LYGTEN JAZZ FESTIVAL 2026

Copenhagen Jazz Festival at Lygten St. 2026
July 3.-5.
Friday at 20:00
Saturday and Sunday at 14:00
DAY 1 [Friday July 3rd, 20:00]
MARTIN KÜCHEN/HÅKON BERRE
DYAD AKA

DAY 2 [Saturday July 4th, 14:00]
JONAS ENGEL
LARS BECH PILGAARD

DAY 3 [Sunday July 5th, 14:00]
ERIK KIMESTAD/JON LIPSCOMB
JESPER ZEUTHEN/ASGER THOMSEN/IVAR ASHEIM
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The duo Küchen/Berre started their collaboration in 2018 as occasional jam sessions at Berre’s rehearsal room in Copenhagen, exploring the possibilities of prepared percussion and sopranino saxophone in a raw, unpolished and intuitive manner. An ever-evolving experiment in real-time creation, their music reaches
toward the outer edges of their instruments, drawing out extended techniques and unconventional sounds. The duo recorded their first duo album “På Snurr” (meaning “crooked/distorted/drunk” or “spinning”) which came out on Barefoot Records on July 7th, 2025.
For more than two decades Swedish multi-reed player Martin Küchen has cemented his place as one of the most versatile musicians within improvised and experimental music, following his innate curiosity to pursue many different approaches. Depending upon one’s aesthetic preferences one might know him as a free jazz fire-breather in Threnody (with Johan Berthling and Steve Noble), a post-bop composer and bandleader of grainy soulfulness (particularly as the ringleader of the sprawling Scandinavian nonet Angles 9 and Trespass Trio), or a scrappy free
improviser. He’s an inveterate collaborator, working with countless figures from the improvised music world such as Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Fire! Orchestra, Per Zanussi's research ensemble (PZE), Michaela Antalova, Dirar Kalash, Roger Turner, Anders Lindsjö, Mathias Landæus and Keith Rowe, a.o.
Håkon Berre (Norway) has established himself as one of the most interesting drummers on the Danish scene for improvised music. Having expanded the drum set with a vast diversity of trash and objects, he juggles scrupulously with materials such as metal, plastic, paper, wood and expanded polystyrene, occasionally incorporating real-time electronics. His inventive and energetic drumming has brought him to numerous clubs and festivals all around the world, and can be heard on a discography spanning 44 albums, many of them released on Barefoot Records, where
Håkon is one of the co-founders. Collaborations include artists such as Peter Brötzmann, Phil Minton, Axel Dörner, Peter Friis-Nielsen, John Tchicai, Jamie Branch, Liudas Mockunas, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Susana Santos Silva, Peter Evans, Akira Sakata and Otomo Yoshihide.
Reviews from the press about ”På Snurr” (Barefoot Records, 2025):
* ”..one of the most interesting phenomena the European free improv scene can
boast."
* ”...their new duo is a sure-fire candidate for the annual list of the best albums
of the past twelve months." - Andrzej Nowak, Spontaneous Music Tribune
* "This is improvised music that separates the wheat from the chaff."
- Jan Granlie, Salt Peanuts
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Dyad Aka is a Copenhagen-based duo where cello and double bass converge in an intense, tactile and deeply exploratory sonic landscape. Rooted in improvisation and experimental practice, the duo moves fluidly between the raw and the refined – weaving noise, tone and silence into music that unfolds in real time. Their work centres on the physical presence of the instruments: the resonance of wood, the friction of strings, and the subtle shifts within sound itself.
The duo brings together Italian-Iranian cellist Sarvin Asa and Danish bassist Asger Thomsen – two distinctive voices from a generation redefining the possibilities of string instruments.
Sarvin Asa’s versatility spans from classical performance to experimental and improvised music. She has performed with ensembles such as Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Young Musicians European Orchestra and Aarhus Sinfonietta, while also being active on the international new music scene. Her collaborators include artists such as Abel Selaocoe, Theo Blackman, Walter Prati, Stefano Battaglia, Harris Lambrakis and Kaja Draksler.
Asger Thomsen is a Copenhagen-based bassist and composer working primarily within contemporary improvised music. With a physical, detail-oriented approach and a rich sonic palette – often expanded through unconventional extended techniques – he creates music driven by contrast and dynamic momentum. He is an active and versatile presence on the Scandinavian improvisation scene.
Together, Asa and Thomsen cultivate a close and intuitive interplay, where roles continuously shift and every gesture carries meaning. Dyad Aka distils their collaboration into a focused and immersive format – an open sonic field shaped by curiosity, listening and a shared commitment to exploration
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Jonas Engel is a distinguished saxophonist and composer active in the experimental and
improvised music scenes of Cologne and Copenhagen.
He explores the intersection of acoustic and electronic sound creation, using extended
techniques, instrument building, and preparations to craft new sonic territories. His solo projects
and collaborations, such as ENGEL THOMSEN, Lucatelli/Engel/Mahnig, and the quartet “Our
Hearts As Thieves,” showcase his commitment to pushing the boundaries of traditional music
forms. As a member of the impakt collective, Jonas initiates concert series and festivals
dedicated to adventurous experimental and improvised music.
Jonas Engel’s solo work is a testament to his innovative spirit. By creating acoustic noise and
sonority on wind instruments influenced by electronic sounds, he explores multi-layered textures
using air, harmonics, saliva, and microtones - displaying an inner body sound that makes its way
to the surface. To produce sound he uses reeds leading into various tubes and instruments, such
as soft-PVC hoses, saxophones, or ABS plastic trumpets, often culminating in objects or
electronic live processing.
www.jonasengel.com
www.instagram.com/jooonasengel
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Lars Bech Pilgaard has, over the course of a decade, made a name for himself with his energetic and consistently sonically exploratory guitar playing. Whether as a sideman with Bisse, Anja Jacobsen, Maria Faust, or in some of Pilgaard’s own ensembles—SVIN, Klimaforandringer, or Slowburn—there is never any doubt about the identity of the guitarist.
Lars Bech Pilgaard’s music exists in the borderland between noise, sacred intensity, and organic improvisation, but at its core his musical expression is ever-changing. He cultivates, without reservation, a space that allows for both the absolutely abstract and the perversely concrete.
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First meeting between two masters of improvised music: Erik Kimestad and Jon Lipscomb.
Erik Kimestad Pedersen (trumpeter), born October 13, 1989, in Mandal, Norway, stands as one of the brightest stars on the European trumpet scene and is among the most distinctive and versatile voices on his instrument. Norwegian-born and based in Copenhagen for many years, he is known from bands such as Horse Orchestra, Kresten Osgood Kvintet, and many more.
With a heavy emphasis on free improv, noise, and free jazz, Malmö based guitarist Jon Lipscomb (USA) conjures dissonant extremes with raw power. The guitar becomes a platform for atonal swirls and microscopic polyrhythmic pangs described by the Wire as “...challenging music ..not to be listened to in a fragile state of mind.”
He performs in the U.S.A. and Europe and has collaborated and improvised with Brandon Lopez, Tim Berne, Anders Lindsjö, Wendel Patrick, Lydia Lunch, Ryan Sawyer, Ole Mofjell, Johannes Nästerjö, Jaimie Branch, Kresten Osgood, Martin Kuchen, Ian McColm, Amirtha Kidambi, Iku Mori, Jason Nazary, Andrew Smiley, Luke Stewart, Zach Rowden, Chris Pistiokios, Ola Rubin, Aesger Thomsen and Anders Uddeskog.
Projects include solo improvisation, the Hite Wouse, the Swedish Fix, Nästy Lips, Lipscomb Quartet, Loplop, duo with Tilda Björnberg, Liminoid trio, and ad hoc meetings.
https://jonlipscomb.bandcamp.com/.../conscious-without...
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Zeuthen/Thomsen/Asheim is a new inter-European trio bringing together three distinctive voices from the Scandinavian and European improvisation scene – led by Danish saxophone legend Jesper Zeuthen. A defining figure in Danish jazz since the 1960s, Zeuthen has been a fearless and visionary force in countless contexts as both leader and sideman – notably in the iconic jazz-rock group Blue Sun. His playing is raw, lyrical and deeply human: a voice that can challenge, disarm and move listeners in equal measure.
Joining him are two standout musicians from a younger generation: Danish bassist Asger Thomsen and Norwegian drummer Ivar Asheim. Together, they create an intense and open musical space where improvisation, presence and risk-taking are at the core. This is music that unfolds in the moment – driven by curiosity, deep listening and a shared urge to explore new sonic territories.
Ivar Myrset Asheim is a Norwegian drummer based between Copenhagen and Oslo, and an active force across the Scandinavian jazz, pop and improvisation scenes. Working as a sideman, bandleader and composer, he moves effortlessly between genres with a distinctive musical voice. His drumming is energetic, nuanced and highly responsive, combining rhythmic clarity with a strong sense of texture and interplay. He performs with groups such as Billy Meier, Airdust, Pangpang, the Trond Kallevåg Hansen Trio, Matona’s Afdahl Group, Konradsen, Luke Elliot and LILJA, and is widely regarded as a versatile and in-demand collaborator.
Asger Thomsen is a Copenhagen-based bassist and composer working primarily within contemporary improvised music. Known for his physical, detail-oriented approach and rich sonic palette – often expanded through unconventional extended techniques – he creates music with striking contrast and dynamic momentum. Thomsen is a key figure on the Copenhagen scene and tours internationally in both established projects and ad hoc constellations.
Zeuthen/Thomsen/Asheim is a meeting of generations, temperaments and musical worlds – a project where tradition and renewal merge into a vibrant, unpredictable and compelling soundscape
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With support from Københavns Kommunes Musikudvalg and Bispebjerg Lokaludvalg