Joe McPhee | Steve Swell | Mark Tokar | Klaus Kugel + Special Guests

September 1, 2026
There are concerts that you just have to experience live. This one will be one of them. On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, four extraordinary personalities of the world improvised music scene will meet on the stage of Pardon, To Tu: Joe McPhee, Steve Swell, Mark Tokar and Klaus Kugel. It will also be the last concert of their European tour — and a special evening for one more reason: saxophonist Joe McPhee will celebrate his 87th birthday. We want to make this evening truly special and therefore have prepared special guests whose names we will reveal at a later time. We invite you very warmly!

&# #x1f538; Information:

▪ Date: Tuesday, 03.11.2026
▪ Entrance to concerts: 19:00
▪ Start of concerts: 20:30
▪ Tickets: 99 PLN (pre-sale)/119 PLN (on the day of the concert)
▪ Address: Aleja Armii Ludowa 14; 00-637 Warsaw

&# #x1f538; Seats:

▪ The number of seats is limited. We ask those who are interested in seating to arrive at the concert in advance (from 19:00)

&# #x1f538; Tickets:

▪ Our website: https://pardontotu.pl/programme
▪ Stationary with us at the bar (collector's tickets)
▪ Tickets can also be purchased on the day of the concert (from 19:00) 'at the gate', as long as they are not sold out beforehand
▪ Tickets are also available through the GOING apps

&# #x1f538; Lineups:

▪ Joe McPhee — saxophone
▪ Steve Swell — trombone
▪ Mark Tokar — double bass
▪ Klaus Kugel — drums

&# #x1f538; Joe McPhee | Steve Swell | Mark Tokar | Klaus Kugel

McPhee is a true legend of free jazz — a multi-instrumentalist, composer and improviser whose career began in the late 1960s and includes more than half a century of musical research and more than a hundred recordings. He has collaborated with Peter Brötzmann, Pauline Oliveros, Evan Parker, Don Cherry, Ken Vandermark and many other giants of improvised music. His play can be radical, lyrical, full of anger and extraordinary tenderness at the same time.

He will be accompanied by musicians with an equally impressive track record. Steve Swell, one of the most prominent trombonists of today, has been co-creating New York's improvised and experimental jazz scene for decades, performing with both his own bands and artists such as Peter Brötzmann, Paal Nilssen-Love and Mats Gustafsson. Mark Tokar, a prominent Ukrainian double bass player, has been one of the most important figures in the European improvised scene for years, while Klaus Kugel is an extremely versatile German drummer and composer, whose name appears in dozens of international projects.

Their joint quartet is more than the sum of four outstanding musicians. It is a meeting of experience, intuition and uncompromising freedom. Their latest album Spontaneous Convergence, recorded during a concert in Krakow's Alchemia, perfectly shows the nature of this music: intense, full of mutual listening, subtle tensions and sudden bursts of energy.

&# #x1f538; Listen:

▪ https://youtu.be/YujwEeUYnnw?si=Sb_lk_nC0U0z9T0h
▪ https://youtu.be/NRe3MOXJtZY?si=H6xfUSXEg08nOTwG
▪ https://youtu.be/yXL8UDIn_wo?si=pH6ZIZFG9mmbz02W
▪ https://youtu.be/so_h-j30r8Y?si=aloCF3fI6e_CNalu
▪ https://youtu.be/F3YZuZgWXSY?si=fjqRGxQEorEstvv -
▪ https://youtu.be/k5LfcShH9nk?si=Nx1aS3VwkQsTtjHn

&# #x1f538; Photography: Žiga Koritnik

Other terms

Tuesday | 03.11.2026 | 20:30

Sorry, Tu Tu

Buy a ticket