Pre-concert talk before The Necks at CCHA, Hasselt, Belgium

British writer Geoff Dyer, avid fan of The Necks, will be in conversation with fellow author Colin Walsh ahead of the Australian band’s performance at CCHA (buy your tickets here) .

Geoff Dyer is one of the greatest daredevils in British literature. He stubbornly refuses to write a similar book twice and constantly treads new paths. His boundless curiosity has resulted in classics on diverse subjects such as film ( Zona over Stalker by director Tarkovsky), World War I ( The Missing of the Somme ), and the final works and years of some of his favorite artists ( The Last Days of Roger Federer ).

With But Beautiful (1991), Dyer wrote “perhaps the best book ever written about jazz,” according to Haruki Murakami. In But Beautiful , Dyer tells the story of nine men who helped shape the genre: Lester Young, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Ben Webster, Chet Baker, Art Pepper, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, and Harry Carney. He portrays their lives and their music in a style that reflects the brilliance of each individual musician’s life. This summer, the Dutch translation was finally published by Tristan Publishers.

In this preliminary conversation, Dyer talks about his book and about his obsession with and connection to The Necks. As early as 2017, he wrote the essay My obsession with The Necks, the greatest trio on earth for The New York Times Magazine.

Geoff Dyer is interviewed by fellow author Colin Walsh. This Irish writer, who lives in Leuven, has won several prizes for his short stories, including the RTÉ Francis MacManus Short Story Prize and the Hennessy Literary Award. Walsh debuted in 2023 with Kala , which has since been translated into Dutch and accounts for nearly 250,000 copies sold worldwide.

You don’t have to be a jazz lover to enjoy this book, but you might well be one by the time you finish it. – The New York Times

“The only book on jazz I have ever recommended to my friends. It is a little gem that stands out because it is ‘about’ jazz rather than ‘about’ jazz. If proximity to the material is the determining factor for a great solo, then Mr. Dyer’s book is one.” – Keith Jarrett

For more information about the event visit CCHA’s website.