dancers including the Magpie Music Dance Company. He has become involved in the electronics scene, playing with Kaffe Matthews, Cor Fuhler, and Yannis Kyriakidis.
Nora Mulder studied piano at the conservatoriums of Rotterdam and Maastricht. She took courses at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and L'Academie de Villecroze. Later she studied in Paris with Claude Helffer to specialize in the performance of contemporary composed music. Mora Mulder can be heard as solo performer, as freelancer with various ensembles and as soloist with orchestras. She has also worked with visual artists, collaborated in theatre and dance performances and made recordings for radio and CD's. In 1994 she was one of the founders of the 12 piece international “Newt Hinton Ensemble”. This ensemble plays works by little-known composers and unfamiliar works by well-known composers and performs at renowned European festivals for contemporary music. Together with Pauline Post she has been part of the piano duo “Post & Mulder” since 1996. Besides giving 'normal' concerts, they initiate a wide range of projects such as “De Nieuwe Kollektie” (20 theatrical compositions) and the chamber opera “The Monster with Two Backs.” In 1999 Mulder worked with actors to make “Fantask Fantoom”, based on the piano cycle “L'uomo che cammina” by Eric de Clercq and inspired by Alberto Giacometti, Samuel Beckett and the entropy theory of J.D. Fast. In 2001 Mulder initiated and played 'morsima-amorsima' a chamber music programme of music by Iannis Xenakis. Nora Mulder has played cimbalom for years with, among others, the orchestra of Liege and the rapper MC Wisecrack.
California native Michael Vatcher, now residing in Amsterdam, quickly progressed from hitting household furniture to taking vibraphone and snare drum lessons as a child. In California, he played with reedist Michael Moore, with whom Vatcher has had a long musical relationship, John Handy, and Terry Gibbs. After spending a year in New York City, Vatcher moved to Holland in 1981. Since arriving in Holland, Vatcher has played with such groups as the Tristan Honsinger Sextet, the Martin Altena Ensemble, John Zorn, The Ex, Roof (with Phil Minton, Tom Cora, and Luc Ex), and Van Dyke Parks. Vatcher is also a regular accompanist with the School for New Dance Development in Amsterdam, and has an ongoing musical relationship with dancers Katie Duck and Eileen Standley. Current groups include Available Jelly, 4 Walls, the Corkestra, Trio Braam/ deJoode/ Vatcher, and various projects with Michael Moore.
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