Master improvisers—Iva Bittová, Steve Gorn, Timothy Hill, Michael Bisio and Antonín Fajt—create a spontaneous evening where jazz, folk, and global traditions merge. Guided by trust and curiosity, Chimera’s music unfolds in real time, transcending genre and inviting listeners into a shared space of discovery and joy.
TICKETS
Featuring: Iva Bittová (voice, violin), Steve Gorn (bansuri flute, clarinet), Timothy Hill (voice, guitar), Michael Bisio (acoustic bass) and Antonín Fajt (piano)
Chimera was born from a shared vision: a musical gathering driven entirely by the music itself. Nothing planned, nothing preordained—no discussion of form, no strategy for sound. Nothing is composed in advance; it composes itself in real time. The music is the conversation.
Each member of this collective is a master musician, composer, and improviser, deeply rooted in diverse traditions—from avant-garde jazz, Indian raga, and Moravian folk music to overtone singing, early and modern European classical, and American folk.
Individually, they have performed with a remarkable range of visionary artists, including Fred Frith, Bang on a Can All-Stars, ETHEL, Paul Winter, Jack DeJohnette, Paul Simon, David Hykes, Pauline Oliveros, Bill Frisell, Matthew Shipp, Tani Tabbal, and Joe McPhee, among others.
When they come together as Chimera, they leave all that history at the door. Meeting in the moment, guided by trust and curiosity, they open space for new sonic landscapes—music that transcends genre and invites listeners into a shared sense of discovery, beauty, and joy.
Concert Program:
First part: Chimera / 60 minutes Intermission: 15 minutes Second part: Chimera with special guest Antonín Fajt / 30 minutes
Part of the Offbeat Bohemia concert series.
Iva Bittová has worked across a wide spectrum of musical genres, from jazz and rock to classical and opera. Her sound resists easy categorization—many listeners have long considered it wholly original. Everyday life deeply shapes her music and interpretations, whose inspiration, she says, comes from total silence and an absolutely positive atmosphere.
Michael Bisio — bassist, improviser, and composer — has been called “a poet, a wonder, and one of the most virtuosic and imaginative performers on the double bass.” With over 150 recordings, including more than two dozen as leader or co-leader, he continues to live within and advance the jazz tradition: the tradition is to move the tradition forward. As The New York Times wrote, “The physicality of Mr. Bisio’s bass playing puts him in touch with numerous predecessors in the avant-garde, but his expressive touch is distinctive."
Steve Gorn, whose flute has been said to “re-align the cells,” merges the essence of classical Indian music with a contemporary world-music sensibility. He is featured on the Grammy-winning recording Miho with the Paul Winter Consort and in the Academy Award-winning documentary Born into Brothels.
Timothy Hill — singer, guitarist, and composer — blends a natural purity of voice with otherworldly, abstract sound, creating a style that transcends genre. He has recorded extensively with David Hykes and the Harmonic Choir, including on the seminal Hearing Solar Winds. The New York Times called Hill “a virtuoso of the Tibetan chanting technique.”
Antonín Fajt — pianist whose work blends Eastern European folk traditions with jazz and classical music. He comes from a musical family in Moravia and has been based in the United States since 2007, focusing on improvisation and working with preparations, texture, and repetition. He is a graduate of Bard College and UC Irvine.
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