Archives
February Schedule 2010
February 5th
8:30 pm $10 Suggested
Parlour Games:
James Ilgenfritz – Bass
Jonathan Moritz – Saxophone
Chris Welcome – Guitar
Parlour Games, the salon-trio of bassist James Ilgenfritz, saxophonist Jonathan Moritz, and guitarist Chris Welcome has performed throughout southern California and New England, in art galleries, cafes, parlors, concert halls, and basements. The group’s interplay between formal and informal airs facilitates the deepest listening experience possible. The improvisations are at once delicate and forceful, with a fragility that requires patient listening. The trio’s discreet dynamics and attention to unlikely sonorities creates a truly unique sonic landscape, from the sharp angles of New York City to the vastness of the Pacific Ocean to the lush green of the New England countryside
Creatures With Striking Features (9:30pm)
Phil Doyle – saxophone
Jeff Davis – drums
Landon Knoblock – Piano and Rhodes
Creatures with Striking Features is a radical improvised music trio, traversing musical landscapes ranging from the avant-garde to the sublime. The group creates music that is a mélange of free jazz, rock, and ambient. Often described as Paul Motian meets KC and the Sunshine Band, Ornette Coleman meets Japanese shred metal, and Paul Bley meets a dying water buffalo, one should be prepared for anything. With no musical roadmap, Creatures invites the listener to participate in a musical journey with an open mind and a strong desire to explore the possibilities of pure sonic experimentation and musical connection.
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February 12th
8:30 pm $10 Suggested
Rich Johnson Presents
Rich Johnson: trumpet, laptop
Juraj: fujara, sheep bells, electronics
Michael Straus: saxophones
Andrew Greenwald: percussion and electronics
Scott Petersen: guitar, electronics + homemade electronics
Brian Kane: electronics + homemade electronics
Juraj Kojs is a performer, composer, producer, and educator. He is a Postdoctoral Associate in Music Technology and Multimedia Art at Yale’s Department of Music. In May 2008, Kojs received his Ph.D. in Composition and Music Technologies at the University of Virginia. Kojs’ compositions were recently featured at festivals and conferences in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Kojs’ works received awards at Eastman Electroacoustic Composition and Performance Competition and the Digital Art Award. His articles appeared in journals such as Organized Sound, Digital Creativity, Leonardo Music Journal, and Journal of New Music Research. http://www.kojs.net/
Amsterdam-based saxophonist Michael Straus is responsible for the commissioning and premieres of over seventy compositions and can regularly be seen collaborating with composers, visual artists, turntablists, conductors, dancers and other instrumentalists around the world. He is founder of the multimedia performance and commissioning project What are you looking at? and regularly performs with the chamber ensembles quux, portals of distortion and rare degree. http://www.mstraus.net/
Andrew Greenwald’s compositions have been programed by The Vancouver Jazz Festival, Festival of New Trumpet Music, Nhebraska Noise Fest., DUMBO Art Under the Bridge, SoundBubbles(for emerging NYC artists), Darrmstadt ‘Essential Repertoire of the Avant-Garde’ at Issue Project Room, HI-Fi New Music, the International Supercollider Symposium, and the 2010 MATA Festival. Residencies include The Banff Centre, Western Front(Vancouver BC), Harold Arts, Pamplemousse Seedlot, and Soaring Gardens. He has been commissioned by Ensemble Pamplemousse, On Structure, Tall Brown Boots, and the Flux Quartet. Work has been supported by NYSCA, The Argosy Foundation, The A. Lindsay and Olive B. O’connor Foundation, Wesleyan University, and the Ora Lerman Trust. http://www.andrewgreenwald.net/
Scott Petersen and Brian Kane
http://scacinto.wordpress.com
El MuCo |el moōkō|
El MuCo is a group of composers and musicians dedicated to the production and performance of new music with electronics in the New Haven, CT area. El MuCo’s current activities revolve around hardware hacking (circuit bending) and the creation of new, custom musical interfaces for performance.
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Feb 19th
8:30 pm $10 Suggested
Ben Holmes Presents
8:15 PM
Karen Waltuch and Andrew Lafkas
Karen and Andrew are friends.
Karen plays viola. Andrew plays doublebass.
9 PM
Jeff Davis and Ben Holmes
A modern take on the classic drum & bugle corp formation, minus the militarism.
Jeff on drums and Ben on 3-valve Bb bugle.
10 PM
Jacob Garchik presents
Computer and trombone duets
Improvised, semi-improvised and composed music for two decision makers
late 20th century technology.
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February 26th
8:30 pm $10 Suggested
First Set (8:30)
Sean Moran’s “Small Elephant”
Sean Moran – nylon string guitar/compositions
Reuben Radding – contrabass
Stefan Bauer – marimba
Mike Mcginnis – clarinet
Harris Eisenstadt – drums
Guitarist/Composer Sean Moran performs with his new chamber music ensemble, drawing inspiration from a wide variety of sources including Olivier Messiaen, Improvised music, Flamenco guitar traditions, Set theory, and Vietnamese traditional music. All instruments used are made of wood – in Feng Shui the wooden element represents growth, development, and the beginning of new life. It’s said to come from the Eastern direction, and is associated with the blue-green color spectrum.
Second Set (9:30)
Harris Eisenstadt and Canada Day
Harris Eisenstadt – drums, compositions
Nate Wooley – trumpet
Chris Hoffman – Cello
Chris Dingman – vibraphone
Eivind Opsvik – bass
For its first concerts of 2010, Harris Eisenstadt and Canada Day settle into Ibeam for two nights to premier new compositions. Canada Day’s 2009 debut on Clean Feed appeared on several Best of 2009 lists, including the Village voice, All About Jazz New York, Jazzhouse, WFMU, Ni Kantu, CKUT, and Dusted.
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February 27th
8:30 pm $10 Suggested
First Set (8:30)
Iron Dog
Sarah Bernstein – violin/processing
Stuart Popejoy – bass guitar/effects
Andrew Drury – drums/sounds
Electronic soundscapes, shifting distorted textures, freely synthesized, this and other worlds
Second Set (9:30)
Harris Eisenstadt and Canada Day
Harris Eisenstadt – drums, compositions
Nate Wooley – trumpet
Chris Hoffman – Cello
Chris Dingman – vibraphone
Eivind Opsvik – bass
For its first concerts of 2010, Harris Eisenstadt and Canada Day settle into Ibeam for two nights to premier new compositions. Canada Day’s 2009 debut on Clean Feed appeared on several Best of 2009 lists, including the Village voice, All About Jazz New York, Jazzhouse, WFMU, Ni Kantu, CKUT, and Dusted.
January 2010
January 8th
$10 suggested
8:30 pm
3-0
Ben Gerstein:trombone
Tyshawn Sorey: drums, percussion
Terrence McManus: guitar, objects
www.bengerstein.com
Dan Peck Trio (10 pm)
Dan Peck-tuba
Brian Osborne-drums, percussion
Tom Blancarte-bass
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January 9th
$10 Suggested Donation
8:30pm
Gleason’s Twins
Kristin Slipp, voice
Joe Moffett, trumpet
Gleason’s Twins, which has already performed at The Stone, is an ensemble obsessed with the blur between speech and music, word and sound. The duo performs a kind of modern art song in which the group sets its own poems, infusing composition with improvisation. With an unusual and spare instrumentation, voice and trumpet, they seek to expand the sonic ranges of their respective instruments while finding ways for the two sounds to mingle, contrast, and collapse. The work of Steve Lacy and Irene Aebi is a major inspiration and point of departure for the duo, as well as the compositions of Morton Feldman and György Kurtág, and the poetry of Robert Creeley and George Oppen.
9:30pm (Second Set)
Noah Kaplan-Anthony Coleman-Giacomo Merega
Noah Kaplan, saxophones
Anthony Coleman, piano
Giacomo Merega, electric bass
Noah Kaplan and Giacomo Merega have been collaborating in a few different settings devoted to improvised as well as composed music. In 2008, they released ‘the light and other things’ with slide guitar-wiz David Tronzo, a recording that made All About Jazz writer Phil Di Pietro’s ‘Top 10′ for that year. On this date, they will be joined by one of their favorite musicians, internationally renowned pianist and composer Anthony Coleman, for a set of very carefully crafted improvisation, highly mutable real-time methodologies and extremely variable sound-scapes. Some ad-hoc composition will be presented as well.
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January 10th
$10 Suggested
8:30 pm
The Swan Catchers
by Aaron Siegel
An Audio Memory Play for String Quartet and Actors
Andie Springer, violin
Caroline Shaw, violin
Erin Wight, viola
Evelyn Farny, cello
Genevieve Hardison, mother
Ryan McCarthy, father
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Friday January 15
TELLURIC CURRENTS SERIES 3
$10 suggested
8p Chuck Bettis/Dafna Naphtali Duo
9p Nate Wooley Solo
10p Zach Layton/Ryan Sawyer/Alex Waterman Trio
Saturday January 16
TELLURIC CURRENTS SERIES 3
$10 suggested
8p Jeremiah Cymerman Solo
9p Sara Schoenbeck/Ursel Schlicht Duo
10p Brandon Seabrook Solo
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January 22nd
$10 Suggested
8:30 pm
First Set
Go-zee-lah
Kyoko Kitamura: voice, laptop
Yayoi Ikawa: piano
Harris Eisenstadt: drums
Looking for an outlet to liberate their inner pop/rock child, Kyoko Kitamura and Yayoi Ikawa, known primarily for their tough core improvisation, formed Go-zee-lah in the summer of 2009 after touring Costa Rica together. With the support of Harris Eisenstadt, Go-zee-lah will perform all original tunes influenced by J-pop (Japanese pop) and J-rock but adding their musical complexity for an explosive mix.
Kyoko Kitamura website http://kyokokitamura.com/
Yayoi Ikawa website http://yayoiikawa.com/
Harris Eisenstadt website http://harriseisenstadt.com/
Second Set
Mike McGinnis reunites the personnel from his first release “Tangents” (RKM Music 2001) for a set of new and old music played by a group with magical chemistry that has been brewing for 15 years.
Mike McGinnis – Saxophone
Shane Endsley – Trumpet
Jacob Sacks – Piano
Dave Ambrosio – Bass
Vinnie Sperrazza – Drums
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January 23rd
$10 Suggested
Ben Kono Group
Ben Kono: clarinet, bass clarinet, flutes, oboe, english horn, tenor sax, laptop, composition
Heather Laws: vocals, french horn
Henry Hey: piano
Pete McCann: guitars
John Hebert: bass
Owen Howard: drums
The Group performs music from their recently recorded CD “The Crossing”. Kono uses live looping computer technology to create layered woodwind orchestral structures out of which the compositions grow, marrying improvisation with composition and chance. www.benkono.com
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January 29th
8:30 and 10:00pm
$10 suggested
Tonino Miano/Brian Groder and Evan Mazunik’s ZAHA
In celebration of their recent release of “Shoot the Sun” on Snapback Records, ZAHA will perform a set of live compositions by Evan Mazunik for quintet. ZAHA, an interdisciplinary performance company, creates architecture for the imagination through installations, instant compositions, multimedia collaborations, and educational outreach programs. Founded in 2006 by artistic/producing director Evan Mazunik, ZAHA creates live compositions that play with the balance between structure and freedom. Tonino Miano and Brian Groder will open the evening with a piano/trumpet duo of original works.
First Set:
TONINO MIANO/BRIAN GRODER
Tonino Miano—piano
Brian Groder—trumpet
Second set:
ZAHA
Justin Wood—alto sax, flute
Frantz Loriot—viola
Sebastian Noelle—guitar
Ryan Kotler—bass
John O’Brien—drums
Evan Mazunik—live composition
www.evanmazunik.com
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January 30th
$10 Suggested
8:30 pm
KALEIDHPHONIC
Kevin Nathaniel Hylton – Mbira, Rattles
M. Salieu Suso – Kora
Tripp Dudley – Tabla
A collage of colors stretched over a canvas of space and time to
create a beautiful painting of sound… like an artist’s easel having
a conversation with itself. Kaleidhphonic, begun February of 2009, is
a group made up of tabla, kora, mbira & flute which fuses Indian and
African music.
DIANA WAYBURN ENSEMBLE
Diana Wayburn (flute/piano/composition)
Justin Wood (flute/sax)
Dawoud Kringle (sitar)
Ryan Kotler (doublebass)
The ensemble will present original compositions based primarily in
polyrhythms from West Africa and European counterpoint. Composed
music is developed with improvisation and influenced by bebop, Indian
music and classical music.
December 2009
December 3rd
Tim Berne Presents: Los Totopos
9:00 pm $10 Suggested
Los Totopos
Tim Berne, sax
Oscar Noriega, clarinets
Matt Mitchell, piano
Ches Smith, drums
Tim Berne’s new touring band, is a potent blend of new voices and new ideas. Oscar Noriega (woodwinds), Matt Mitchell (keyboards) and Ches Smith (percussion) bring fresh sounds and vibrant energy. Berne responds with a stunning book of new pieces balancing compositional rigor with fluid group improvisation. Hypnotic rhythms and long, seductive melodies collide with jagged dissonances and surprising textural shifts. A lush, organic blend of saxophones and clarinets is layered with electronic and acoustic keyboards and an ever-changing tapestry of percussion. Freedom and discipline, consonance and discord, past, present and future- all work together to power this new band from Tim Berne.
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In Residency For December
The Vinnie Sperrazza Trio
Friday Dec. 11th
Friday Dec. 18th
8:30 pm $10 Suggested
Vinnie Sperrazza – Drums
Jacob Sacks – Piano
Dave Ambrosio – Bass
In April 2009, Fresh Sound Records released the first album by the Vinnie Sperrazza Trio, “Peak Inn”, featuring pianist Jacob Sacks and bassist Dave Ambrosio in a program of free improvisation, original compositions, and standards. Drummer Vinnie Sperrazza gained his first professional experiences in the Utica, NY area, before moving to New Jersey to study at William Paterson University and has worked with the great jazz pianist James Williams, starting a musical relationship that lasted until Mr. Williams’ passing in July 2004.
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December 5th
8:30 pm $10 Suggested
The Axis Trio
Amino Belyamani – Piano
Sam Minaie – Bass
Qasim Naqvi – Drums
Collectively, the members of Axis Trio have performed with Charlie Haden, Joe LaBarbera, Larry Koonse, Butch Morris, Vinny Golia, Peter Erskine, Ravi Coltrane, Peter Epstein, Reggie Workman, Don Byron, Brandon Ross, Albert “Tootie Heath”, Houman Pourmehdi, Alfred Ladzepko, and Al Ustad Aashish Khan, to name a few. While retaining a vested interest in all genres of music from Stravinsky to Aphex Twin, Axis has developed a coloristic approach to performance and writing, with a special view to blurring and blinding the lines between musical styles and taking no prisoners.
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December 9th
Norwegian Snow and Eivind Opsvik’s Overseas
8:30 and 10:00 pm $10 Suggested
First set
NORWEGIAN SNOW WITH GUESTS
Arne Hiorth – trumpet, electronics
Siri Nilsen – vocals
Helge Nysted – piano
Thomas Hvale – drums
Nicky Schrire – vocals
Bjoern Vidar Sollie – guitar
Second set
OVERSEAS
Eivind Opsvik – bass & tunes
Jacob Sacks – piano and organ
Brandon Seabrook – guitar and banjo
Kenny Wollesen – drums
Norwegian Snow
Norwegian Snow started up as a duo in 2005, when trumpeter Arne Hiorth and pianist Helge Nysted began the recordings that would end up as the critically acclaimed album “Snø” in 2006. The album was reissued as “Snow” for the international market in 2007, followed up by tours to London, Berlin and other cities in Norway and abroad. In the fall of 2006 Hiorth and Nysted were joined by bass player John Børge Askeland and drummer Thomas Hvale. Another dimension was added to the group in the spring of 2008, when vocalist Siri Nilsen joined in. The group now does both instrumental and vocal performances.
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December 19th
8:30 pm $10 Suggested
Billy Mintz Presents:
Set 1
Roberta Piket / Louis Belogenis
Roberta Piket – Piano
Louis Belogenis – Sax
Set 2
Billy Mintz Solo Drums
November 2009
Ralph Alessi and This Against That
Ralph Alessi – Trumpet
Tony Malaby – Tenor Sax
Ben Street – Bass
Andy Milne – Piano
Mark Ferber – Drums
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November 6th
8:30 pm $10 suggested
Tim Flood & The Magic Powerhouse
Tim Flood – bass guitar & computer
Megalithic drone music for solo improvisor.
Jacob Garchik Trio
Jacob Garchik – trombone
Jacob Sacks – piano
Dan Weiss – drums
Trombonist and composer Jacob Garchik has worked with Slavic Soul Party, Lee Konitz and the Kronos Quartet but here he presents elegant and energetic compositions for his lithe trio. “Odd and excellent, taut with paradox” – Ben Ratliff, the New York Times www.jacobgarchik.com
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November 7th
8 pm $10 suggested
Ignite a Noise Presents:
Never Saw This Coming
Rich Johnson, Kirk Knuffke – trumpets
Brian Drye, Curtis Hasselbring – trombones
Taylor Ho Bynum Trio
Taylor Ho Bynum – cornet
Joe Morris – guitar
Sara Schoenbeck – bassoon
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November 13th
8:30 pm $10 suggested
Iron Dog
Sarah Bernstein – violin/processing
Stuart Popejoy – bass guitar/effects
Andrew Drury – drums/sounds
Second Set (10 pm)
Alex Marcelo – solo piano + guest tba
Iron Dog is electronic soundscapes, shifting distorted textures, freely synthesized, this and other worlds
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November 14th
8:30 and 10 pm
$10 suggested
Josh Sinton Presents Holus-Bolus Trio; SWIPE Presents The Nanny Problem
1st set – 8:30 pm
Josh Sinton’s Holus-Bolus Trio
Josh Sinton – reeds
Peter Bitenc – bass
Mike Pride – drums
2nd set – 10 pm
SWIPE presents The Nanny Problem
Matt Steckler – reeds
Mark Taylor – french horn
Curtis Stewart – violin
Carl Maguire – piano
Joe Exley – tuba
Andrew Drury – percussion
SWIPE (Sound Writers in Performative Emergence) is an experience that moves in the spirit of a collective. Ranking highly among many aspirations of SWIPE: A de-centered approach to authorship, a challenge to the master narrative of the great musical hero, and a return to art as helping to build the community.
Holus-Bolus is Josh Sinton’s transmitter of creative information. He has begun writing ensemble music that can be performed from one to five people depending on who’s available. They will be playing music from the recently recorded CD “Pine Barren.” A concept CD that’s ‘about’ the place where Sinton grew up.
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November 20th
8:30 pm $10 suggested
Ignite a Noise Presents:
Nate Wooley Duo
Nate Wooley – trumpet
Joe Morris – acoustic guitar
The only thing that can be predicted by these two improvisors is their consistent musical unpredictability. The duo recorded a beautiful CD at Roulette last year, which will come out on Clean Feed in early 2010.
We Can Build You
Rich Johnson – trumpet
Jason Rigby – tenor saxophone
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Nov 21st
8:30 pm $10 suggested
Ignite a Noise Presents:
Chris McIntyre Duo
Chris McIntyre – trombone
Pete Drungle – pianist/composer
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November 27th
8:30 pm $10 suggested
Johannesen:Furu:Sandbakken (NORWAY)
Kim Johannesen, guitar and composition
Svein Magnus Furu, saxophone, clarinet and composition
Tore Sandbakken, drums and composition
Coming from the creative environment at the Music Academy in Oslo Johannesen, Furu:Sandbakken brings a new and interesting expression to the Norwegian jazz scene. Together they make melodically inventive, modern and challenging music.
10:00 pm $10 suggested
Elana Camerin Presents
Elena Camerin – voice
Nicola Fazzini -alto and soprano sax
Ron Hoton – trumpet
Khabu Doug Young – guitar
Bob Bowen – bass
Tony Moreno – drums
Music dedicated to Italian writer Italo Calvino
Nov 28th
8:30 pm $10 suggested
Ignite a Noise Presents:
The “Batteries” Duo
Gareth Flowers – trumpet and electronics
Josh Frank – trumpet and electronics
The “Batteries” Duo is an ambient psychedelic duo. Using laptops and samplers, the ‘Batteries’ duo creates a unique breed of spacious, timeless, non-jazz that is steeped in both traditional and non-traditional minimalism. The sets are mostly improvised, and often rely on a deliberately limited harmonic language to create the atmospheric, languishing sound that they are known for.
ORJE
Rich Johnson – trumpet, laptop
Eivind Opsvik – bass, electronics
+ Special Guest TBA
Drone glitchfolk duo from members of experimental chamber pop group Opsvik & Jennings.
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October 2009
Oct 3
8 pm $10 suggested
Ken Silverman’s Quartet of Dreams (celebrating their soon-to-be released CD “Quartet of Dreams”)
Daniel Carter – Reeds and trumpet
Claire De Brunner – Bassoon
Ken Silverman – Guitar and Oud,
Tom Zlabinger – Double Bass
Roy Campbell, Jr.- Trumpet, Flugel Horn + Special Suprise Guest
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Oct 9th
9 pm $10 suggested
James Ilgenfritz’s Sparkling Promise
Dave Ballou – trumpet
Ben Gerstein – trombone
Harris Eisenstadt – drums
James Ilgenfritz – bass
Denman Maroney – Hyperpiano
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Oct 10th
8 pm $10 suggested
Ursel Schlict Presents
Set I
Stephen Morley (Sydney, Australia): french horn
Ursel Schlicht – piano
Adam Lane – bass
Harris Eisenstadt – drums
Brian Drye – Trombone
Compositions by Stephen Morley and Ursel Schlicht.
Set II
Miguel Frasconi and Katie Down
Glass and Found Objects
Australian French horn improviser Stephen Morley combines jazz and open forms. His sextet SQUALL is one of the most active ensembles in Sydney. A fellow of the Music Omi residency in Hudson, NY in 2002, he returns to New York present his music along with music by pianist Ursel Schlicht.
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Oct 16
8:30 pm $10
Johnny Butler Presents
Jon Goldberger Trio
Jon Goldberger – Guitar
Jeff Davis – Drums
Briggan Krauss – Saxophone
Scurvy
Johnny Butler – Saxophone
Ryan Snow-trombone
Sasha Brown-guitar
Rus Wimbish-bass
Jason Nazary-drums.
Court House Quartet
Louise Dam Eckardt Jensen – alto
Tom Blancarte – bass
John Wagner – drums
Carol Leibowitz – piano
Scurvy is a New York-based group lead by composer and saxophonist Johnny Butler. Formed in 2007, Scurvy’s music is a mixture of angular melodies, interlocking rhythms, and unrestrained improv couched in progressive instrumental rock. Infinitely dynamic, and wildly inventive, the sum result is a swath of interlocking rhythms and otherworldly textures.
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Oct 17th
9 pm $10
Carl Testa Presents
STATIC
Carl Testa – composition, electronics
Jonathan Goldberger – guitar
Sean Moran – guitar
Josh Sinton – bass clarinet
plus a set by
CARL TESTA (born 1984, Chicago, IL) is a composer and instrumentalist based in New Haven, CT and New York City. Originally from Chicago, Testa studied music with Donn DeSanto, at the U of C Lab School, as well as at the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) School of Music, Anthony Braxton, Neely Bruce, Alvin Lucier, Ron Kuivila, Roy Wiseman, Jay Hoggard, and Charles Lemert. In October 2008, he released his debut album Uncertainty featuring his compositions for clarinets, percussion, and electronics. Please visit http://carltesta.net for more information.
STATIC is a long-form extended composition for 2 guitars, bass clarinet, and electronics composed by Carl Testa. This piece combines chamber music with ambient electronic music and live real-time sampling/electronic manipulation of the instruments. The piece uses a series of cues in order to structure the interpretation of the notated material. Each player has 3 pages of notated material. As the piece progesses the players are instructed to either play the notated material straight through, repeat short cells of material, or improvise with the melodic and rhythmic material from the page. A backdrop of electronics mixes the sounds of static, fire, appliances, and live samples of the instruments.
Aaron Siegel is a composer and percussionist who writes experimental music that lies at the intersection of abstraction and intuition. He produces concert events and recordings involving his own music and collaborations with other members of the experimental arts community. His work ranges from solo compositions and chamber music to improvised ensembles and collaborative theater pieces.
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Oct 23rd
9 pm $10
Duo
John Welsh-guitar
Westbrook Johnson-trombome
Justin Veloso, drums
Xander Naylor, guitar
Johan Andersson, saxophones
Mike Huse, bass
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Oct 24th
9 pm $10
Zach Mangan Presents:
Secret architecure: Hailing from New York City (USA) and Perth (Scotland), secret architecture is the brainchild of saxophonist fraser Campbell and drummer zach mangan. These two core members combine with a rotating list of talented musicians to create modern, creative improvised music. Their fiery debut ‘come on shapes” has been applauded as a forceful and energetic statement. Equal parts ornette coleman and eric satie, this music turns on a dime from up tempo mayhem to delicate, crooning lullabies.
Austin bats: Austin bats was created when craig Brodhead, (guitarist, singer, tinkerer, sound designer etc.) united with friends blaze mckenzie on bass and nick DaGastino on drums. A trio with a monumental sound that has been known to melt objects too close to the stage.
Killer Bob: New york jazz rockers Killer Bob focus on original music as well as long form group improvisations. Recently back from a Midwest tour, see them while they’re hot.
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Oct 30
9 pm $10
Jeff Platz
Jeff Platz-guitar
Daniel Carter-reeds, trumpet
John Mclellan-drums
Kit Demos-bass
Jeff Platz is a Boston area guitarist who has worked with a variety of U.S. and European based musicans. Recently the Platz Quintet performed in the 2007 Munster Jazz Festival in Munster Germany, this recording has just been released on Konnex records. Platz co manages the Skycap Records label based in Munster Germany. Recently he has released his latest CD on Skycap, “Gathering” featuring German alto player Jan Klare. Platz also hosts a monthly improvised music series in Providence Rhode Island, “Strange Guitar” which features improvising musicians from the U.S. and Europe. Jeff has organized and produced the Skycap Music Festival held each fall in Boston Massachusetts since 2004 and features musicians who have released recordings on the Skycap label.
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September 2009
Sept 4th
9 pm – $10 Suggested Donation
Franck Vigroux (electronics)
Michel Blanc (drums, electronics )
Ben Miller (voice)
Elliott Sharp (reeds, guitar)
+ guests
Franck VIGROUX, Composer, guitarist, turntablist, videoartist and producer, Franck Vigroux works in various media electronic music, new media, composition and improvisation. He leads many bands and projects featuring musicians such as Bruno Chevillon, Elliott Sharp, Marc Ducret, Hélène Breschand, Joey Baron, Michel Blanc, Stéphane Payen, Matthew Bourne, Kenji Siratori , Mariano Equizzi, Scorpene Horrible.
Sept. 5th
9pm (Two Sets) $15 donation
Roberta Piket - “Improvised Chamber Music”
Perry Robinson – clarinet
Roberta Piket – piano
Lisle Ellis – bass
Peter Nilson – drums
Roberta Piket has played professionally as a sidewoman with David Liebman, Rufus Reid, Benny Golson, Michael Formanek, Lionel Hampton and the BMI/New York Jazz Orchestra and has twice been a featured guest on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, on National Public Radio.
September 11th
9pm – $10 Suggested Donation
The Landon Knoblock/Phil Doyle Duo
Landon Knoblock – Piano
Phil Doyle – Saxophone
The Stacken/Knuffke Duo
Jesse Stacken – Piano
Kirk Knuffke – Trumpet
Phil Doyle and Landon Knoblock began their collaboration at the University of Miami, 9 years ago.
Their focus has always been on improvisation, and playing in the moment. “The pianist Landon Knoblock, from Miami by way of Brooklyn, has quietly been making waves for his reflective and lyrical style.” (NY Times)
www.myspace.com/LandonKnoblock
Sept 12th and 13th
8pm – No Cover – A free reading!
The Nightingale and the Rose
A new opera by Benjamin Scheuer
Http://www.BenjaminScheuer.com
Sept 18
$10 Donation
8pm Russ Lossing Trio
Russ Lossing – Piano
Masa Kamaguchi- bass
Billy Mintz- drums
9:30 The Two Bass Band
featuring Rock Ciccerone ( bn), Bryan Drye (bn), Clay Jenkins (tpt), Dave Scott (tpt), John O’Gallerger (alto sx), Loren Stillman (alto sx), Adam Kohker (tn sx), Masa Kamaguchi (bs), Johannes Weidenmueller (bs), Billy Mintz (drms)
Telluric Currents, Series 2
Curated by Jeremiah Cymerman
Featuring some of the very best young talents working within the realms of compositional & improvised music in Brooklyn, NY, the Telluric Currents series features 3 sets per night.
Friday, September 25th – $10 Donation
8p Jessica Pavone Solo
9p Anthony Coleman/Jeremiah Cymerman/Christopher Hoffman
10p Matthew Welch’s “Looking at Mondrian” performed by Shawn Onsgard
Saturday September 26th – $10 Donation
8p Mario Diaz de Leon/Doron Sadja
9p Ches Smith Solo
10p Jon Irabagon/Mike Pride Duo
JULY 2009
July 10
$10 suggested
9:00 pm
Andrew Drury’s Content Provider
Peter Evans, trumpets
Briggan Krauss, alto saxophone
Chris Speed, tenor saxophone
Andrew Drury, drums & compositions
www.andrewdrury.com
10:00 pm
Kristen Berardi Group
Kristen Berardi – Vocals
Sean Wayland – Piano
Miles Okazaki – Guitar
One of Australias best jazz vocalists and composers Kristen won last years Montreaux jazz vocal composition . She is performing in New York courtesy of the prestigous Freedman Fellowship. She will be performing a mixture of contempory influenced songs and standards.
July 11th ($10 Suggested)
9:00 pm
Nate Wooley and Peter Evans Duo
Nate Wooley – Trumpet/Effects
Peter Evans – Trumpet/Effects
You could refer to Nate Wooley and Peter Evans as trumpet extremists. No matter how they wield their horns, both tend toward the boundary-straining end of the spectrum. (Shaun Brady)
10:00 pm
Dan Peck Trio
Dan Peck (tuba)
Tom Blancarte (bass)
and Brian Osborne (drums)
Come hear the soundtrack to the end of the world as the trio explores the lowest thresholds of human hearing. Combining compositions that evoke Doom metal and improvisations that suggest Braxton, the trio focuses on the tuba and bass as a sub-sonic duo, with the percussion adding punctuation to their down sounds.
July 17th
Travis Sullivan and George Dulin
Travis Sullivan – Saxophone
George Dulin – Piano
July 24th
Ohad Talmor/ Miles Okazaki / Dan Weiss
Hindustani Music
Ohad Talmor – Saxophone
Miles Okazaki – Guitar
Dan Weiss – Drums
August 1st
9:00 pm
Monastics
Jeremy Hurewitz – coustic guitar
Don Chase – bass and sampler
EJ Fry – percussion
Special guest Shane Rettig on keys and laptop.
Monastics bring fresh sounds to the abstract folk scene with deft skill and sincerity. With influences as varied as James Blackshaw, Boards Of Canada, Animal Collective, and Sun Ra, they conjure new music that thrives on collaboration and improvisation without falling victim to banality. www.myspace.com/monasticsband
10pm – Slow To Wake
Topu Lyo – cello
Bryan Teoh – cello
Ben Gallina – basses
Shane Rettig – keys and laptop
EJ Fry – drums and laptop
Slow To Wake conjure images of grainy ’60s film through the use of instrumental rock, other-worldly jazz & ambient soundscapes. They shamelessly juxtapose lush strings & edgy electronics to provide a modern soundtrack to pristine beauty and urban decay.
www.slowtowake.com
www.myspace.com/slowtowake
JUNE 2009
June 5th @ 9:00 pm $10
We Can Build You (9:00 pm)
Rich Johnson- trumpet, laptop, live processing
Jonathan Goldberger- guitar, electronics
Jason Rigby- saxophone, woodwinds
We Can Build You is the acoustic-electronic improv trio of Jonathan Goldberger, Jason Rigby, and Rich Johnson. The three met after moving to NYC in the late 90’s and have worked together in various projects since. electric guitar, samples, tenor saxophone, laptoptrumpet, and an array of woodwinds make up the groups unconventional instrumentation
http://www.myspace.com/wcby
10:00 pm
Knuffke & Drye
Brian Drye – Trombone
Kirk Knuffke – Trumpet
An improvising duo with music ranging from spur of the moment originals to Lennie Tristano.
www.myspace.com/knuffkeanddrye
June 6th @ 9:00 pm – $10
Jacob Garchik Trio
Jacob Garchik – Trombone / Compositions
Dan Weiss – Drums
Jacob Sacks – Piano
Trombonist and composer Jacob Garchik has worked with Steve Swallow, Lee Konitz, John Hollenbeck, Slavic Soul Party and the Kronos Quartet. Here he presents elegant and energetic compositions, inspired by Mahler, Indian Classical music, and Duke Ellington. His lithe trio features two of the most in-demand and creative young musicians in New York. www.jacobgarchik.com
June 12th @ 9:00 pm – $10
The Second Approach Trio (Russia, Moscow)
With Special Guest – Roswell Rudd (Trombone)
Andrei Razin – Piano/Compositions
Tatiana Komova – Vocals
Igor Ivanushkin – Acoustic Bass
Based in Moscow, Russia, The Second Approach consists of a classically-trained composer and improvising pianist Andrei Razin, an improvising Gypsy singer Tatiana Komova and a jazz bass player Igor Ivanushkin. They are not straight-ahead jazz, but they are jazz, nevertheless, definitely unique. Over the course of their decade-long career as a group, the trio performed at jazz festivals in Norway, Germany, Poland, Finland, Israel, Bulgaria, and the Ukraine. This is their first visit to the United States. Their newest album, “The Light” was recorded in Moscow, guest-starring the great Roswell Rudd on the trombone.
June 13th @ 9 pm – $10
Jessica Pavone Presents:
Pure Horsehair – Pure Horsehair is the words and music of Garrett Devoe, joined by Shahzad Ismaily. Acoustic
songs on the unflinching sense of quotidian disarrangement. www.purehorsehair.com
Band Without a Name is the Name for Now
Jessica Pavone – viola, violin, compositions
Brandon Seabrook – guitar
Jonti Siman – bass guitar
Harris Eisenstadt – drums
Brooklyn based string instrumentalist/composer Jessica Pavone is best known for her work performing with Anthony Braxton in his current Septet and Twelve+1tet and for her duo project with guitarist, Mary Halvorson. As a composer, Pavone has received grants from the American Music Center and commissions to write chamber music from the MATA Foundation. She improvises in bands led by William Parker, Taylor Ho Bynum, and Matana Roberts. Since 2000, she has documented her music via her self-run label Peacock Recordings, which was recently awarded a grant from The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Recording Program. www.jessicapavone.com
June 19th – 21st
Telluric Currents, Series 1, Curated by Jeremiah Cymerman
Featuring some of the very best young talents working within the realms of compositional & improvised music in Brooklyn, NY, the Telluric Currents series will take place every 3 months, for 3 nights, featuring 3 sets per night.
Friday June 19th $10
8p Alex Chechile
9p Jeremiah Cymerman / Josh Sinton / Matt Bauder Clarinet Trio
10p Harris Eisenstadt / Ellery Eskellin Duo
Saturday June 20th $10
8p Woody Sullender Solo
9p Sam Amidon & Aaron Siegel
10p Peter Evans Solo
Sunday June 21st $10
8p Sergei Tcherepnin
9p Doron Sadja
10p Katherine Young
Jeremiah Cymerman is a composer and clarinetist based in Brooklyn, New York since 2002. Cymerman has worked with a broad range of contemporary artists including Otomo Yoshihide, John Zorn, Jandek, Ned Rothenberg, Peter Evans, Jessica Pavone, Toby Driver, Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris, Walter Thompson, Nate Wooley, Mary Halvorson, and Matthew Welch, among many others. In 2008 the Tzadik label released his album “In Memory of the Labyrinth System”, a highly personal work featuring a series of compositions for solo clarinet and computer processing. His newest CD “Under a Blue Grey Sky” for strings and electronics which will be released on Porter records in 2010.www.jeremiahcymerman.com
June 26th – $10
“An Evening of Duos and Solos”
9:00 pm
Loren Stillman / Ryan Ferreira Duo
Loren Stillman – Saxophones
Ryan Ferreira – Guitar
With his training stemming from Lee Konitz and David Liebman, Stillman has performed, recorded, and educated throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. Alongside an impressive record of performances, recordings, and masterclasses with his own ensembles, Stillman has performed alongside Charlie Haden, Paul Motian Trio 2000+2, Carla Bley, John Abercrombie, Andy Milne’s DAPP Theory, Michele Rosewoman Quintessence, Joe Lovano, Eivind Opsvik, John McNeil, Brad Shepik, Russ Lossing, Vic Juris, and The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. www.lorenstillman.com
10:00 pm
Billy Mintz – Solo Drums
www.billymintz.com
Billy Mintz was born in Queens, New York. By the age of 15 he was playing in the show bands of the Catskill Mountain resorts developing his musicianship. He has played and recorded with the Lee Konitz Nonet (1978), Perry Robinson, Badal Roy, Eddie Daniels Quartet, John Pattitucci, Andy Laverne, Gloria Gaynor, Charles Lloyd, and Alan Broadbent. Mr. Mintz leads the Two Bass Band, a ten-piece ensemble which features his compositions and arrangements. As a soloist he has performed extensively on both coasts of the US as well as internationally.
June 27th @ 9 pm – $10
Ohad Talmor and Miles Okazaki
Ohad Talmor – Saxophone
Miles Okazaki – Guitar
Special Guests TBA
www.ohadtalmor.com
Ohad Talmor has performed and/or recorded, among others, with Steve Swallow, Jason Moran, Dave Douglas, Paul Motian, Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Billy Hart, Carla Bley Big Band, Ray Anderson, Curtis Fowlkes, Jim Black, and Bob Dorough. As an arranger/composer, he has written for the Brecker Brothers, Lee Konitz, Steve Swallow and various Big Bands such as the Matosinhos Jazz Orchestra, Big Band de Lausanne, the European Broadcasting Ensemble as well as music written for leading classical musicians such as Martha Argerich, the Spring String Quartet in Austria and the Axis String Quartet in New York. Okazaki has toured and recorded with a wide range of artists, including Stanley Turrentine, Lenny Pickett, Samir Chatterjee, Jen Shyu, Dan Weiss, David Binney, and others. He has studied South Indian music under percussionist Ganesh Kumar for many years, absorbed the history of the American Popular Songbook as a long-time member of the Jane Monheit group, and continues to practice visual art and other disciplines that provide material for musical forms.
MAY 2009
Friday, May 29th
9:00PM – Michel Gentile/Tony Romano
Michel Gentile – flute
Tony Romano – guitar
Individually, Michel Gentile and Tony Romano have performed with Jane Ira Bloom, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Randy Brecker, Dave Valentine, Stanley Jordan, Fred Hersh, and Harvie S, to name but a few. Together, they have developed a style of playing that is truly personal in its approach. This duo has dispensed with conventional roles in order to develop a musical experience rich with interaction and nuance. It creates an organic counterpoint of ideas and support while exploring Brazilian and Jazz repertoire, as well as original compositions. They were recently featured artists in the 2007 D’Addario sponsored “Fall Festival of Guitar” at the Dix Hills Performing Arts Center (NY) along with Gene Bertoncini and Anton Del Forno. www.gentileromano.com
10:00pm – OK / OK
Mike McGinnis – Woodwinds
Khabu Young – Ukulele
Kyoko Kitamura – Voice
www.myspace.com/okokmusic
May 30th @ 9:00 pm – $10
“The Restless Spirit Trio”
Matt Wilson – Drums
Yoon Sun Choi – Vocals
Jacob Sacks – Drums
APRIL
April 2009
All sets at 9 & 10 pm. – Suggested donation is $10.
Trombone Festival is Saturdays in April 4, 11, 18, 25th
Yeah Yeah Records Festival is Fridays in April 3, 10, 17 and 24th
Scroll down for a complete listing
Saturday, April 4th
8:00 pm
Ryan Snow’s “Pull”
Ryan Snow – trombone & compositions
Johnny Butler – saxophone
Jonathan Goldberger – guitar & electronics
Sasha Brown – guitar & electronics
Chris Tordini – bass
Bram Kincheloe – drums
Pull uses free and structured improvisation in a rock context to take magical sonic journeys. Formed in 2006 by trombonist Ryan Snow, and inspired by the music of Miles Davis from his electric/experimental period, Pull has featured a number of strong New York-based improvisers. The current incarnation has been working together for about a year, and has performed most recently at The Stone and Sci-Fi Philly. Ryan Snow is a trombonist, improviser and composer living in Brooklyn, NY. Born and raised in Stanford, California, Ryan grew up playing jazz in local and regional bands. He has been involved in projects that combine free improvisation and traditional jazz as well as experimental rock and various forms of interdisciplinary performance. He currently composes for and performs in Pull. Other projects include Scavenger Quartet, The E.R.A. and Scurvy.
9:00 pm
Josh Roseman’s WATER SURGEONS a chamber ensemble with a trombone choir and electronics
Josh Roseman – trombone / bass / lead goat
Curtis “CURHA” Hasselbring – trombone / guitar / rhythm goat
Jacob Garchik – trombone / accordion / tenor goat
Barney McAll – keyboards / samples / bass goat
Celebrated trombonist, project organizer, producer, and master of chaos JOSH ROSEMAN can be seen performing with his skronky quartet, the WATER SURGEONS. A semi-ambient chamber ensemble complete with trombone choir, ample electronics, daring multi-instrumentalism, and a careful selection of small sea creatures, this quartet explores jazz composition of the modern electroacoustic variety. Each member a gentleman dabbler and lunatic doubler, the music is collaboratively constructed and extemporaneously dismantled. The group joins Josh with regular co-conspirators and edgy creative voices harvested from Brooklyn’s new jazz scene, including fellow trombonists CURTIS “CURHA” HASSELBRING (The New Mellow Edwards) and JACOB GARCHIK (doubling on guitar and accordion, respectively). Josh also plays trombone, semi-frequently casting it aside in favor of an electric bass guitar. Holding it all together is virtuoso pianist, sampler, and fearless wielder of many a mutant circuit-bent children’s toy, BARNEY MCALL (JRU, Groove Collective, Kurt Rosenwinkel’s “Heartcore”).
10:00 pm
Matthias Müller/Christian Marien Duo
Matthias Müller – trombone
Christian Marien – drums
The collaboration of Matthias Mueller and Christian Marien began when Matthias joined the band Olaf Ton in 2003. The pair are very consciously trying to overcome conventions and to avoid obvious musical solutions, which is apparent in part by their uncommon instrumentation. The free improvised music they play requires extreme alertness and concentration on the musical process of both musicians. The outcome is a raw music, at the same time brutal and peaceful, ugly and nice. Their aim, to achieve the highest form of beauty, is at any time overriding all musical decisions.
Saturday April 11th
8:00 pm
The FunBrassStick Orchestra:
Reut Regev – trombone
Igal Foni – drums
Born and raised in Israel, Reut Regev arrived in NYC in 1998. Since then she’s been active in countless musical projects, ranging from jazz, Latin, and contemporary classical to, klezmer, blues, and rock. She has worked with such artists as Anthony Braxton, Butch Morris, Frank London, Firewater and Grupo Irek, among many others. In 2004 Reut was honored with the “Best New Talent” Award by All About Jazz Magazine. Her debut recording as a leader with her band R Time was released on Ropeadope Digital in January 2009. www.reutregev.com
9:00 pm
Max Siegel Trio
Max Siegel – bass trombone
Jesse Lewis – guitar
Martin Urbach – drums
Bass trombonist Max Seigel has lived and worked in New York City since 2000. During that time, he has established himself as both a powerful soloist and a sought-after ensemble player. He has performed alongside Bob Brookmeyer, Benny Powell, Bill Watrous and Steve Davis as a member of the Trombone All-Stars featured at the Blue Note. In addition Max has collaborated with Carla Bley, Bob Mintzer, Jon Faddis, and Toshiko Akyoshi. Max is a core member of Roy Hargrove’s Big Band, the Fat Cat Big Band, Justin Mullens’ Delphian Jazz Orchestra, and the Andy Farber Jazz Orchestra. He performs frequently with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and the Mingus Big Band. When not performing or working on his own projects and compositions, Mr. Seigel frequently composes or arranges music for the soundtracks to works by video artist Slater Bradley.
10:00 pm
A Ben Gerstein Collective
Ben Gerstein – trombone
Tony Malaby – saxophone
Jacob Sacks – keyboard
Jacob Garchik – computer
Dan Weiss – drums
Ben Gerstein was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. He began playing trombone at the age of eleven and soon thereafter was receiving much acclaim as a jazz soloist in schools, festivals and competitions around the country. He arrived in New York City as a student in 1995 and since then has committed himself to the arts, collaborating regularly with many different groups and individuals. Ben has worked closely with Sacks, Garchik, and Weiss since his days as a student. Together they formed a collective in which free-improvisation has long been the primary means of style and composition, and the inspiration to liberate artistic influences, ability and emotional potential. In 2005, Ben and Malaby began their musical relationship, and he now joins in to complete Ben’s Collective.
Saturday April 18th
8:00 pm
TILT SIXtet
Christopher McIntyre – trombone
Curtis Hasselbring – trombone
Russ Johnson – trumpet
Nate Wooley – trumpet
Joe Exely – tuba
John Altieri – tuba
Part of the TILT Brass family (tiltbrass.org), TILT SIXtet is 6-piece ensemble of brass players culled from New York City’s creative music community. Featuring duos of trumpet, trombone, and tuba, SIXtet presents works byimportant voices in the avant jazz and experimental concert music fields, including original compositions custom designed for its unusual instrumentation. The group frequently performs music by composers John King, Fredric Rzewski, Chris Jonas, and TILT Brass Director and trombonist Chris McIntyre.
Christopher McIntyre leads a multi-faceted career in the contemporary arts as a solo and ensemble performer, composer, and curator/producer. He performs on trombone and synthesizer in a variety of settings that often incorporate improvisation within notation. Current projects include leading TILT Brass and 7X7 Trombone Band, and collaborative efforts such as Ne(x)tworks. In his composing, McIntyre has experimented with conceptual elements such as spatialization, recontextualized notated material, and improvisative strategy, along with ideas of scale, symmetrical pitch constructions, and self-similarity. Beyond performing and creating music, McIntyre is active as a curator and concert producer. He is currently Artistic Director of the MATA Festival, and frequently presents independent projects at venues including The Kitchen, Issue Project Room, and The Stone (June 2007). www.cmcintyre.com
9:00 pm
Bizingas
Brian Drye – Trombone / Compositions
Ches Smith – Drums
Kirk Knuffke – Trumpet
Jon Goldberger – Guitar
“Slushy Tailgate….Fat Purrs….Brothel Ready” (Bagatellen)Trombonist Brian Drye lives in Brooklyn, NY and has toured Japan, Eastern and Western Europe, Turkey and throughout the US. He has performed with Frank London of the Klezmatics, John Hollenbeck, ABC Televisionʼs Hit Series “My Kind of Town”, The Brooklyn Qawwali Party, Slavic Soul Party, The Four Bags, Nation Beat, Andrew D’Angelo, and Clark Terry. He has also recorded and performed with many famous pop stars including Yo La Tengo, Arcade Fire, Firewater, The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, The Four Tops, Dianne Schuur and Paul Anka. Tonight he presents a new set of music from the forthcoming release “Bizingas” featuring Ches Smith (Marc Ribot), Kirk Knuffke (Kenny Wolleson, Butch Morris) and Jon Goldberger. www.myspace.com/bizingas
10:00 pm
Joe Fiedler Trio
Joe Fiedler – trombone/compositions
John Hebert – bass
Michael Sarin – drums
Trombonist/composer Joe Fiedler is thought of by critics as “among the most impressive trombonists to emerge in the past couple of decades” (Harvey Pekar, Signal to Noise). Based in New York since 1993, he has performed and recorded in a long and eclectic list of musical settings ranging from pop (Firewater, Wycleff Jean, Jennifer Lopez) to Afro-Caribbean (Celia Cruz, Ralph Irizarry, Eddie Palmieri) to jazz (Andrew Hill, Lee Konitz, Maria Schneider) to the avant-garde (Borah Bergman, Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor). In addition to work as a solo trombonist and leader of the groups the Joe Fiedler Trio and Big Sack, Fiedler is an active member of such ensembles as Fast and Bulbous, Chris Jonas’ The Sun Spits Cherries, and the big bands of Satoko Fujii, Ed Palermo and Charles Tolliver, among others. His diverse discography features more than 70 recordings, including three as a leader. For this concert Fiedler will be debuting all new music which will be released on the Trio’s upcoming recording.
Saturday, April 25th
9:00 pm
Curtis Hasselbring’s Decoupage
Curtis Hasselbring – Trombone
Matt Moran – Vibraphone
Mary Halvorson – Guitar
TBA – Percussion
Curtis Hasselbring is a trombonist, guitarist and composer who resides in Brooklyn, NY. Curtis leads the groups The New Mellow Edwards, Decoupage, and the Curha-chestra. He has also been co/leading the newly-formed DaHa Orchestra with Andrew D’Angelo. Curha is Curtis’s alias/nickname and is his sample-based project involving a stack of LPs, a wide variety of instruments and a general disdain for sunlight. He has spent the last 20 years playing and recording with such diverse artists as Medeski Martin & Wood, Slavic Soul Party, Golem, Andrew D’Angelo, Satoko Fujii, Frank London, Tom Harrell, Cuong Vu’s Vu-tet and Anthony Coleman among others. Curtis appears on over 60 recordings including his first release as a leader with the New Mellow Edwards on Skirl Records. Decoupage is an improvising chamber ensemble focused on creating maximum color and texture with minimal musical content. Curtis composes the group’s repertoire and writes pieces that are (mostly) quiet by nature but maintain a high level of inner turmoil.
10:00 pm
Jacob Garchik Trio
Jacob Garchik – Trombone
Jacob Sacks – piano
Randy Peterson – drums
Trombonist and composer Jacob Garchik, born and raised in San Francisco, has resided in New York since 1994. He has toured Europe and North America extensively with the acclaimed Lee Konitz New Nonet, and has played with Lee since 1997. Since 2006 Jacob has contributed arrangements and transcriptions for the Kronos Quartet of music from China, Korea, Iraq, Iran, and Thelonius Monk. An active freelance trombonist, he plays with groups including the Ohad Talmor/Steve Swallow Sextet, the Judith Berkson Group, the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, the Ben Gerstein Collective, Slavic Soul Party!, the Four Bags, Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All Stars and Justin Mullens & The Delphian Jazz Orchestra. He’s worked with composers Joe Maneri, Anthony Braxton, Anthony Coleman and James Tenney, choreographers Yoshiko Chuma and Anita Chen, and the Theatre of a Two-headed Calf. In addition to the trombone, Jacob also plays accordion, bass trombone, tuba, computer, and piano. www.jacobgarchik.com
YEAH YEAH RECORDS CONCERT SERIES
Fridays in April
Sets at 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00 pm
Suggested Donation is $10
Yeah Yeah Records is proud to present the Yeah Yeah Records and Friends Festival at I-Beam Music in Gowanus, Brooklyn. The festival takes place each Friday during the month of April, and features some of the best new leaders of avant-garde and improvised music. Yeah Yeah Records is a small, independent, Brooklyn-based record label for avant-garde and creative improvising music. Founded in 2002 as a vehicle for the Choi/Sacks duo, the label expanded in 2008 into a community-centered hub intended to support a larger community of avant- garde and improvising artists in the city. www.yeahyeahrecords.com.
April 3rd, 2009
8:00pm soloists: Akiko Sasaki (piano) and Miranda Sielaff (viola)
9:00pm Yoon Sun Choi and Jacob Sacks Duo
10:00pm Matt Renzi Trio
April 10th, 2009
8:00pm Dan Weiss (drums)
9:00pm Jacob Sacks Quintet
10:00pm Ok/Ok
April 17th, 2009
8:00pm Khabu Doug Young
9:00pm Stacken/Knuffke Duo
10:00pm Bishop/Cleaver/Flood Trio
April 24th, 2009
8:00pm Josh Sinton
9:00pm Vinnie Sperrazza/Matt Blostein Quintet
10:00pm Jacob Sacks and Eivind Opsvik’s Two Miles A Day with Mat Maneri
Upcoming in May……………….
Friday, May 1st
9:00PM – Sarah Manning’s “Shatter the Glass”
Sarah Manning – alto saxophone
Art Hirahara – piano
Linda Oh – bass
Kyle Struve – drums
According to jazz writer Nat Hentoff, alto saxophonist and composer Sarah Manning is “an enlivening presence in the new generation of jazz makers. [She] plays – and writes – in what is unmistakably her own voice.” After five years in the San Francisco Bay Area, Manning has finally returned to her East Coast roots and her Ibeam performance celebrates her first concert as a full time NYC resident. While living on the West Coast, Manning produced two albums as a composer and bandleader and performed at top venues from Yoshi’s in Oakland to the Kuumbwa Jazz Center in Santa Cruz. Her second album, Live at Yoshi’s: Two Rooms Same Door, was released on ArtistShare in 2006 and both albums are comprised solely of her original compositions. Shatter the Glass, her newest quartet featuring Art Hirahara on piano, Linda Oh on bass and Kyle Struve on drums, has completed two tours since its inception in January 2007, to California and NYC/New England. Explosive musical storytellers, they delight in performing in intimate and unusual spaces ranging from the Jazz Gallery to a storefront window display in Northampton, MA. Manning will debut new work to be recorded in the fall as part of the the group’s first album.
www.sarahmanningmusic.com
10:00PM – Sean Nowell Quartet
Sean Nowell – tenor sax
Art Hirahara – piano
Sam Minaie – bass
Brian Fishler -drums
Sean Nowell is a tenor saxophonist and composer from Birmingham, Alabama. Sean is a member Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra, Justin Mullens’ Delphian Jazz Orchestra, 3/4 Free, MonAtomic, the KUNG-FU MASTERS, the Yutaka Uchida Quartet, VortexNine vs. Space Fantasy Unit, Dub is a Weapon. Tonight Sean and his group will perform selections from the forthcoming release from Posi-Tone Records, “The Seeker”.
www.myspace.com/seannowell
Saturday, May 2nd
9:00PM – Garden of Gifts
Kirk Knuffke – trumpet
Chris Welcome – guitar
Federico Ughi – drums
www.kirkknuffke.com
10:00PM – The Sound Bats
Sean Moran – Guitar
John Mettam – Drums
Briggan Krauss – Alto Saxophone
Sound Bats are a newly formed collaborative trio which blends punk, downtown improv and progressive rock. Downtown hipsters, head-banging punk rockers and carnies will all find something in common. www.myspace.com/spikeyyucca
Friday, May 8th
9:00PM – bLOOD vISION
Milton Villarrubia III- drums
Johan Andersson- reeds
Mike Huse- strings
special guest Moses Howard on piano
….formed in september two thousand and eight on the foundation of ancient visions and cymbal blood…after months of scheming in a subterranean lair not far from here they decided to take the music to the people…enjoy….www.myspace.com/michaelhuse
——————
10:00PM – PinkBrown
Xander Naylor – guitar
Johan Andersson – tenor saxophone
Max Jaffe – drums
This is a trio that embraces contradiction – composition/improvisation; cleanliness/dirtiness; tonality/atonality; anxiety/tranquility. The compositions of Xander Naylor could be described as through-composed rock songs, however the meat of the performance lies in the free-flowing group improvisations which may in turns feed into the pieces or take them in entirely new directions altogether. Three personalities from Vermont, San Francisco, and Sweden combine to make the trio that is PinkBrown. www.myspace.com/xandernaylor
Saturday, May 9th
8:30PM – Justin Keller’s Land of Leland
Justin Keller – guitar/voice
Guitarist, singer and songwriter Justin Keller has crafted songs with honesty and myriad influences, featuring pretty melodies and harmonies, and surprising textures. Justin will be performing solo at I-Beam. www.myspace.com/landoflelandmusic
9:30PM – Yoon Sun Choi and The E-String Band
Yoon Sun Choi – voice
Jacob Sacks – melodica
Khabu Doug Young – ukelele
Thomas Morgan – guitar
Vinnie Sperazza – percussion
Yoon’s E-String Band, with artists Jacob Sacks (melodica), Khabu Doug Young (ukulele), Thomas Morgan (guitar) and Vinnie Sperrazza (percussion), combines her vocal and (toy) piano skills. Yoon appears regularly in Brooklyn and New York City, inviting the audience on a musical journey that spans more than a century of music, from Robert Schumann to Motown to Cyndi Lauper to original music. A quiet and intimate group, this band has been called the “ultimate family room band.” www.yoonsunchoi.com
Friday, May 15th
8:30PM – Lady Clown
Ben Scheuer – guitar/voice
Geoff Kraly – bass/voice
Benjamin Scheuer sings and plays guitar in Lady Clown. He lives in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Geoff Kraly sings and plays bass in Lady Clown. He lives in Brooklyn. www.ladyclown.com
9:30PM
Yoon Sun Choi and The E-String Band
www.yoonsunchoi.com
Saturday, May 16th
10:00PM – Strefenjunko
Eivend Lønning – trumpet
Espen Reinerthsen – tenor saxophone/prepared flute
Strefenjunko is an improvising duo with its own world of sounds on the Norwegian improv scene, clearly influenced by
European contemporary composers like Giacinto Scelsi, Salvatore Sciarrino and Helmut Lachenmann. A project where they collaborate with the well-known Japanese guitar player Tetuzi Akiyama has recently released the debut album ”Varianter av døde trær” on Norwegian hard-core impro label ‘SOFA’. Also Streifenjunko has released their debut-album “No longer burning” on SOFA in January 2009. For samples of the records, visit www.myspace.com/streifenjunko
9:00PM – Sweet Love
Matt Glassmeyer – Bass/Bill Withers
Brian Drye – Piano/Marvin Gaye
Eric Biondo – Vocals/Trumpet/Anita Baker
Judith Berkson – Vocals/Wurlitzer/Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Judith Berkson, November 26, 1939 in Nutbush, TN) began, in 1984, what has been called the biggest comeback in rock ‘n roll history. In 1985, she became Aunty Entity, the ruler of Bartertown, home of Thunderdome. Anita Baker (born Eric Biondo, January 26, 1958 in Toledo, Ohio) has eight Grammys and four platinum albums. Her first hit record, Rapture (1986), contains the hottest song ever made. Marvin Gaye (born Brian Drye, April 2, 1939 in Washington, DC) has a three-octave vocal range. Mr. Gaye played drums on The Marvelettes’ 1961 hit, “Please Mr. Postman” prior to making the second hottest song ever in 1982. Bill Withers (born Matt Glassmeyer, July 4, 1938 in Slab Fork, WV) left the Navy at age 26. His first hit song was released in 1971 at age 33. His last hit song was released in 1981 at age 43.
www.meadownoise.com
Saturday, March 7th
Harris Eisenstadt’s Woodblock Prints
Mike McGinnis (clarinet)
Jason Mears (alto saxophone)
Sara Schoenbeck (bassoon)
Mark Taylor (French horn)
Brian Drye (trombone)
Jose Davila (tuba)
Jonathan Goldberger (electric guitar)
Garth Stevenson (bass)
Drummer/composer Harris Eisenstadt will be in residence at Brooklyn’s Ibeam Music Studio every Saturday night in March. “Eisenstadt is strong proof that jazz is still young and growing,” declared L.A. Weekly’s Greg Burk. Critics have called him “a rising presence as a composer of note” (Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com), “vital and increasingly influential” (Glenn Astarita, jazzreview.com) and “one of the most creative and skilled musician/composers incorporating traditional material to create new and vital improvised music” (Robert Iannapollo, AllAboutJazz-New York). The Village Voice’s Jim Macnie adds, “He’s perpetually building new ensembles to suit the variety of music he hears in his head—that’s what composers do.”
One of only a handful of drummers equally well known for his work as a composer, Eisenstadt is among the most versatile and prolific musicians of his generation. His eclectic resume includes studies with some of the most respected names in both improvised music and West African drumming, and performances in genres ranging from film and theater to poetry and dance to contemporary classical and opera. Most active in jazz and improvised music, as both an in-demand sideman and a bandleader, he has performed all over the globe, earned commissions from organizations such as Meet The Composer and the American Composers Forum, and appeared on more than 35 recordings over the past decade. His latest, Guewel (Clean Feed, 2008), was named one of the year’s best in publications such as AllAboutJazz.com, Time Out New York, and the Village Voice. harriseisenstadt.com
Nate Wooley Trio
Nate Wooley – Trumpet
Adam Linson – Bass
Harris Eisenstadt – Drums
Nate Wooley grew up in a fishing and lumber town in Oregon. He began playing trumpet professionally at age 13 with his father’s big band, but quickly began adding “outside” influences to his knowledge of jazz. After a brief and painful stint in Denver, Nate moved to Jersey City where he is in demand as a collaborator with such diverse improvisers/composers as Tony Malaby, Steve Beresford, Paul Lytton, Anthony Braxton, Wolf Eyes, Akron/Family, and David Grubbs. His own solo trumpet work has been described as “exquisitely hostile” by Massimo Ricci of Touching Extremes Magazine (Italy). Adam Linson, double bassist, improvisor, composer, born in Los Angeles, currently based in Berlin. Also develops real-time interactive music software for live performance as heard on his solo album for double bass and electronics “Cut and Continuum” (psi, 2006)
Friday, March 13th
CHARLES EVANS / NEIL SHAH DUO (MULLIGAN AND MONK)
Charles Evans – baritone saxophone
Neil Shah – Piano
This duo represents the culmination of a longstanding friendship and musical partnership that dates back to growing up in the woods of Pennsylvania. After meeting ironically at a basketball camp in the 8th grade, Charles Evans and Neil Shah both attended The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where they rapidly advanced their musical talents. 10 years later, they find themselves reunited in NYC with a fresh approach; ballad and introspective playing using dense, 20th century classical harmonies, as well as jazz and free-jazz influences.
LANGUAGE OF:
Charles Evans – Baritone saxophone
Peter Evans – Trumpet
Moppa Elliott – Bass
Jan Roth – Drums
The music of the Language Of alternates between microtonal contra-facts and free-jazz compositions. Both horn players are intensely interested in the technical possibilities of their respective instruments, producing compositions and improvisations that require virtuosic execution. Solos often combine elements of the bebop tradition and extended instrumental techniques nearly simultaneously. These adventures are accompanied by a swinging but highly interactive rhythm section. The Language Of has two CD’s to their name, It Needs It, (2005) and No Relation (2006). Their latest showcases their concept of sharing the compositional role and exploiting the possiblities of unrelated, inconsistent material. They accomplish this through the use of free-jazz and complexity supplied by Peter and micro-tonal bebop and tradition from Charles.
Saturday, March 14th
Harris Eisenstadt Large Group (See March 7th)
Tony Barba Trio
Tony Barba-tenor sax, bansuri, melodica & fx
Rob Jost-electric bass & French horn
Brook Marinez-drums & percussion
The Tony Barba Trio is two trios in one. Besides stating the number of personnel, the “trio” is also referring to the preference of instruments that I am choosing to play. Each instrument lets me move between styles and forms of music that I love with greater ease and transparency. The choice to process these sounds live also lets me move into the realm of psychedelic rock and pop and more away from the traditional “tenor trio” sound. In this way, I feel I get to cover a lot of my eclectic tastes while also creating an original sound.
Tony Barba has been living in New York City since 1997 and is a graduate of the NYU jazz program, where he studied with such teachers as George Garzone and Ralph Lalama. Tony has performed in the United States, Europe, and Canada with such artists as Andrew Hill, Tony Malaby, Ben Monder, David Murray, Angelica Sanchez, Al Vizutti, Tony Scherr, Steven Bernstein, Satoko Fujji, Herb Robertson, Oscar Noriega, Andrew D’Angelo, Ellery Eskelin, Shane Endsley, Matt Moran, Joe Fiedler, the Youngblood Brass Band, the Violent Femmes, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Currently Tony is leading his own trio and the Barbarian Horde, and is also a member of Josh Roseman’s Extended Constellations, The Brooklyn Qawwali Party, the Sugartone Brass Band, the Jeff Davis Group, and the Jeremy Carldstedt Quintet.
Friday, March 20th
Brian Drye’s “Scopa Trio
Vinnie Sperrazza – Drums
Geoff Kraly – Bass
Brian Drye – Trombone
Vinnie, Matt and Geoff
Vinnie Sperrazza and Geoff Kraly team up with Matt Blostein (saxophone) for an evening of new music. Guests TBA
Saturday, March 21st
Harris Eisenstadt Large Group (See March 7)
Sean Moran’s Small Elephant
Mike Mcginnis – Clarinet
Reuben Radding – Bass
Vinnie Sperrazza – Marimba
Harris Eisenstadt – Drums
Sean Moran – Acoustic Guitar and Compositions
Guitarist and composer Sean Moran has worked with artists such as Steve Wilson, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Teo Macero, Ron McLure, and John Dʼearth. He has performed and recorded with “Bift” and “Twelve 20 Six” for NCM East Records, vocalist Andrew Thompson, Allison Tartalia, One Ring Zero, and Alvin Walker (of the Count Basie Orchestra). Sean has served as faculty member at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music teaching jazz, guitar and composition. He recently completed a piece for the Soundclock contemporary music ensemble that was performed at Merkin Concert hall. Sean studied music at Virginia Commonwealth University and New York University.
Friday, March 27th
Lisa Mezzacappa Trio
Lisa Mezzacappa – Bass
Kris Davis – Piano
Harris Eisenstadt – Drums
Lisa Mezzacappa combines improvisation and composition through her projects as a double bassist, composer, curator, and collaborator. She has studied with Michael Formanek, Peter Spaar, Henry Threadgill, Steve Coleman, John D’earth, Sun Ra Arkestra, Bob Moses, Art Baron, Meredith Monk, Terry Riley and David Murray, among others. Lisa has performed at countless Bay Area venues, including Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SFMOMA, the de Young Museum in San Francisco, the Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle, and the Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada.
She currently performs in nearly a dozen original jazz, pop, and chamber ensembles in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives. Current projects include Before and After, Lisa’s new garage jazz quartet; duo B., a drums and bass duo with Jason Levis; Aaron Bennett’s free jazz-meets-metal band Go-Go Fightmaster, the trombone reggae band Joseph’s Bones; Nathan Clevenger’ Giuffre-esque Clevenger Three; Scott Larson’s ska-roots ensemble Franco Nero; Aaron Novik’s minimalist psychedelia project Kipple; and his chamber pop band Floating World; Phillip Greenlief’s cinema noir trio Citta di Vitti; Cory Wright’s creative jazz trio Green Mitchell; and assorted Graham Connah groups. lisamezzacappa.com
Emma Alabaster
Emma Alabaster – bass, voice
Jim Bertini- drums
Alex Carter- tenor sax
Jonathan Nocera- guitar
with special guests – Ian Turner- laptop, voice and Hana Malia- voice
“In the Third Generation the Daughters Are Free”:
Emma Alabaster’s ambitious debut album can be described best as a modern jazz concept album. Directing her attention on her family history and the social implications therein, The Third Generation explores the past with delicacy and maturity. Emma’s work is not only engaging, it effortlessly bridges the many gaps that have splintered improvised music in the American music scene. Classic bop balladry, contemporary harmony, aggressive downtown aesthetics; all play an important role in this work. All the compositions are original, yet nostalgic references peer through Alabaster’s heady mix. Playing the bass and singing simultaneously, this music is clearly an extension of the artist’s conception. The Third Generation also boasts intense spoken word delivery from Emma herself as well as musician/composer Ian Turner. Turner also contributes live laptop improvisation with the band on one track and forms a vocal trio with Emma and singer Rachel Sanders on another. However, the core of the album resides in the close interplay between Emma and her sympathetic band, which is held together by the muscular rhythms of drummer Jim Bertini, and is rounded out by tenor saxophonist Alex Carter, and electric guitarist Jonathan Nocera. In the Third Generation the Daughters Are Free carefully balances Emma Alabaster’s conceptual framework with the freedom of pure improvisation.
Saturday, March 28th
Harris Eisenstadt Large Group (See March 7th)
Supporting Group TBA
February 2009
All sets at 9 & 10 pm.
Suggested donation is $10.
Friday, February 6th
BRIAN DRYE’S SCOPA TRIO
Brian Drye – Trombone
Vinnie Sperrazza – Drums
Geoff Kraly – Bass
Trombonist Brian Drye’s “Scopa Trio” features Geoff Kraly on electric bass and Vinnie Sperrazza on drums. The trio has been performing since 2002 and while they have never performed in the South China Sea, the name “Scopa” was discovered there after a brief encounter with an Italian Count and a lawyer from Beijing.
Brian has toured Japan, Eastern Europe, Turkey and the U.S. with original music groups, klezmer bands, rock bands and improvisation ensembles. He has performed with Frank London of the Klezmatics, John Hollenbeck, ABC Television’s Hit Series “My Kind of Town”, The Brooklyn Qawwali Party, Slavic Soul Party, Matt Darriau and Clark Terry.
MATT BLOSTEIN and VINNIE SPERRAZZA BAND
Matt Blostein- alto
Jesse Stacken- piano
Geoff Kraly- bass
Vinnie Sperrazza- drums
It was a similar set of musical ideals that led Matt Blostein and Vinnie Sperrazza to seek an outlet for merging their individual artistic visions. Having met in the summer of 2002 while attending the Banff Summer Jazz Workshop, Matt and Vinnie pursued a musical collaboration upon returning to New York City.
Matt and Vinnie are seen regularly on the NYC jazz circuit, along with the other BSQ members, and have performed at venues including Birdland, Smoke, the 55 Bar, Smith’s, Cornelia Street Cafe, Marie’s Jazz Club and the Knitting Factory. In 2003 and 2004, they completed East coast tours with the band, making stops in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Toronto. Their jazz festival appearances include the Cape Cod, Utica and Clarion Jazz Festivals.
To learn more, visit their website.
Friday, February 13th
OSCAR NORIEGA/LOREN STILLMAN DUO
Oscar Noriega – Saxophones/Clarinet
Loren Stillman – Saxophone
An Arizona native of Mexican origin, Oscar Noriega began playing the saxophone at the age of ten. His first professional experience was performing in a ranchera group with his four brothers. Performing with this group, Hermanos Jovel, led Oscar to realize that music was his true calling.
Oscar has lived in Brooklyn since 1992, where he is constantly active in New York’s downtown jazz world. He plays regularly in a wide range of contexts, at such clubs as the Knitting Factory, Tonic, Birdland, and Visiones. Groups that Oscar leads include Play Party, featuring Cuong Vu, Brad Shepik, and Tom Rainey, and the Oscar Noriega Quartet. In addition to his work as a leader, Oscar is a member of the quartet Unit X, and of Sideshow, a collective that reinterprets the works of Charles Ives. Sideshow was named best repertory ensemble of the year (1999) in the Village Voice.To read more about Oscar, visit his website.
MATT BLOSTEIN and VINNIE SPERRAZZA BAND
Matt Blostein- alto
Mike McGinnis- tenor, soprano, clarinet
Jacob Sacks- piano
Geoff Kraly- bass
Vinnie Sperrazza- drums
Friday, February 20th
DAVE SCOTT with…
Russ Lossing- piano
John Hebert- bass
Billy Mintz- drums
Dave Scott has been composing for and performing with his own jazz quintet and also has a new project featuring violin, piano, guitar, bass and drums. He is recognized in the New York jazz community as a prolific composer and his groups feature his compositions exclusively. Both contain some of New York’s finest jazz musicians, including Rich Perry, Gary Versace, Jeff Williams, John Hebert, Ben Monder and Ted Poor. Dave also co-leads a quartet with tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby. All three ensembles perform regularly in the New York City area, and on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art concert series.
Dave has performed and recorded with Kim Richmond, the Jim Widner Big Band, the Tom Harrell Big Band, Gerry Mulligan at the Newport Jazz Festival, Harvey Wainapel’s Quintet at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and at schools across the U.S. including the Universities of Illinois, Missouri, Texas at Austin, Arizona State, Oregon, Syracuse, Utah, and the California Institute of the Arts.
For more information about Dave, go to his website.
Billy Mintz, whose career has spanned over 40 years currently, is a multi-talented drummer who has worked on a wide range of projects from disco to avant-garde jazz, touring with such diverse artists as Charles Lloyd and Vinny Golia to Gloria Gaynor and Juliet Prowse. His musical experience covers an amazing spectrum of styles, from rock, funk, odd-metered Latin and show tunes, to disco, and the field of jazz where he is an acknowledged master of the drum. In the ’80s and ’90s he contributed to many recordings by the Kim Richmond Ensemble, Mike Garson, and Vinny Golia and also toured Europe with saxophone great Charles Lloyd and performed with the Alan Broadbent Trio.
For more information about Billy, visit his website.
MATT BLOSTEIN and VINNIE SPERRAZZA BAND
Matt moved to New York after being awarded a scholarship to attend Manhattan School of Music. In 2002 he was invited to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland as a competitor in the White Foundation Saxophone Competition. In 2004 Matt toured with the Maynard Ferguson Big Bop Noveau and in 2005 he toured with the Tim Collins Group featuring Ingrid Jensen. He has also worked with internationally known artists including Dave Liebman, Danilo Perez, Bob Mintzer, Dick Oatts, Mark Turner, Kenny Werner, as well as New York musicians such as Jacob Sacks, Aaron Parks and Kim Thompson.
To learn more about them, visit Matt’s website.
Friday February 27th
SHANE ENDSLEY & FRIENDS
Shane Endsley – Trumpet
Friends – TBA
“Jazz keeps slowly widening, and the young trumpeter Shane Endsley is working calmly and effectively at the perimeter.” – NY Times. Shane resides in Brooklyn, NY, where he is steadily building his reputation as one of the most unique voices on the trumpet today. Downbeat Magazine named him as one of the “Top 25″ trumpeters of his generation in 2007. A truly modern and dynamic musician, he can be found on recordings ranging from modern instrumentalists Steve Coleman, Dave Binney, and Donny McCaslin, to folk and rock icons like Ani DiFranco, Erin McKeown, and Pearl Jam. Shane is an accomplished drummer and composer who is constantly expanding his musical vocabulary with the rich experiences offered by New York.
To get more information about what Shane is up to. visit his band’s website.
MATT BLOSTEIN and VINNIE SPERRAZZA BAND w/ Special Guest TONY MALABY
Matt Blostein- alto
Jacob Sacks- piano
Eivind Opsvik- bass
Vinnie Sperrazza- drums
Tony Malaby- tenor sax
Originally from Tucson, Arizona, Tony Malaby has been permanently based in New York since 1995 and a member of many notable jazz groups including Charlie Haden’s Liberation Orchestra, Paul Motian’s Electric Bebop Band, Mark Helias’ Open Loose, Fred Hersch’s quintet and Walt Whitman project, Michell Portal’s Birdwatcher, various projects with Daniel Humair and bands led by Mario Pavone, Tim Berne, Chris Lightcap, Kris Davis, Angelica Sanchez, Michael Attias and Marty Ehrlich.
His debut CD “Sabino” made the NY Times and Philadelphia City Paper’s top ten jazz lists for 2000. He has a new release, “Tamarindo” with bassist William Parker and Nasheet Waits on drums. His other releases include: “Adobe”, featuring Drew Gress and Paul Motian; “Apparitions” featuring Tom Rainey, Mike Sarin, and Drew Gress; and “Alive in Brooklyn Vol. 1 and 2″ featuring Angelica Sanchez and Tom Rainey. Tony leads several projects of his own including: The Tony Malaby Cello Trio, featuring Chicago cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and percussionist John Hollenbeck, the quartet Paloma Recio (Loud Dove) with Ben Monder, Eivind Opsvik and Nashhet Waits, and the trio Tamarindo, featuring bassist William Parker and Nasheet Waits on drums. Tony co-leads the Malaby Sanchez Rainey Trio.
For more information about Tony, visit his website.
JANUARY 2009
All shows are a suggested donation of $10
Friday January 9th @ 8pm
BRASS NIGHT @ IBEAM (Curated by Rich Johnson)
WE NEVER SAW THIS COMING
This newly formed trio of Rich Johnson, Russ Johnson, and Kirk Knuffke, all on trumpet, debuts. They are three of NYC’s most adventurous improvisational trumpet players who, individually, have worked with a long list of musical heavyweights including Butch Morris, Kenny Wollesen, John Zorn, Tony Malaby, Dave Douglas, Briggan Krauss, Kenny Wheeler, Benny Golson, Bill Frisell, Richie Beirach, Mark Ribot, Joe Maneri, Oliver Lake, and Anthony Davis.
McINTYRE/WATERS DUO
With Charles Waters on alto saxophone, clarinet, and bass clarinet and Chris McIntyre on trombone and Nord Lead 2, this duo features two very active New York composer/ performers in a multi-instrumental improvisational pairing.
Chris McIntyre plays trombone, composes for projects including TILT Brass, Ne(x)tworks, and 7X7 Trombone Band, and has been heard in groups led by Anthony Coleman, Zeena Parkins, Elliott Sharp, and David First, as well as with SEM Ensemble, The Knights, and Gold Sparkle. Recently he’s been heard on both trombone and Nord synthesizer at Stockhausen at The Stone and the Arthur Russell tribute concerts at The Kitchen.
Charles Waters, a woodwind specialist is a co-founder of comprov ensemble Gold Sparkle Band, a regular member of Adam Rudolph’s Go: Organic Orchestra and William Parker and the Little Huey Creative Orchestra, as well as a leader of various projects presenting his own compositions.
To learn more about McIntyre, visit his personal website.
To get more information about Waters, visit his blog.
Saturday January 10th @ 9pm w/the Duo @ 10 pm
THE YOON SUN CHOI & JACOB SACKS DUO & FRIENDS (Curated by Choi-Sacks)
CHOI-SACKS DUO
This adventurous, experimental improvisational duo is rooted in the jazz tradition, but go beyond the traditional “vocals with piano accompaniment.” Choi, singing, with Sacks on piano are equal voices, playing off each other contrapuntally in a way that defies the conventional expectations for a voice/piano ensemble. The music is a blend of beauty, playfulness, humor and creative improvisation. Their seven-year collaboration has allowed them to develop a unique manner of musical interaction that makes their performances an exciting, memorable experience.
Yoon’s website has information about her as well as her many other groups including the Choi-Sacks Duo.
KHABU DOUG YOUNG WITH FRIENDS
This fun, acoustic, experimental jazz, group features Young on tenor and baritone ukulele for small, intimate concert gatherings. Improvisation of imaginative scores that rival visual art is the main feature of their music, but what creates a unique, memorable experience is the special emphasis put on audience interaction. Listeners are given a copy of the score and encouraged to become improvisational participants.
Listen to his music and learn more at his Myspace, or take a look at what Yeah Yeah Records, his label, has to say and offer.
Friday January 16th @ 8pm
LOYAL LABEL FEST (Curated by Rich Johnson)
JEFF DAVIS – SOLO
Percussionist and composer Jeff Davis, an active member and contributor to the local and international creative music scenes, is sought out for his unique, textural approach to the drum set. “He plays his kit with alert responsiveness, less a traditional rhythm section accompanist, than a creative soloist and spry agitator…” -Troy Collins, All About Jazz. As a featured member of many creative ensembles in New York, Davis has recorded for such labels as Clean Feed, Fresh Sound/New Talent, Green Leaf, Loyal Label, Jazzaway, and innova records. Jeff also performs, tours, and records with a number of amazing musicians and projects, the Kris Davis Quartet, Jesse Stacken Trio, Michael Bates Outside Sources, Kirk Knuffke Quartet, the RIDD Quartet, to name a few. Jeff is currently leading and composing for his own ensemble, featuring New York greats Tony Barba, Kirk Knuffke, Jon Goldberger, Kris Davis, and Eivind Opsvik, who recorded for Davis’ debut CD in June of 2007.
Visit his personal website or his Myspace for more information.
ROLETTA FYNN – SOLO
Rolletta Fynn whose beautifully raspy, soulful voice is accompanied by her equally simple but stunning guitar says she was, “born in Tampa, Florida under the oldest oak tree in the contiguous United States, making for an itchy childhood. She continues, “I was covered in powder and boot straps, but I flew here on a plane all the way to New York, and now I sleep with my head facing north. My mom shelved books and my dad killed bugs but we made it. We made it ours.” She’s making it and making the folksy, country genre hers while still being reminiscent of music of decades past.
Listen to her music and find more information about Roletta on her website.
RICH JOHNSON’S UP THE TURRET MILL w/Opsvik & Jennings
This self described experimental, thrash, folk group based in NYC features Rich Johnson on trumpet and laptop, Eivind Opsvik on lapsteel and bass guitar, Aaron Jennings on guitar. On his first solo release, Johnson explores a mix of trumpet, acoustic guitar, and piano with laptop glitch, and sampling, blending his many influences, from Bob Dylan to Don Cherry, Low to Kenneth Gaburo, Jimmy Giufffre to Fugazi. Many of the songs began as experiments with laptop and electronic-acoustic treatments on the trumpet, and bridge Johnson’s many influences, from free jazz to folk music. Johnson has toured in the US and China, and has appeared at some of NY’s best music venues including the Cornelia Street Cafe, Knitting Factory, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and The Bitter End. He enjoys playing in a wide variety of groups, from British style brass bands, laptop duos, big bands, Brazilian music, brass quintet, and free jazz freak-outs.
Visit Rich’s Myspace to learn and hear more.
Saturday January 17th @ 8pm
LOYAL LABEL FEST (cont.)
JON IRABAGON – I DON’T HEAR NOTHING BUT THE BLUES
Winner of the 2008 Thelonius Monk Competition, Jon Irabagon, plays the blues with his drummer friend Mike Pride. A continuous additive duo, the last instrument to be added is the bass and it probably won’t be heard. “It sounds like a mentally disturbed Sonny Rollins with a guy sound checking on drums.” –Anonymous A new CD is to be released on loyal label early 2009. Jon Irabagon on tenor sax. Mike Pride on drums.
To see more information about Jon and to hear his music, visit his Myspace page.
EIVIND OPSVIK – SOLO
Eivind Opsvik on upright bass. Eivind did his first solo performance at Copenhagen Jazz Festival in the summer of 2008. His second solo show was at the Kennedy Center in December of 2008. This will be his third solo show. “Opsvik’s bass has an aching sound, with his lines plumbing the depths to find almost folk-song-like melodies” -All Music.com
To learn more about Eivind or to listen to his music, go to his Myspace page.
SEABROOK POWERPLANT
Brandon Seabrook on guitar. Tom Blancarte on bass. Jared Seabrook on drums. “Guitarist/ banjo player Brandon Seabrook has made a name for himself applying the latter ax to avant-jazz and experimental contexts. His rousing trio Power Plant combines those aesthetics with gleeful rock bombast” Time Out. There debut record is to be released on Loyal Label, in the spring of this year.
To get more information about Seabrook Powerplant or to hear their music, visit their website.
Friday January 23rd @ 8pm
ACOUSMATICS & VISUALS (Curated by Rich Johnson)
WE CAN BUILD YOU
We Can Build You is the acoustic-electronic improv trio of Jonathan Goldberger on guitar and electronics, Jason Rigby on saxophones and various woodwinds, and Rich Johnson on trumpet, laptop, and live processing. The three met after moving to NYC in the late 90’s and have worked together in various projects since. Electric guitar, samples, tenor saxophone, trumpet/laptop, and an array of woodwinds make up the groups unconventional instrumentation. We Can Build You is a mix of field recordings, ambient electronics, film music, noise rock, free jazz, and more. Each member brings to the table experiences ranging from composing for film, performing with the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, playing in brass bands, to building customized audio software.
To hear them or to learn more, visit their Myspace page.
SAM PLUTA
Sam Pluta is a composer and improviser living in New York City. He plays laptop both as a solo performer and with his two bands, Glissando Bin Laden, an improvising quintet and exclusiveOr, an analog synth/laptop duo. He is the technical director for the NY based ensemble Wet Ink and a faculty member at The Walden School Young Musicians Program, where he is computer music coordinator. His music has been commissioned and performed by groups and performers such as Wet Ink, Dave Eggar, ICE, Prism Quartet, RIOT, Teresa McCollough and Ha-Yang Kim. Pluta’a music is released on Quiet Design, Vox Novus, and Seamus record labels. His most recent release is The Language Of, a compilation of NYC composers on Quiet Design Records. He is a doctoral candidate at Columbia University where he studies composition with George Lewis and Tristan Murail and electronic music with Brad Garton and Douglas Repetto.
To get more information about Sam, visit his website.
Saturday January 24th @ 9pm w/the Duo @ 10 pm
THE YOON SUN CHOI & JACOB SACKS DUO & FRIENDS (Curated by Choi-Sacks)
THE FOUR BAGS
With Mike McGinnison on saxophone and clarinet, Brian Drye on trombone, Jacob Garchik on accordion, and Sean Moran on guitar, the Four Bags is a NYC-based ensemble whose music combines the vibrancy of modern jazz and popular music with the rigor and sophistication of classical chamber music. Besides their unusual instrumentation, much of the group’s individuality results from its adventurous repertoire. Each member also brings a distinct compositional voice to the ensemble, creating a marvelously varied body of original work that transverses jazz, classical and pop with an astonishing array of tonal colors. The result is richly layered performances, which are not only striking and sophisticated, but also highly entertaining.
thefourbags.com
Saturday January 31st @ 8 pm
NATE WOOLEY / IVAR GRYDELAND
Nate Wooley grew up in a fishing and lumber town in Oregon. He began playing trumpet professionally at age 13 with his father’s big band, but quickly began adding “outside” influences to his knowledge of jazz. After a brief and painful stint in Denver, Nate moved to Jersey City where he is in demand as a collaborator with such diverse improvisors/composers as Tony Malaby, Steve Beresford, Paul Lytton, Anthony Braxton, Wolf Eyes, Akron/Family, and David Grubbs. His own solo trumpet work has been described as “exquisitely hostile” by Massimo Ricci of Touching Extremes Magazine (Italy).
Visit his website to learn more about him or go to his Myspace page to hear his music.
Guitarist Ivar Grydeland (b.Trondheim 1976) started his music education degree in the mid-nineties. Having a base as a free jazz artist, Grydeland has continually expanded his experimental style to include new sounds. As a improvisational artist, Grydeland has had the change to play with countless groups, as well as being part of numerous recordings. This fluid approach to musical collaboration might be a condition for the boundary breaking genre this style of music represents. Like many musicians, improvisers, and composers, Grydeland has developed an artistic practice which results in hybrid musical forms, working styles, and genre stretching cooperation. There doesn’t appear to be a deliberate ideological drive behind this development, rather a continual search of music’s communicative possibilities.
One of Grydelands distinguishing features is his work with prepared string instruments. With the use of various metal, plastic, rubber and wooden objects, Grydeland manipulates the strings, sound board, and skin of his instrument (one of his instruments is also a guitar-banjo: a guitar neck with a banjo body). He experiments with various tuning of the instrument with the use of various sympathetic strings to give his instrument new sounds. In this way, Grydeland is able to develop a hybrid style which also includes the string instrument he works with. Using an instrument whose sound is well known, he has mutated and transformed his guitars sound to something unknown.
Go to his website to learn more.
Saturday January 31st @ 9 pm w/the Duo @ 10 pm
THE YOON SUN CHOI & JACOB SACKS DUO & FRIENDS (Curated by Choi-Sacks)
OHAD TALMOR
Talmor performs on tenor sax. Writing in addition to performing, we has composed pieces for the Brecker Brothers, Lee Konitz, Steve Swallow and various Big Bands such as the Matosinhos Jazz Orchestra, Big Band de Lausanne, the European Broadcasting Ensemble as well as music written for leading classical musicians such as Martha Argerich, the Spring String Quartet in Austria and the Axis String Quartet in New York. Talmor is actively involved in writing for new media, which includes music for NPR, the SciFi channel and music for movies. He says, “Music is the expression of the Absolute. Substantiating into sounds our inner reality as being an echo to an universal and unifying Truth. Music shall suffer no preconceptions and must exist beyond all canons. Aiming for the substantiation of Music, in Beauty. Truth is an essential journey; difficult, unique and ever lasting.
Visit his website to learn more about him.
December 19th, 8:00 p.m.
Suggested Donation is $10 for this concert
´´This concert will present Peter Evans and Jon Irabagon (bandmates from
Mostly Other People Do the Killing) each in a horn-bass-drums format. Each trio in some way explore the outer reaches of the ´´standard´´. This will be only the second performance of Irabagon´s epic trio conception, and the first time Evans/Blancarte/Shea meet as a trio.´´
Jon Irabagon Trio (tribute to Sonny Rollins)
Jon Irabagon-saxophone
Peter Brendler-bass
Jeff Davis-drums
Jon Irabagon’s Tribute to Sonny Rollins Trio is made up of Jon Irabagon on saxophone, Peter Brendler on bass, and Jeff Davis on drums. One outlet of Jon’s recent fascination with the art of the extended saxophone solo, the Tribute Trio picks a jazz standard and performs it for 50 – 60 minutes, with the saxophone soloing through the entire piece. http://www.myspace.com/jonirabagon
Peter Evans Trio
PE- trumpet, compositions
Tom Blancarte-bass
Kevin Shea-drums
myspace.com/peterevanstrumpet
Dec 13th at 8:00 p.m.
Live Footage:
Topu Lyo – cello and electronics
Mike Thies – drums and electronics
Slow To Wake:
EJ Fry – drums and electronics
Topu Lyo – cello
Jesse Kotansky – violin
Shane Rettig – keyboards and electronics
Ben Gallina – contrabass
http://www.myspace.com/slowtowake
suggested Donation $10
October 31st at 9:00 p.m.
TYFT:
Hilmar Jensson-guitars,
Jim Black-drums & electronics and
Andrew D’Angelo- reeds & electronics
http://www.myspace.com/hilmarjensson
past events:
Friday, October 3rd at 8:30 pm:
Floriculture and Anthony Coleman
Floriculture
Oscar Noriega clarinets
Stephanie Griffin viola
Carl Maguire piano & compositions
John Hebert bass
Dan Weiss drums
plus
Anthony Coleman solo piano
Admission: $10 suggested
Floriculture gives its first performance since recording its new album for Firehouse 12 in August continue their realizations of his exploratory compositions that have been described by Budd Kopman as “composed sections [which] appear, then blend into the improvisations, which then mutate back into composition. No sharp lines demarcate anything… a major statement of compositional technique and improvisational ability.”
Anthony Coleman is a composer-keyboardist who has performed and recorded throughout the world. His projects include the piano trio Sephardic Tinge, which has released three discs: Sephardic Tinge, Morenica, and Our Beautiful Garden Is Open (all Tzadik) and has performed at the Sarajevo Jazz Festival (with support from Arts International), North Sea Jazz Festival, Saalfelden Festival, and the Krakow and Vienna Jewish Culture Festivals.
More information about Anthony Coleman: www.myspace.com/antcol8
More information about Floriculture: www.carlmaguire.com
Wednesday October 8th
Alex Heitlinger CD Release Party:
Award winning trombonist & composer Alex Heitlinger celebrates the long-anticipated release of his 2nd album as a leader, “The Daily Life of Uncle Roger,” which is lovingly dedicated to his favorite chain-smoking, donkey-owning uncle from North Dakota. He is joined for the occasion by esteemed bandmates Erik Deutsch (keyboards), Mike McGinnis (woodwinds), Matt Holman (trumpet), Matt Clohesy (bass) & Tony Moreno (drums). Jazz writer and composer Darcy Argue describes the group as “very much in the exploratory spirit of Booker Little’s amazing early 60’s sextet” while All About Jazz calls Heitlinger “a composer and player to watch.” Free CD with paid cover!
October 11th
Adam Benjamin (solo piano)
Jacob Sacks/Ben Gerstein Duo
Keyboardist and composer Adam Benjamin presents A Celebration In Song: Part Four! at the new, artist-curated Park Slope performance space IBeam. This eclectic solo piano program will include works of Gershwin, J.S. Bach and Billy Jo Robidoux, and Benjamin’s unique and often absurdist presentations of classic material are sure to thrill and entertain. Bring your pencils, as his audience participation games are challenge even the most resolute humanist.
Adam Benjamin is an eclectic and critically acclaimed pianist, keyboardist, composer and writer based out of Los Angeles, who is recognized as a Rising Star in Jazz in Downbeat magazine’s 2008 critic’s and reader’s polls. He is a founding member of Kneebody, whose latest release is an adaptation of the songs of Charles Ives in collaboration with singer Theo Bleckmann (Winter and Winter, 2009). His latest solo piano album, “Long Gone” (Kind of Blue, 2008) follows his notorious recent Garageband jazz release “It’s a Standard, Standard, Standard, Standard World”. He has toured and recorded extensively with Dave Douglas’ electric band, Keystone. Adam has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, and North Sea Jazz Festival, and has been a guest lecturer and faculty at the Banff International Jazz Workshop, CalArts, University of Southern California, and the School for Improvisational Music.
Jacob Sacks is one of the most creative pianists on the NYC jazz scene today. His strong individual voice has been heard in a variety of settings ranging from the mainstream jazz traditions of the Mingus Big Band and Orchestra to the compositional free jazz style of the Mat Maneri ensemble to the vamp based fusion of Dave Binney’s Balance. Originally from Michigan, Jacob moved to NYC in 1995 to study with Garry Dial at the Manhattan School Of Music. After graduating in 1998, he focused his energies on both performing and teaching music. In the performing arena, Jacob became a member of many different ensembles, recorded several albums, and has toured the United States, Europe, and Canada several times. Along the way, Jacob has had the honor and privilege to perform with musicians such as Clark Terry, Paul Motian, Joe Maneri, Charles Gayle, Eddie Henderson, Christian McBride, Brian Blade, Tony Malaby, Chris Potter, Mark Turner, Ben Monder, Adam Rogers, Kenny Wollesen, Gene Jackson, and Matt Wilson.
October 24th, 8:30 p.m.
Vinnie Sperrazza Group
Drummer Vinnie Sperrazza gained his first professional experiences in the Utica, NY area, before moving to New Jersey to study at William Paterson University. While at William Paterson, he met and began working with the great pianist James Williams, starting a musical relationship that lasted until Mr. Williams’ passing in July 2004.
Moving to Brooklyn in 2002, he began involving himself in the borough’s thriving creative music scene, and is currently leading two projects. The Vinnie Sperrazza-Matt Blostein Band features original music and draws on a diverse array of musical styles and experiences. Their first album was released in January 2008 on the Ann Arbor-based Envoi Recordings label. Watch for a release of a trio recording with bassist Dave Ambrosio and pianist Jacob Sacks on Fresh Sound Records in August 2008. http://www.myspace.com/vinniesperrazzadrums
Lady Clown in Residency:
Fridays in August and September
www.ladyclown.com for more information