Avant Music News

From Portland Eye and Ear Control:

From Ultrapdx: “Curator and dancer Danielle Ross invites a handful of improvising artists and musicians to dig into the on-the-fly creative process in Up For grabs: An Evening of Improvisation Tuesday, April 27 at 9 PM atValentine’s (232 SW Ankeny). The evening includes work by Lena Munday (sound), David Bryant (film), Tim DuRoche and Reed Wallsmith (sound), Danielle Ross and Jean Paul Jenkins (sound/movement), Karl Lind (video), Nathan Warner (movement), and Future Death Toll (sound). I don’t know all of the performers but I can tell you that Lind has been working on a series of street videos at least one of which nearly got him into a fight, Jean-Paul Jenkins is one of Portland’s most interesting musical improvisors with a wide palette of sound, DuRoche and Wallsmith (percussion and sax) have an ongoing and rich musical dialogue with roots in a jazz tradition, Warner comes to movement from a lit. background, and FDT improvises with sounds at a sonic frequency that just might recalibrate your heartbeat.”

From LA’s REDCAT:

April 30, 2010 – May 1, 2010 | 8:30 pm
Les Espaces Acoustiques and Beyond: New Music after Grisey

http://www.redcat.org/event/les-espaces-acoustiques

Exploring both the roots and enduring legacy of spectral music, this revelatory two-night showcase opens with the first-ever U.S. performance, in its entirety, of French iconoclast Gérard Grisey’s magnum opus, Les Espaces Acoustiques. The six-part cycle written between 1974 and 1985 became a touchstone for spectralism, a movement that sought to reconnect music with the full spectrum of sound, from consonance to noise. Pioneered by Grisey and Tristan Murail of the collective L’Itinéraire, this genre notably reconceived harmonic space in terms of sonic timbre and used electronic music techniques to manipulate live acoustic performance.

May 5, 2010 | 8:30 pm
Party for Betty!

http://www.redcat.org/event/party-betty

This special concert celebrates the legacy of the late philanthropist, photographer and writer Betty Freeman, without question the most significant American advocate for contemporary classical music in the second half of the 20th century. Freeman having given some 450 grants and commissions to composers such as John Cage, Lou Harrison, La Monte Young, Morton Feldman, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, John Adams and Pierre Boulez, this one night only event will feature repertoire by Cage, Feldman, Harrison, Partch, Reich, Earle Brown, György Kurtág, Helmut Lachenmann, Conlon Nancarrow, and James Tenney. Performers include Paul Berkolds, Jacqueline Bobak, Clay Chaplin, Stuart Fox, Danny Holt, Ulrich Krieger, Andrew McIntosh, John Schneider’s ensemble Partch, Mark Trayle and others.

May 16, 2010 | 7:00 pm
Ring Festival LA: Considering Wagner

http://www.redcat.org/event/considering-wagner

This night of contemporary music and film unfolds in four acts that touch on different aspects of the composer’s life, work and place in history: his musical and theatrical innovations, his über-expressionist concept of art, his preoccupation with Norse-Germanic mythology, his outsize personality, specific passages in his operas, and—not least—some of the ways in which creative practice has developed since his time. The multilayered program features work by former Villa Aurora resident composers Peter Ablinger, Marko Ciciliani and Ulrich Krieger, additional compositions by Mark Menzies, Marc Sabat and Wolfgang von Schweinitz, and films by Peter Rappmund and Meason Wiley.

June 2, 2010 – June 3, 2010 | 8:30 pm
Partch: Even Wild Horses

http://www.redcat.org/event/partch-0

Outfitted with an amazing array of custom-built microtonal instruments, the ensemble directed by John Schneider continues its ongoing survey of the profound music of Harry Partch. The group’s performances at REDCAT this year center on two pieces by Partch and his friend and fellow maverick Lou Harrison that celebrate indigenous American cultures: Partch’s Cloud Chamber Music, performed by the full ensemble, is a setting of a Zuni chant; Harrison’s Canticle #3, for ocarina, guitar and a battery of percussion instruments, explores the music of Pre-Columbian Mexico. Also on the program is the West Coast debut of Anne LeBaron’s Southern Ephemera, Madeline Tourtelot’s short film Rotate the Body in All Its Planes, and Partch’s Even Wild Horses—Dance Music for an Absent Drama.

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From Rise Up Creative Music & Arts:

April 26

8PM – Undetermined. Destination.
Fay Victor – Voice
Simon Jermyn – Guitar
Ken Filiano -Bass

9PM – Ikue Mori / Jim Staley / Kyoko Kitamura
Ikue Mori – Electronics
Jim Staley – Trombone
Kyoko Kitamura – Voice & laptop

10PM – Daniel Levin Quartet
Daniel Levin – Cello
Nate Wooley – Trumpet
Matt Moran – Vibes
Peter Bitenc – Bass

Select shows coming to The Stone:

May 2010 at the Stone
curated by Henry Kaiser / Susie Ibarra and Roberto Rodriguez

MAY 1 thru MAY 8
HENRY KAISER Presents…
Curated by Henry Kaiser
A special week of events curated by the legendary experimental guitarist, research diver, filmmaker Henry Kaiser. Included will be his first-ever performance with a NY comedian also named Henry Kaiser, some unlikely pairings, a lecture on Antarctica and plenty of guitar fireworks.

5/1 Saturday (NY)
8 pm
Henry Kaiser and Cookie the Clown
Henry Kaiser (guitar) Cookie the Clown (balloon twisting)

10 pm
FACE
Krista Amigone, Henry Jacob Kaiser, Roy Koshy, T.J. Mannix, and Duncan Murdoch (acting, singing) Ben Gallina (bass) Henry John Kaiser (guest guitar) David Moore (drums) J.P. Schlegelmelch (piano) Josh Rutner (sax)
FACE continues to bring to art of improvisation to the forefront of theater in New York City. FACE features a 5-piece jazz band that creates, from a single audience suggestion, an original score on the spot while five actors weave a fully improvised show of music, comedy, and dramatic theater. See faceimprov.com for more information.

5/2 Sunday (JM)
10 pm
Two Guitars, Bass and Drums
Henry Kaiser, Alan Licht, Charles K. Noyes, Weasel Walter

MONDAY MAY 3—STONE SEMINAR 18
DR.SAM BOWSER—Ice Labyrinth
7PM to 830PM—TEN DOLLARS: Open to All.
Renowned Antarctic scientist Dr. Sam Bowser. http://icelabyrinth.blogspot.com/ speaks about the collaboration of Art and Science in Antarctica; as well as the secret lives of forams. His loyal research diver Henry Kaiser plays guitar to their underwater Antarctic videos.

(MP)

5/4 Tuesday (YT)
10 pm
Mary Halvorson and Elliott Sharp
Mary Halvorson, Elliott Sharp (guitars)

5/5 Wednesday (NY)
8 pm
Martino Atangana and Leni Stern Duo
Martino Atangana, Leni Stern (guitars)

10 pm
Martino Mtangana and Leni Stern Duo plus Senegal bass and African Percussion
Martino Atangana, Leni Stern (guitars) Mamadou Ba (bass) Makane Kouyate (calebash) Harvie Wirth (drums)

5/6 Thursday (JI)
8 pm
Henry Kaiser, Henry Kaiser, John Zorn and Marc Ribot
Henry Kaiser (acoustic guitar) Henry Kaiser (comedy) Marc Ribot (acoustic guitar) John Zorn (sax)

10 pm
Henry Kaiser and Marc Ribot
Henry Kaiser (electric guitar) Marc Ribot (electric guitar)

5/8 Saturday (JC)
8 pm
Robert Dick and Henry Kaiser Duo
Robert Dick (flute) Henry Kaiser (acoustic guitar)

10 pm
Robert Dick, Henry Kaiser, Mari Kimura, and Sang Won Park
Robert Dick (flute) Henry Kaiser (electric guitar) Mari Kimura (violin) Sang Won Park (kayagum, ajaeng, changgo)

MAY 9 thru MAY 20
SUSIE IBARRA
Curated by Susie Ibarra
Susie has booked a fabulous series of sets featuring friends old and new.

5/9 Sunday (CB)
8 pm
Ikue Mori Solo—Class Insecta
Ikue Mori (electronics, visuals)
Ikue will present her latest work “Kibyoshi” with live animation

joined by Mark Nauseef, rare US performance.

10 pm
Mephista
Ikue Mori (laptop) Susie Ibarra (drums, percussion) Sylvie Courvoisier (piano)

MONDAY MAY 10—STONE SEMINAR 19
DAVE DOUGLAS—The Music of Masada
7PM to 10PM—THIRTY DOLLARS: Open to musicians on any instrument.
Trumpeter in various MASADA ensembles since 1993, Douglas talks about and demonstrates some of the unique performance issues raised in this celebrated book of compositions by John Zorn. The group will work on several pieces from the book in differing ensemble formations, illuminating ideas about performance practice and limning the knowns and unknowns in the pages of the MASADA book. For those interested in an inside look at this music, this will be a challenging and fun hands-on experience. Please arrive on time and bring your instrument.

(DS)

5/12 Wednesday (NY)
8 and 10 pm
The Mulato Insurgency-P O E M A S y C A N C I O N E S
Roberto Rodriguez (percussion, vocals) Brad Jones (bass, vocals) Igor Arias Baro (congas, lead vocals) Anthony Coleman (piano, organ, trombone, voices)
The Mulato Insugency- Creole, mulato, a notion that is defined by primitive ritual and the improvisational forces that merge in a given place and surface as a syncretic manifestation. Guillen/Rodriguez

5/13 Thursday (KR)
8 pm
John Lindberg Solo Bass Performance
John Lindberg (bass)
New and old original solo works by the composer/performer.

10 pm
John Lindberg’s TriPolar
Don Davis (reeds) Kevin Norton (percussion) John Lindberg (doublebass)

5/14 Friday (JM)
8 pm
Masaoka,Waterman + Takeishi do Miniatures
Miya Masaoka (koto) Alex Waterman (cello) Satoshi Takeishi (percussion)
Masaoka,Waterman + Takeishi do Miniatures: concise pieces composed and improvised collaboratively.

10 pm
Electric Kulintang
Roberto Rodriguez, Susie Ibarra (percussion, electronics, voice)

5/15 Saturday (RK)
8 pm
Pauline Oliveros Duets
Pauline Oliveros (digital accordion) Susie Ibarra (percussion)

10 pm
Pauline Oliveros
Pauline Oliveros (digital accordion, Ione spoken word/sonic vocals)

5/16 Sunday (CB)
8 and 10 pm
Percussion Concert Benefit for the Stone
Susie Ibarra (drums) Roberto Rodriguez (percussion) Ikue Mori (electronics) Sylvie Courvoisier (piano) and many special guests.
Come down to our monthly rent party and help The Stone stay afloat! TWENTY DOLLARS

MONDAY MAY 17—STONE SEMINAR 20
WILLIAM PARKER—Finding the Self Sound: Unlocking the voice of music…
7PM to 930PM—TWENTY DOLLARS: Open to All.
The class will include an introductory lecture, a Q&A plus a musical presentation with the students. Musicians should bring their instruments.

5/19 Wednesday (SK)
8 pm
Matthew Welch’s Blarvuster—”The Mosaic of Iridescence”
Matthew Welch (bagpipes, sax, voice) Leah Paul (flutes, sax) Max Mandel (viola) Mary Halvorson (electric guitar) Ian Riggs (electric bass) Tomas Fujiwara (drums)
A new monolythic, concert length piece called “The Mosaic of Iridescence”—exploring new subtleties of coloration, increased contrapuntal densities and rhythmic complexities for Blarvuster.

5/20 Thursday
8 pm
David Baron and Roberto Rodriguez
David Baron (electronics, keyboards) Roberto Rodriguez (electronics, percussion)

10 pm
Ofer Assaf “Hall of Light” Quintet
Ofer Assaf (sax) Jeff Miles (guitar)
Peter Slavov (bass) Dan Pugach (drums) Ouail Aboulhassane (tabla, percussion)
Ofer Assaf is a jazz saxophonist and composer, and has performed with a wide range of artists including Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock in Carnegie Hall as part of the JVC jazz festival. His debut album “Tangible Reality” ranked in JazzWeek Chartbound’s top fifty. Ofer will present his latest project “Hall of Light,” inspired by Middle-Eastern, North-African, Jazz and Funk influences.

MAY 20 thru MAY 30
A FESTIVAL OF ISRAELI JAZZ
Curated by Roberto Rodriguez
New York has become a mecca for many young Israeli musicians, and percussionist/composer Roberto Rodriguez has focused his tenure at The Stone on New York’s thriving Israeli New Jazz scene. A fabulous week of music featuring some of the most exciting young players now living in New York!

5/21 Friday (KR)
8 pm
Uri Gurvich Quartet
Uri Gurvich (saxes) Leo Genovese (piano) Peter Slavov (bass) Francisco Mela (drums)
The Quartet released last year their debut, “The Storyteller” on Tzadik records, Radical Jewish Culture series. At their Stone performance, they will present new works by Gurvich. www.urigurvich.com

10 pm
Reut Regev
Reut Regev (trombone) David Phelps (guitars) Mark Peterson (bass) Igal Foni (drums)
Trombonist Reut Regev and drummer Igal Foni will be joined by the R*time gang to play some newer as well as some older R*time repertoire. Yep!

5/22 Saturday
8 pm
Uri Sharlin-DogCat
Uri Sharlin (accordion) Kyle Sanna (guitar) Gill Sharett (bassoon) Rich Stein (percussion) John Hadfield (percussion) Gilad Harel (bass clarinet)
A whole new program written specially for this evening. Featuring Gilad Harel.

10 pm
Avishai Cohen
Avishai Cohen (trumpet) Mark Tumer (tenor sax) Matt Penman (bass) Ari Hoenig (drums)
For this May 22nd performance, Avishai has put together a new repertoire

written specifically for this occasion and these musicians.

MONDAY MAY 24—STONE SEMINAR 21
ROBERTO RODRIGUEZ and SUSIE IBARRA
7PM to 9PM—TWENTY DOLLARS: Open to All.
Roberto and Susie speak about music and interdisciplinary work in the 21st century.

5/25 Tuesday
10 pm
he Rafi Malkiel Ensemble – WATER
Rafi Malkiel (trombone, euphonium, aguaphonium, compositions) Anat Cohen (clarinet) Avishai Cohen (trumpet, aguaphonium) Itai Kriss (flute) Chris Karlic (bass clarinet, tenor sax) Gili Sharett (bassoon) Jack Glottman (piano) Dave Hertzberg (bass) Benny Koonyevsky (drums, percussion) Nestor Gomez (percussion, water) Special guests
Pre CD release party for the new release on Tzadik. Composer and trombonist Rafi Malkiel and his Ensemble are celebrating the release of their Tzadik debut album WATER in a special concert. WATER features all original compositions on the theme of water in its different forms, mixing Middle-Eastern, Eastern-European, Jazz, Classical and Afro-Caribbean elements, and exploring the connection between those traditions and Jewish musical heritage. The unique instrumentation includes six horns and an aguaphonium, a water-wind instrument invented by Rafi. The show takes the listener on a journey through the world of water, continually engaging and surprising with a wide range of dynamics, colors and emotions.

5/27 Thursday (DS)
8 pm
The Oz Noy Project
Oz Noy (guitar)
Exploring guitar sounds through Jazz forms.

5/28 Friday
8 pm
Daphna Mor—East of the River
Daphna Mor (recorder) Nina Stern (recorder) Omer Avital (oud) Uri Sharlin (accordion) Shane Shanahan (percussion)
Internationally renown recorder soloists Mor and Stern have appeared playing as a duo with groups as varied as The New York Philharmonic and world music group Pharaoh’s Daughter. Their latest performances together included performing as soloists in a double concerto in Carnegie Hall, and with St Luke’s Orchestra in the Mostly Mozart Festival. Tonight they collaborate with leading jazz, classical and world music musicians in music from their latest album “East of the River”. Produced by world music producer Jamshied Sharifi, the music includes traditional music from the Balkans, Armenia, and Medieval Italy. www.eastoftherivermusic.com www.daphnamor.com

5/29 Saturday
10 pm
Jonathan Keren/Dan Nadel/Satoshi Takeishi
Jonathan Keren (violin) Dan Nadel (guitar) Satoshi Takeishi (percussion)
An explosive fusion of Flamenco,Balkan Middle Eastern and Klezmer music.

Featuring three virtuoso musicians on flamenco guitar guitar, violin/viola and hand percussion, this trio creates and exotic world music soundscape for the 21st century.

5/30 Sunday (YT)
8 pm
Anat Cohen and Avishai Cohen
Anat Cohen (tenor sax, clarinet) Avishai Cohen (trumpet) Jason Lindner (piano) Matt Penman (bass) Johnathan Blake (drums)

10 pm
Eyal Maoz
Eyal Maoz (guitar) Brian Marsella (keyboards) Shanir Blumenkranz (bass) Yuval Lion (drums)
Where Jazz meets New Wave, and echoes of Joy Division are counterposed with Jewish music, begins the rocking odyssey of Edom.

MONDAY MAY 31—STONE SEMINAR 22
STEVE SWELL—The lost voice among the consumer society chaos and how to become an unsung hero and still have to fight your way upstream to get yourself noticed or “How I Survived My Own Career and Overcame Myself to be Heard.”
7PM to 9PM—TWENTY DOLLARS: Open to All.
A playing workshop/discussion lead by Steve Swell, prolific struggler, trombonist, composer and teacher. presented as a three part free-for-all that includes improvising together, organizing music as compositions and career/metaphysical discussions. Musicians, poets, dancers and audience members are invited to perform and organize sound together and discuss what it is they are really feeling and thinking about sound and what to do with it all. Approaches to performing in the new music arena of New York City and how to build a career out of it and to survive yourself, other musicians and anybody else who may frown on what it is you want to play. Any and all wounds opened.