Trio Abstrakt is a Cologne-based contemporary music ensemble founded in 2016 and consisting of Salim Javaid (saxophone), Shiau-Shiuan Hung (percussion), and Marlies Debacker (piano). The combination of instruments, equally reminiscent of a chamber ensemble and a free jazz combo, allows the musicians to draw on an extensive arsenal of sounds and expressions. Their focus always falls on ‘music of today’, nourished by music’s rich history but never afraid to cross generic boundaries and engage with the here and now.

The trio has worked with numerous composers such as Marco Momi, Pierluigi Billone, Mark Andre, Peter Ablinger, Michael Edwards, Clemens Gadenstätter, and Hans Thomalla and will premiere new works by Isabel Mundry, Franck Bedrossian, Giorgio Netti, Günter Steinke and many more in the upcoming years.

While Trio Abstrakt as an ensemble is a declaration of love for contemporary (written) chamber music, all of the musicians are avid improvisers and part of the European improvisation scene. This allows the musicians to draw on their very highly developed palette of sounds, extended technique and expressive possibilities.

Trio Abstrakt has performed at important festivals and institutions for contemporary music such as NOW! Festival at the Philharmonie Essen, Biennale del Arte Venice, Biennale Aktueller Musik Bremen, IMPULS Academy/Festival Graz, Mozartfest Würzburg, Zentrum für Kunst und Medien Karlsruhe, IAMIC conference 2022, Stadtgarten Köln, Darmstädter Ferienkurse für Neue Musik and aDevantgarde Festival München. In addition, the trio’s musicians curate concert series in and around Cologne, Germany – most notably their series spotlight, where they work with a single composer towards the realization of an evening-length immersive chamber music experience.

Trio Abstrakt is currently being supported by the InSZene program (interpreter’s scholarship for Contemporary Music) of Deutscher Musikrat as well as the Ensembleförderung NRW.