Avant Music News

New Haven’s Firehouse 12 is proud to announce the schedule of performers for its 2010 Spring Jazz Series beginning March 26th. This is the fifth annual edition of the series, which will continue to present concerts each of the following Friday nights through June 11th. Each event takes place in the unusually intimate setting of the venue’s acoustically engineered recording studio, which the New York Times‘ Nate Chinen recently called “the preeminent spot for improvised music in the region.”

2010 Spring Jazz Series Schedule:

03/26 :: Caliente! Circle Around the Sun
04/02 :: Adam Rudolph’s Moving Pictures
04/09 :: Myra Melford’s Happy Whistlings
04/16 :: Playdate
04/23 :: Armen Donelian Group
04/30 :: Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up
05/07 :: Dan Weiss Trio
05/14 :: Marcus Strickland Trio
05/21 :: Jean-Michel Pilc Trio
05/28 :: Fay Victor Ensemble
06/04 :: Peter Madsen Trio
06/11 :: Myron Walden Momentum

Performances will consist of two individually ticketed sets at 8:30 and 10:00 p.m. Those tickets are $18 and $12 respectively, and can be purchased online, by phone at (203) 785-0468, or in person at the box office beginning at 7:00 p.m. the night of the show (subject to availability). A limited amount of season passes good for admission to both sets of every concert are also available for $175. Firehouse 12 is located at 45 Crown Street in New Haven’s historic Ninth Square District. Learn more at http://firehouse12.com

Monday 1
Buffalo Collision

A compelling dream ticket comprising two generations of improvisors from different corners of the jazz world.

Long-time collaborators, saxophonist Tim Berne and cellist Hank Roberts are legends of the NYC Downtown music scene, while pianist Ethan Iverson and drummer Dave King are members of The Bad Plus who grew up listening to Berne and Roberts.

Bad Plus are a trio that produce relatively structured music, while Berne and Roberts are long-established collaborators in freer music. The music Buffalo Collision play is all improvised but has a definite character of its own – funky, fractured, lyrical and beautiful.

‘The Buffalos veer from fragmented abstraction to near-funky Philly grooving, working on an engaging tension between these two traits, each constantly jostling for dominance’ (AllAboutJazz).

*Please note that this gig is not eligible for members’ complimentary tickets.

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Wednesday 3
Vijay Iyer / Rudresh Mahanthappa

Pianist Vijay Iyer and alto saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa are long-time collaborators bringing elements of cathartic South Indian music into contemporary free-jazz sensibilities.

*Please note that this gig is not eligible for members’ complimentary tickets.

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Saturday 6
John Etheridge Quartet

At the forefront of the British jazz scene since his days with The Soft Machine in the 70s, guitarist John Etheridge has since worked worked with an endless catalogue of musicians, from Stephane Grappelli to Nigel Kennedy and John Williams as well as developing his own projects such as Zappatisitas.

Tonight the Quartet features the celebrated talents of saxophonist Julian Siegel (BBC Jazz musician of the year), Dudley Phillips – bass player extraordinaire and Mark Fletcher – London’s most in-demand drummer. High–voltage, contemporary music with an edge. Not to be missed!

‘The bottom line is, he’s a cool geezer, very funny, and a superb guitarist. Definitely someone to have a few beers with and a natter’ (Jonathan Hepbir).

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Wednesday 10
Claudia Quintet + 1

A versatile band that deserves mention among the top ensembles in jazz today, percussionist John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet explores the tenuous boundaries between jazz, classical, and rock – an amalgamation of Downtown compositional intricacies, post-minimalist classical technique, and a contemporary post-rock instrumental vibe, along with a healthy dose of non-Western concepts.

With acoustic bass and drum kit as its foundation, the addition of accordion and vibraphone make for an intriguingly rich instrumental colour blend when combined with either woody clarinet or breathy tenor sax.

In lesser hands, this instrumental assemblage would have an almost nostalgically folksy air to them, but as employed by this group, they sound strangely futuristic.
Matt Mitchell

Pianist Matt Mitchell has pursued an interest in both composed and improvised music and of classical, jazz and electronic music, performing throughout the United States and Europe.

In addition to being a current member of Tim Berne’s Adobe Probe, he has performed with a number of musicians including Ralph Alessi, Drew Gress, Tom Rainey and Jim Black.

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Sunday 21
Mopomoso – monthly free improvisation night

Back in its regular third Sunday slot, this month’s Mopomoso concert has four contrasting sets featuring some of the finest free improvisers around today.
Steve Beresford / Ute Kanngieser

Pianist Steve Beresford is much in demand as a collaborator in a multitude of projects, working across the full spectrum from free improvisation through jazz-based material to pop, reggae and MOR songs and on to fully scored music for film and dance. He is joined for a first time with London Improvisers Orchestra cellist Ute Kanngieser (AMM and Treehouse).
Pascal Marzan

Paris-based Pascal Marzan is a leading exponent of the nylon strung classical guitar in the world of free improvisation. Through his annual ‘Roc de Choc’ festival and monthly concert series he is also responsible for encouraging the development of the music in France. A dynamic musician, his music moves between small delicate sounds to orchestral-like textures and is never anything less than engaging.
The Alan Wilkinson trio

Saxophonist Alan Wilkinson has been blowing up a storm with this trio with – a hard-hitting, energetic music to warm the cockles! In the company of two of the best musicians in the country – Pat Thomas (piano) and Mark Sanders (drums) ably helping to stoke up the temperature, this group’s music is full of wit and nothing less than a real celebration of the human spirit. Impossible not to be moved!
John Russell / Paul G Smyth

Paul G Smyth (piano) is Ireland’s leading improviser, and he has played and toured with a.o Charles Gayle, Derek Bailey, Keiji Haino, Evan Parker, Barry Guy and Damo Suzuki.

Outside of improvisation, his group The Jimmy Cake was described in The Irish Times as being ‘the most powerful musical force in Ireland’.

He is joined by an old partner, Mopomoso boss and renowned guitarist John Russell, for a duo that first performed in 2000 at the Project festival in Dublin.

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Tuesday 23
Book online 7.30 (£12) | Book online 10.30pm (£10)
Hairy Bones

An emphatically top-draw international free-improv group that has wowed audiences across Europe. Featuring Peter Brotzmann (saxophones), Toshinori Kondo (trumpet, electronics), Massimo Pupillo (electric bass) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums).

*Please note that this gig is not eligible for members’ complimentary tickets.

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Wednesday 24
Book online 7.30 (£12) | Book online 10.30 (£10)
Hairy Bones

As Tuesday.

*Please note that this gig is not eligible for members’ complimentary tickets.

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Thursday 25
Evan Parker invites Brand / Graewe / Sanders

Saxophonist Evan Parker’s monthly free improvisation residency with guests
Gail Brand (trombone), Georg Graewe (piano) and Mark Sanders (drums).

Georg Graewe has worked with some of the best performers in avant-garde jazz, contemporary, and improvised music from around the world. Gail Brand, described by Time Out as, ‘..one of the most passionate and dynamic musicians alive’ has developed a close musical rapport with Mark Sanders, one of the UK’s finest drummers.

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Tuesday 30
Koby Israelite Band

Hard to pin down, Koby Israelite music is beautiful, heady, rousing and affecting, incorporating Middle Eastern, Balkan and Gypsy with metal overtones. Imagine a lyrical rock band led by an accordion. If you have never heard Koby Israelite’s accordion playing – don’t miss this opportunity.

With Yaron Stavi (upright and el. bass), Oded Kafri (drums), Rob Terry (keys), Eran Kendler (guitar) and Lucy Randall (vocals).

Thomas Buckner Premieres New Works By
Earl Howard, Matthias Kaul, Eckart Beinke, and Bun Ching Lam

Thursday, February 25, 2010
8PM at Roulette
20 Greene Street (between Canal and Grand)
Earl Howard / Edmund Campion

For more than 40 years baritone Thomas Buckner has dedicated himself to the world of new and improvised music. On February 25 he presents an evening of new works representing longstanding collaborations, including Earl Howard’s Frond, for baritone, violin, bass saxophone, and live electronics, Bun Ching Lam’s Trois Cadeaux, for baritone, harp, and piano, and Matthias Kaul’s Zappa-esque The Mellow Quark. Eckart Beinke’s time stands… wildharrend / Jahrtausende, for Buckner along with the German ensemble L’Art Pour L’Art and tape accompaniment, uses historic textual and musical quotations, from Friedrich Hölderlin and John Dowland up to contemporary daily press and other sounds.

The evening’s performers include the French harpist Isabelle Courret, the German ensemble L’Art Pour L’Art, violinist Mari Kimura violin, bass saxophonist JD Parran, and Earl Howard (providing live electronic processing and electroacoustic sound). The evening will end with the performers taking part in a group improvisation.