Tag: San Francisco Bay Area

From Bay Improviser:

Thursday, March 22, 8pm
OutSound presents the Luggage Store New Music Series, this week featuring a set at 8pm with Sarah Elena Palmer (vocals, processing), and at 9pm with Ann/Marianne, featuring Ann O’Rourke (cymbals, drums, found objects, effects) and Marianne Tomita McDonald (Scottish harp). Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market St. (@ 6th St.), San Francisco | $6-10

From CNMAT, Berkeley:

Thursday, March 22, 8pm
CNMAT presents pianist and Regent’s Lecturer Gloria Cheng in a performance, demonstration, and discussion of new works for piano and live electronics. The pieces have been composed for this occasion by UC Berkeley graduate composers Sivan Eldar, Dan Van Hassel, and Jen Wang. CNMAT, University of California Berkeley, 1750 Arch St., Berkeley | Free

From Bay Improviser:

Friday, March 23, 6:30pm
In 1975, California-based Dutch Conceptual artist Bas Jan Ader disappeared under mysterious circumstances at sea while attempting to cross the Atlantic in a small craft. Filmmaker Rene Daalder uses this story as the basis for a sweeping overview of contemporary art and an epic saga of the transformative powers of the ocean in his 2008 film Here is Always Somewhere Else: The Life of Bas Jan Ader. Before the screening, immerse yourself in a recording of ARP’s meditative electronic musical work Odyssey (For Bas Jan Ader). In conjunction with the exhibition State of Mind: New California Art circa 1970. Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley | Free to $7

Friday, March 23, 8pm
Artists’ Television Access presents an evening of electroacoustic audio-visual improvisation with Bill Hsu (electronics, interactive animation), Tony Dryer (contrabass), Jacob Felix Heule (percussion), and special guests from Norway. Artists’ Television Access, 992 Valencia St., San Francisco | $6-10

Friday, March 23, 8pm
Open Sound West at CNMAT presents Jacob Zimmerman’s Lawson and Zachary Watkins’ Positively Right On. The Lawson Ensemble, formed in the fall of 2009, features Jacob Zimmerman (alto sax), Theo Padouvas (trumpet), Rob Ewing (trombone), Michael Coleman and Dan VanHassel (keyboards), and Dan Good (electronics and trumpet). Positively Right On by Zachary James Watkins is a new work written for Ava Mendoza and John Shiurba who are also the performers (electric guitars). CNMAT, University of California Berkeley, 1750 Arch St., Berkeley | $10 / $5 UC Berkeley students

Friday, March 23, 9pm
Free Jazz/Free Punk band, LIBERTAS, will be performing live at The Starry Plough. Also performing will be THE ECONOMEN (MINUTEMAN tribute) and BRIAN KENNY FRESNO. Starry Plough, 3101 Shattuck Ave. (@ Prince), Berkeley |

Saturday, March 24, 1pm
Sculpting Air – Vocal Workshop: Theresa Wong will lead a workshop exploring the voice through raising awareness of the body. During the workshop, the following topics will be explored: using the breath, singing long tones, awareness of body tension, the location of vibration frequencies and creating sounds via focusing awareness on the body. Simple games of conducting via free movement gestures will be used to generate vocal sounds including textures, melodies, text and noises to allow the voice to take flight into its infinite expressive qualities. To reserve a spot, email tree_wong (at) yahoo.com. Berkeley Arts Festival, 2133 University Ave., Berkeley | $30-60 sliding

Saturday, March 24, 4pm
Heavy Disciplne and Good Bellies Cafe present a double bill Saturday, with Aram Shelton (reeds) and Mark Clifford (vibes), along with Retro Blue, a new band with Jim Ryan (vocals, sax, flute) and Esten LIndgren (double bass). Good Bellies Cafe, 4659 Telegraph Ave. (@46th), Oakland | donations encouraged

Saturday, March 24, 8pm
The Swarm Gallery presents an evening with India Cooke (violin) and Cloud Shepherd – Andrew Joron (theremin), Brian Lucas (electric bass/tapes), Joseph Noble (flutes/reeds), Mark Pino (‘cloud kit’ percussion) share their experiences in sonic space travel. Swarm Gallery, 560 2nd Street (Jack London Sq. area), Oakland | sliding scale

From CNMAT, Berkeley:

Saturday, March 24, 8pm
Cal Performances, CNMAT and the Department of Music present the Eco Ensemble, UC Berkeley’s professional performance group dedicated to new music by established and emerging composers. Featured on this evening’s program is Martin Matalon (Tunneling),
Liza Lim (Songs Found in Dream), Aaron Einbond (What the Blind See), and Nico Muhly (Clear Music). University of California Berkeley, Hertz Hall, Berkeley | tickets start at $30, available here

From Yoshi’s, SF

Saturday, March 24, 10:30pm
Yoshi’s San Francisco presents the Eric McFadden Trio, in concert. Thoughout his illustrious career, singer, songwriter and guitarist Eric McFadden has steadfastly rebuked the Sirens of commerce, instead heeding the fearless, uncompromising Muses inside his head. Yoshi’s San Francisco, 1330 Fillmore St., San Francisco | $18

From Bay Improviser:

Sunday, March 25, 4:30pm
ODC Dance Commons will host San Francisco Contemporary Music Players: Contemporary Insights: Music and Conversation, as they perform Katharina Rosenberger’s scatter 2.0.  Scored for flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano and percussion, scatter 2.0 is the ensemble’s first performance of music by this innovative composer. Katharina Rosenberger will visit San Francisco to discuss her work with Steven Schick and the audience at this event, as well as at the pre-concert talk the following evening, Monday, March 26, 8:00 p.m. at Herbst Theatre. ODC Dance Commons, 351 Shotwell Street (between 17th and 18th Streets), San Francisco | $10

Sunday, March 25, 7:30pm
OutSound presents the SIMM Series, featuring at 7:30, the duo of Kyle Bruckmann (oboe, English horn, electronics) and Lance Grabmiller. At 8:30pm, the Mirror Trio (sextet) will perform, featuring Jacob Felix Heule, Tony Dryer & Guro Skumsnes Moe (contrabass), and Håvard Skaset. Musicians Union Hall, 116 9th St. (@ Mission), San Francisco | $10 / $8

From FaceBook:

Monday, March 26, 7pm
Nebraska Mondays at Luna’s Cafe presents the Know Hassell Project with Foothill Jazz Trio. Nebraska Mondays is the weekly underground jazz/electronic/poetic/creative music spot, hosted by Ross Hammond. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento | $5-20 sliding

From Bay Improviser:

Monday, March 26, 8pm
The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players present Zone 4: in which momentum and position co-exist within the physicality of a musical performance. The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, conducted by Artistic Director Steven Schick, will perform a concert of music by Katharina Rosenberger, Brian Ferneyhough, Olly Wilson, Geoffrey Gordon, and Heinz Holliger. Wilson and Rosenberger will participate in a pre-concert talk at 7:15 p.m., hosted by Schick. Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness, San Francisco | $30 / $25 seniors / $10 students box office info

Wednesday, March 28, 7:30pm
Tuesdays at Tom’s Place will host the Barney Childs Festival, evening one of a two-day celebration of his music performed by his students and collaborators. Tuesdays at Tom’s Place, 3111 Deakin St., Berkeley | Free, donations requested

From Bay Improviser:

Thursday, March 15, 8pm
OutSound presents the Luggage Store New Music Series, this week with Guest Curation by Greedmink in a triple bill featuring Rubber (() Cement, Bran…Pos, and Hora Flora. More information about these three acts is available here. Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market St. (@ 6th St.), San Francisco | $6-10 sliding

Thursday, March 15, 8:30pm
El Valenciano will host a three-band Ides Of March Concert, featuring The Tri-Cornered Tent Show, Forward Energy, and Green Alembic. The Tri-Cornered Tent Show is Philip Everett (electrified autoharp), Anthony Flores (drums), Ray Schaffer (electric bass), and Valentina O (voice). Forward Energy features Jim Ryan (flute, saxes, trumpet), Scott R. Looney (piano), Rent Romus (saxes), Eric Marshall (bass), Tim Orr (percussion), and C.J. Borosque (trumpet). Green Alembic is Amber Lamprecht (oboe, flute), Theo Padouvas (trumpet, violin), Jeff Hobbs (alto clarinet, violin, trumpet), Jim Ryan (amplified kalimba, flute, word & image), Bob Marsh (bass), and Sam Ospovat (percussion). El Valenciano Restaurant & Bar, 1153 Valencia St., San Francisco | donations encouraged

Friday, March 16, 6:30pm
Flash back to the early years of BAM/PFA at this celebration of California performance art, presented in conjunction with the exhibition State of Mind: New California Art circa 1970. Three important performance artists revisit works from the early 1970s: Linda Mary Montano meditates in a chicken bed, Jim Melchert does whatever the television tells him to do, and Adam II (the late Paul Cotton) presents “Mystical Body of The Astral-Naught Bride-Groom (Living Sculpture) in Her Present State of Herm-Aphroditic Metamorphosis,” which is exactly what it sounds like. Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley | Free to $7

Friday, March 16, 7:30pm
SOUNDINGS AT THE INSTRUMENTARIUM: the first of two evenings of soundings and resoundings on an array of invented instruments, featuring: Bart Hopkin – a true guru and established authority on invented and homemade acoustic instruments; Todd Lerew (Friday the 16th ONLY) – on the Quartz Cantabile, a new instrument which uses a principle of thermoacoustics to convert heat into sound; David Samas – our host for the evening, and inventor of an array of instruments which utilize and appropriate natural and found objects. At these events he will be premiering several new instruments, including the Mbira Tree Harp, also with Grace Renaud and Ash Ritter playing the Glass Garden. Turquoise Yantra Grotto, email TurquoiseYantraGrotto@hotmail.com for reservations and address | $10-15 sliding

Friday, March 16, 8pm
Voces del Desierto is a multidisciplinary musical composition inspired by the journey of all those who dare to cross borders in search of a better life. This original and eclectic work merges video, performance art, and instruments made from migrants’ personal belongings found at the Mexico/US border with musical instruments of a traditional wind quintet. Voces del Desierto, an original concept and composition by Guillermo Galindo specifically created for Quinteto Latino, features Diane Grubbe (flutes), Kyle Bruckmann (oboe, English horn), Leslie Tagorda (clarinets), Armando Castellano (French horn), and Shawn Jones (bassoon). MACLA / Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, 510 South 1st St., San Jose | $12 advance / $15 door

Friday, March 16, 8pm
Light A Fire Special: Space in the Jazz Age…an evening of music exploring the DNA of jazz in a post-everything era, with Swarm Intelligence, Grex, and more, featuring Karl Evangelista (guitar,vox), Rei Scampavia (keys, vox), Jordan Glenn (drums), Phillip Greenlief (alto sax), Kasey Knudsen (tenor sax), and Dan Seamans (bass), with Sam Ospovat’s PIKI – a collection of solo pieces, sound tableaux and polyrhythmic songs. Viracocha, 998 Valencia St., San Francisco |

From CNMAT Berkeley:

Friday, March 16, 8pm
This performance marks the first collaboration between Laetitia Sonami and James Fei. While the materials and techniques used by the two musicians are distinctly different, both employ tactile interface coupled with electronic systems that exhibit complex behavioral response. Sonami will introduce her new spring-based instrument (un-named and still in progress). She constructed this new “instrument” around a web of springs whose vibrations are analyzed by neural networks (Rebecca Fiebrink’s Wekinator). The results so far are particularly erratic…. Fei’s setup consists of a mix of vintage and self-constructed analog modules. The instrument is driven by multiple feedback loops, often on the brink of instability. Signals are recursively routed through microphones, spring reverb, and between audio and control voltages. Circuit elements are also modified by touch, integrating the non-linearities and the immediacy of the body with the electronic processes. UC Berkeley, Center for New Music and Audio Technologies, 1750 Arch St., Berkeley |

From Bay Improviser:

Saturday, March 17, 1pm
Sculpting Air – Vocal Workshop: Theresa Wong will lead a workshop exploring the voice through raising awareness of the body. During the workshop, the following topics will be explored: using the breath, singing long tones, awareness of body tension, the location of vibration frequencies and creating sounds via focusing awareness on the body. Simple games of conducting via free movement gestures will be used to generate vocal sounds including textures, melodies, text and noises to allow the voice to take flight into its infinite expressive qualities. Berkeley Arts Festival, 2133 University Ave., Berkeley | $30-60 sliding, reservations required – email tree_wong (at) yahoo.com

Saturday, March 17, 5pm
Heavy Discipline Creative Music Series presents Tracy Hui & Company, bringing together a challenging and artistically stimulating combination of players in improvisational settings. Good Bellies Cafe, 4659 Telegraph Ave (@ 46th), Oakland | donations accepted

Saturday, March 17, 7:30pm
SOUNDINGS AT THE INSTRUMENTARIUM: the second evening of soundings and resoundings on an array of invented instruments, featuring: Bart Hopkin – a true guru and established authority on invented and homemade acoustic instruments; Todd Lerew (Friday the 16th ONLY) – on the Quartz Cantabile, a new instrument which uses a principle of thermoacoustics to convert heat into sound; David Samas – our host for the evening, and inventor of an array of instruments which utilize and appropriate natural and found objects. At these events he will be premiering several new instruments, including the Mbira Tree Harp, also with Grace Renaud and Ash Ritter playing the Glass Garden. Turquoise Yantra Grotto, email TurquoiseYantraGrotto@hotmail.com for reservations and address | $10-15 sliding

Saturday, March 17, 8pm
Saxophonist and composer Larry Ochs and Kihnoua perform music influenced heavily by “the blues” in general and the blues of Korea – an ancient form of music called p’ansori – in particular. BUT what “influence” means here is that you’ll feel the spirit of that music; the actual forms and some of the sounds Ochs and his ensemble ( Dohee Lee – voice, Trevor Dunn – bass, Scott Amendola – drum) use to realize the music are often contemporary in origin. Trinity Chapel, 2320 Dana St., Berkeley | $15 / $10

Saturday, March 17, 8pm
The Pacific Exchange brings composers and performers from diverse areas of the Pacific Rim together in order to exchange ideas and create music on a shared concert stage. Thingamajigs created this event to emphasize the commonalities of artists living on the Pacific Rim, as well as to showcase their diversity. Artists and groups involved in this year’s Pacific Exchange events include Paul Kikuchi (Seattle) and Tide Tables, Tatsuya Nakatani (Japan), Paul Stapleton (L.A.), Gretchen Jude (Oakland) and the Thingamajigs Performance Group (Oakland). Meridian Gallery, 535 Powell St., San Francisco | $10-15

Saturday, March 17, 8pm
Voces del Desierto is a multidisciplinary musical composition inspired by the journey of all those who dare to cross borders in search of a better life. This original and eclectic work merges video, performance art, and instruments made from migrants’ personal belongings found at the Mexico/US border with musical instruments of a traditional wind quintet. Voces del Desierto, an original concept and composition by Guillermo Galindo specifically created for Quinteto Latino, features Diane Grubbe (flutes), Kyle Bruckmann (oboe, English horn), Leslie Tagorda (clarinets), Armando Castellano (French horn), and Shawn Jones (bassoon). MACLA / Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, 510 South 1st St., San Jose | $12 advance / $15 door

Saturday, March 17, 8pm
The fifth installation of ongoing house concerts will feature the Marielle V. Jakobsons & Sarah E. Palmer Duo (synths, strings, vocal processing), along with Suit – Jacob Felix Heule (percussion),
Tony Dryer & Guro S. Moe (contrabass), and Håvard Skaset (guitar). 784 65th St., Oakland (2 blocks from Ashby BART) | $6-10 sliding

Sunday, March 18, 2pm
Voces del Desierto is a multidisciplinary musical composition inspired by the journey of all those who dare to cross borders in search of a better life. This original and eclectic work merges video, performance art, and instruments made from migrants’ personal belongings found at the Mexico/US border with musical instruments of a traditional wind quintet. Voces del Desierto, an original concept and composition by Guillermo Galindo specifically created for Quinteto Latino, features Diane Grubbe (flutes), Kyle Bruckmann (oboe, English horn), Leslie Tagorda (clarinets), Armando Castellano (French horn), and Shawn Jones (bassoon). MACLA / Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana, 510 South 1st St., San Jose | $12 advance / $15 door

Sunday, March 18, 7:30pm
OutSound presents the SIMM Series featuring, at 7:30, New Monsters CD release set featuring Dan Plonsey, Scott Looney, Steve Horowitz, and Steve Adams. At 8:30 Lords of the Outland (Rent Romus, C.J. Borosque, Ray Schaeffer, and Philip Everett) performs The Cloudknitters Suite, a live recording inspired by artist Leo Reijnders. Musicians Union Hall, 116 9th St. (@Mission), San Francisco | $8 / $10

From FaceBook:

Monday, March 19, 7pm
Nebraska Mondays at Luna’s Cafe presents Tatsuya Nakatani with the John Haynes / Steve Adams Duo. Nebraska Mondays is the weekly underground jazz/electronic/poetic/creative music spot, hosted by Ross Hammond. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento | $5-20 sliding

From Bay Improviser:

Thursday, March 8, 8pm
OutSound presents the Luggage Store New Music Series, this week featuring The Misspelled Trio at 8pm, and from Albuquerque, trombonist Christian Pincock performing a solo set at 9pm, with improvised and composed music on valve trombone and a computer-based instrument of his own creation with MAX/MSP. The Misspelled Trio is Phillip Greenlief (sax), Arora Josefson (voice), and Matt Davignon (drum machine, cd player). Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market St. (@ 6th St.), San Francisco | $6-10 sliding

From CCRMA:

Thursday, March 8, 8pm
CCRMA at Stanford presents a Cabaret Series concert with Jaap Blonk (composer, performer, poet) with his latest piece “Polyphtong” for voice and live-electronics, plus a rare complete performance of Kurt Schwitter’s “Ursonate”! Stanford University, The Knoll Building, CCRMA Stage (3rd floor), 660 Lomita Dr., Stanford | Free

From Bay Improviser:

Thursday, March 8, 8pm
The Mills College Music Department Graduate Program presents Signal Flow, an annual spring festival showcasing new student works in music and sound art. This evening’s concert includes works by Evan Bogunia, Matthew Creer, Lydia Martín, Edan Mason, Brandon Rolle, Ryan Ross Smith, and Ben Tinker. Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland | Free

Friday, March 9, 6:30pm
Pioneer of computer-enhanced performance practice Edmund Campion transforms Gallery B, at the Berkeley Art Museum, with sound and visuals, including video projection, a choir spread throughout the building, and his own brand of dynamic, buoyant electronic music. Designer Raveevarn Choksombatchai, artist and 3-D animator Claudia Hart, and the Cornelius Cardew Choir come together to collaborate with Campion, a codirector of UC Berkeley‘s Center for New Music and Audio Technologies. Berkeley Art Museum, 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley | Free to $7

Friday, March 9, 8pm
The Mills College Music Department Graduate Program presents Signal Flow, an annual spring festival showcasing new student works in music and sound art. This evening’s concert includes works by Sarah Davachi, Giselle Eastman, Nick Kanozik, and Xo Nguyen. Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland | Free

Saturday, March 10, 8pm
The Mills College Music Department Graduate Program presents Signal Flow, an annual spring festival showcasing new student works in music and sound art. This evening’s concert includes works by Rachel Condry, Adam Lowdermilk, Yaman Palak, Edward Stumpp, and Nick Wang. Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland | Free

Sunday, March 11, 2pm
Gilberg Johnson and Ken Bullock Presents Second Sunday Jazz at Cafe Royale, featuring three sets from The Lost Trio – Phillip Greenlief (tenor saxophone), Dan Seamans (bass), Tom Hassett (drums). Cafe Royale, 800 Post St. (@ Leavenworth), San Francisco | donations accepted

Sunday, March 11, 4pm
The Mills College Music Department Graduate Program presents Signal Flow, an annual spring festival showcasing new student works in music and sound art. This evening’s concert includes works by Ashley Bellouin, Cindy Colins, Wendy Farina, Moni Gbadebo, Ryan Jobes, and Ralph Lewis. Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland | Free

From Dana Street Roasting:

Sunday, March 11, 7:30pm
Back for more! Always a great experience, the Scott Amendola Trio bring their “A” game to Dana Street and offer you a unique musical perspective that is rarely found at any venue in the Bay Area…and we offer it, up close and personal. Jeff Parker (guitar), John Shifflett (bass), and Scott Amendola (drums/electronics). Dana Street Roasting Co., 744 W. Dana St., Mountain View | $15

From Bay Improviser:

Sunday, March 11, 8pm
The Swarm Gallery presents a triple-bill evening of music with local avant-jazz-post-rock group Stratic – Michael Coleman (keyboards, electronics), Aram Shelton (saxophone, electronics), and Alex Vittum (drums), an album release performance by Berkeley/Brooklyn hybrid trio Jabberclaw – Jon Arkin (drums), Brian Drye (trombone), and Mike McGinnis (clarinet), and an opening set by Chicago bassist Anton Hatwich. Swarm Gallery, 560 2nd St., Oakland | $10-15 donation

From FaceBook:

Sunday, March 11, 8pm
Cello Joe presents Cello MADNESS Congress 2012, featuring mystical moments of musical mayhem…cellists improvising in ways you’ve never heard cello before. Our jams can depict the ephemeral wisps of smoke rising from a funeral pyre to the prismatic rainbow colored fanfare of a three ring circus complete with elephants and clowns. We also read music arranged for cello. We invite all cellists to come and explore with us. Other instruments are welcome too, especially violin, viola, and upright bass. Featured performers include Rushad Eggelston (the craziest punk rock cellist in all the lands), Clay Chollar Vs. CelloJoe (live dubstep trip tron phonics & cello), and Cello Joe (see it to believe it, friends: beatboxing + cello = classical hip hop). Viracocha, 998 Valencia St. (between Liberty & 21st St.), San Francisco | $8-20 sliding

From FaceBook:

Monday, March 12, 7pm
Nebraska Mondays at Lunas’s Cafe presents Gerry Pineda/Ross Hammond Duo with Scott Collard Group. Nebraska Mondays is the weekly underground jazz/electronic/poetic/creative music spot, hosted by Ross Hammond.
Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento | $5-20 sliding

From Bay Improviser:

Tuesday, March 13, 9pm
Active Music Series at the Uptown presents: Moe!kestra + Clifford / Hatwich / Shelton / Wick. Moe!kestra is the large ensemble/orchestra project of Bay Area experimental musician, Moe! Staiano, which began at Berkeley’s Beanbenders’ series in 1997. For this concert, Staiano will conduct 30+ Bay Area musicians through Piece No. 9: When Terrie Had Six, based on songs by, and dedicated to, the Dutch band, the Ex. Opening will be the quartet of Mark Clifford (vibraphone), Anton Hatwich (bass), Aram Shelton (clarinets), and Jacob Wick (trumpet). Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland | donations encouraged

Wednesday, March 14, 7:30pm
Meridian Music: Composer in Performance Series presents the San Francisco-based composer/performer and media artist, Pamela Z, featuring new solo voice and electronics works. Meridian Gallery, 535 Powell St., San Francisco | $10 general / $5 student/senior

Wednesday, March 14, 9pm
Moe! Staiano’s own Surplus 1980, the fervent fishes of ReCardiacs Fly, and the mysterious (but loud) PG13 (Thomas Scandura, John Shiurba, and Phillip Greenlief) — will take over the Hemlock Tavern and your world. Cardiacs T-shirts and stickers will be on sale to benefit the ongoing medical care of Cardiacs frontman Tim Smith. Hemlock Tavern, 1131 Polk St., San Francisco | $7

Related articles

• Cut & Splice: Transmission (thewire.co.uk)
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From Bay Improviser:

Thursday, March 1, 8pm
OutSound presents the Luggage Store New Music Series, this week featuring T.D. Skatchit & Company, with the “Skatch Surveillance” CD release show. Tom Nunn and David Michalak (skatchboxes) will perform with guests, in various formations, with Tom Bickley, Tom Djll, Phillip Greenlief, Aurora Josephson, and Polly Moller.
Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market St. (@ 6th St.), San Francisco | $6-10 sliding

Thursday, March 1, 8pm
Edgetone Records celebrates the CD release of “The Green Mitchell Trio”, featuring Cory Wright (reeds), Lisa Mezzacappa (bass), and Jason Levis (drums). Cory Wright will also perform a solo opening set.
Maybeck Studio, (contact cowrig@gmail.com for address/directions), Berkeley | $10-20 sliding

Thursday, March 1, 8pm concert, 7pm Panel Discussion
The palindromic Norwegian ensemble asamisimasa kicks off three nights of Other Minds concerts at the JCCSF with a full program of works by young mavericks Øyvind Torvund and Simon Steen-Andersen. Torvund’s virtuosically quirky Neon Forest Space combines influences from Purcell to Black Flag in seven sections, making use of radios, aerosol cans, bird whistles and an electric milk steamer. Audiences will also be treated to the world premiere of his new work, Willibald Motor Landscape, composed especially for asamisimasa. Where Torvund’s work harnesses an incredibly disparate collection of sounds, Steen-Andersen focuses on a kind of micro-world, amplifying barely audible instrumental gestures in both sound and video. In his words, he is “trying to approach the human being behind the instrument, because then music can suddenly be about everything that is most important: communication, being, fragility and intimacy.” His set of four recent works concludes with a haunting piece for cello with a “video-shadow,” bringing the concept of amplification into a multimedia context.
Jewish Community Center SF, Kanbar Hall, 3200 California St. (@ Presidio Ave.), San Francisco | $25-35

Friday, March 2, 7pm
the Explorist International Records & Books presents Free Jazz Friday, featuring a set by Michael Whitaker (reeds & brass)(solo improvisations) and a set by El Topo (Sutherland/ LaBreche, sax/drums).
Explorist International Records & Books, 3174 24th St., San Francisco | Free

Friday, March 2, 8pm concert, 7pm Panel Discussion
The second night at the JCCSF of Other Minds 17 features Harold Budd, Ikue Mori, and Gloria Coates, with performances by Del Sol String Quartet, Tyshawn Sorey and Ken Ueno. Esteemed expat Gloria Coates (b. 1938) and the ambient/avant-garde legend Harold Budd (b. 1936) are joined by Japanese-American innovator Ikue Mori on this eclectic program. A prolific composer and declared “the greatest woman symphonist” by Kyle Gann, Gloria Coates has remained outside of the mainstream of American classical music, having lived in Europe since 1969. Born in Wisconsin, she began experimenting with overtones and clusters at age nine, and has continued to explore the outer limits of expressive tools in her deep catalog of 15 symphonies, nine string quartets, and numerous other works. San Francisco’s Del Sol String Quartet tackles her String Quartet No. 5, an emotive masterpiece whose first movement is a double canon with the first violin and viola tuned a quarter-tone sharp. Budd brings his trademark atmospheric piano style to the Other Minds stage in collaboration with Seattle bassist Keith Lowe. After a purported retirement in 2004, Budd has in recent years re-emerged, producing new works that blur the line between minimalism and his better-known ambient music collaborations with Brian Eno. The evening concludes with a special set of improvisations led by Japanese punk drummer-turned electronics composer-performer Ikue Mori. Equally at home as a soloist or collaborator, Mori brings a drummer’s sense of propulsion and invention to her laptop-based improv. She’ll perform solo, and also together with Tyshawn Sorey (drums) and Ken Ueno (voice / throat-singing).
Jewish Community Center SF, Kanbar Hall, 3200 California St. (@ Presidio Ave.), San Francisco | $25-35

Saturday, March 3, 7:30pm
The Alameda Public Library presents Sssshhhh Live Music Series , with Thomas Dimuzio and Cloud Shepherd. Thomas Dimuzio is a true sonic alchemist moving from electro-acoustic and noise to glitch, dark ambient, improv and drone. He’ll be playing solo electric guitar. Cloud Shepherd are an East Bay improv group specializing in the pasturing of ever-changing, nonlinear cumulations of sound. Their instrumentation includes Theremin, bass/tapes, flutes/reeds, and percussion.
Alameda Public Library, 1550 Oak St., Alameda | Free

Saturday, March 3, 8pm concert, 7pm Panel Discussion
Other Minds 17 concludes with a newly commissioned work by Ken Ueno for Del Sol String Quartet and interactive video by Johnny DeKam; plus Magik*Magik Orchestra performs music by John Kennedy and Finland’s Lotta Wennäkoski. John Kennedy and Finland’s Lotta Wennäkoski offer new takes on the chamber ensemble: Kennedy, who each spring conducts the Spoleto Festival’s contemporary music programs, presents the world premiere of a new work for mixed chamber quartet, plus a percussion duo for recycled materials. He also appears onstage conducting the Bay Area’s collective Magik*Magik Orchestra in Wennäkoski’s touching Nosztalgiaim for chamber orchestra. Tyshawn Sorey returns to the stage for a solo set on both drumset and percussion. His skills as both a composer and performer have led to collaborations with Steve Coleman, Muhal Richard Abrams, Joey Baron, Butch Morris, Vijay Iyer, Dave Douglas, and Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith, all by the age of 30, to studies with Anthony Braxton at Wesleyan, and now to the PhD program at Columbia University in New York. Recent Rome Prize and Berlin Prize winner and UC Berkeley professor Ken Ueno presents the premiere of Peradam, a new work for Del Sol String Quartet with video, commissioned by Other Minds. Ueno’s stated mission is “to champion sounds that have been overlooked or denied so that audiences reevaluate their musical potential.” His remarkable vocabulary of beatings and overtones combines here with scratches, whispering bow scrapes, and vocalizations by the quartet members, to evoke the eponymous stone—first used in the French Surrealist novel Mount Analogue, a curved crystal so clear that it is only revealed to those who seek it “with sincere desire and true need.”
Jewish Community Center SF, Kanbar Hall, 3200 California St. (@ Presidio Ave.), San Francisco | $25-35

Saturday, March 3, 8pm
The Temescal Arts Center brings THE UNCOMFORTABLE ZONES OF FUN. Frank Moore, world-known shaman performance artist, will conduct improvised passions of musicians, actors, dancers, and audience members in a laboratory setting to create altered realities of fusion beyond taboos. Bring your passions and musical instruments and your senses of adventure and humor.
Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St., Oakland | Free, donations encouraged

Sunday, March 4, 7:30pm
OutSound presents the SIMM series At Musicians Union Hall. Featured at 7:30 is Pacific Sticks Ensemble performing 8 Trios For Percussion by Oszkar Balazs. At 8:30pm, Noertker’s Moxie Quintet will perform, featuring Annelise Zamula (tenor saxophone, flute), Amber Lamprecht (oboe, flute), John Vaughn (baritone sax, flute), Bill Noertker (contrabass), and Dax Compise (drums).
Musicians Union Hall, 116 9th St. (@ Mission), San Francisco | $8-10

Sunday, March 4, 8pm
San Francisco Community Music Center, in association with San Francisco Cinematheque, presents virtuoso Dutch vocalist Jaap Blonk, performing solo and with sfSound, including John Cage’s “Aria” with “Fontana Mix”. On the program will be: Jaap Blonk – Dr Voxoid’s Next Move (2011); John Cage – Aria (1958 – featuring Jaap Blonk) with Fontana Mix (1958 – sfSound’s new realization); Jaap Blonk/sfSoundGroup – Improvisation (2012); John Cage – Composition for 3 Voices (1934); Matt Ingalls – False Awakening (2008) amplified instruments and electronics. The performers include Jaap Blonk (voice), Kyle Bruckmann (oboe), Tom Dambly (trumpet), Matt Ingalls (clarinet), John Ingle (saxophone), Ben Kreith (violin), Michelle Lou (guitar), Hadley McCarroll (piano), Monica Scott (cello), Andy Strain (trombone).
Community Music Center, 544 Capp St., San Francisco | $15 [$8 underemployed]

Sunday, March 4, 8pm
As part of the Jewish Music Festival, the Freight & Salvage brings the world premiere of “Orphic Machine,” primarily commissioned by Chamber Music America, clarinetist and composer Ben Goldberg leads an amazing ensemble in a song-cycle based on the poetical writings of Allen Grossman. Internationally renowned musicians help Ben bring this extraordinary project to life, including vocalist and violinist Carla Kihlstedt (of Tin Hat), guitarist Jeff Parker (of Tortoise), saxophonist Rob Sudduth, percussionist Ches Smith (of Secret Chiefs 3), pianist Myra Melford, trumpeter Ron Miles, percussionist Kenny Wollesen, and bassist Greg Cohen (of Masada).
Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St., Berkeley | tickets $23 advance / $26 at the door, advance tickets available via the Jewish Music Festival Box Office, at 866-558-4253

From FaceBook:

Monday, March 5, 7pm
Nebraska Mondays at Lunas’s Cafe presents Tyson Graf with Crossing The River. Nebraska Mondays is the weekly underground jazz/electronic/poetic/creative music spot, hosted by Ross Hammond.
Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento | $5-20 sliding

From Bay Improviser:

Monday, March 5, 8pm
The Monday Makeout presents a triple bill, featuring: NATHAN CLEVENGER GROUP, featuring Aaron Novik + Kasey Knudsen + Sylvain Carton + Evan Francis (winds), Nathan Clevenger (guitar), Sam Bevan (bass), and Jon Arkin (drums); JOHN SHIURBA’S 3-3 featuring John Shiurba (guitar), Kyle Bruckmann (analog synth), and Gino Robair (drums); DISTANT INTERVALS, featuring Sheldon Brown (saxophones), Andrew Joron (theremin, poetry), Dave MacNab + Noah Phillips (guitars), Michael Wilcox (bass), and Vijay Anderson (drums).
Makeout Room, 22 St. at Mission, San Francisco | Free

From CCRMA Stanford:

Wednesday, March 7, 5:15pm
CCRMA presents Colloquium with Jaap Blonk (born 1953 in Woerden, Holland). Blonk is a self-taught composer, performer and poet. Many compositions and performances are examples of sound poetry, making use of words and phonetic snippets as well as clicks, hisses, and other vocal manipulations. Jaap visits CCRMA this week for a Colloquium (March 7) and a CCRMA Cabaret concert (March 8).
Stanford University, CCRMA Classroom, Stanford | Free

From Bay Improviser:

Thursday, February 23, 8pm
OutSound presents the Luggage Store New Music Series, with an evening of works by Daniel Steffey (composer, percussionist), Pete Rat Martin (composer, multi-instrumentalist), and Benjamin Ethan Tinker (multidisciplinary artist and electronic musician). Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market St. (@ 6th St.), San Francisco | $6-10

Thursday, February 23, 9:30pm
The Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut hosts an evening of improvisational music with local musicians in different configurations, welcoming Joe Straub (acoustic guitar, electronics) back to the San Francisco Bay Area from Berlin, Germany. The performance also features Jason Hoopes (double bass), Karl Evangelista (electric guitar), David Leikam (moog rogue, electric bass-cello), Jordan Glenn (drums), and Sarah Howe (electronics, video). Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut, 671 24th St., Oakland | donations encouraged

From CCRMA Stanford

Friday, February 24, 8pm
The Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford presents CCRMA Winter Concert, a showcase of electronic music made at CCRMA, and some special guests. On this program (not in concert order) will be Fernando Lopez-Lezcano and Kurt Werner (analog synth + multichannel electronics), Jessica Aszodi and Bruno Ruvaro (voice + electronics), and Chris Carlson (live-electronics + video). Stanford University, CCRMA Stage, Stanford | Free

From Bay Improviser:

Friday, February 24, 8pm
Open Sound West presents: Lewis Jordan and Music at Large, plus Addleds (Bruckmann, Dryer, Heule, Nishi). Music at Large is a performance series dedicated to interdisciplinary and multicultural productions. Lewis Jordan has collaborated with musicians, poets, dancers and actors for over 30 years, focusing on creative structures for improvisation. Music at Large features Lewis Jordan (saxophone, poetry), India Cooke (violin), Karl Evangelista (electric guitar) and Marshall Trammell (drums). Addleds is the quartet of Kyle Bruckmann (oboe/English horn), Tony Dryer (double bass), Jacob Felix Heule (percussion) and Kanoko Nishi (koto) who explore timbral and textural extremes of distended instrumental technique via improvisation and open-ended compositional strategies. Their music tends towards a brutalist minimalism as informed by the noise underground as by recent developments in the field of free improvisation. University of California Berkeley, CNMAT, 1750 Arch St., Berkeley | $5-15

From Heavy Discipline:

Saturday, February 25, 5:30pm
Heavy Discipline presents the David ALt Birthday Celebration: two sets with Alt Tal – David Alt (saxophone), Kenny Annis (bass), and Andrew Ryan (drums). Good Bellies Cafe, 4659 Telegraph Ave., Oakland | donations encouraged

From Bay Improviser:

Saturday, February 25, 9pm
The Swarm Gallery presents two sets of creative music with the Ross Hammond Quartet and the debut performance of Swarm Intelligence. Ross Hammond (guitar) will perform with Vinny Golia (reeds), Steuart Liebig (bass), and Alex Cline (drums). Swarm Intelligence features Karl Evangelista (guitar) with Phillip Greenlief (reeds), Cory Wright (reeds), Dan Seamans (bass), and Jordan Glenn (drums). Swarm Gallery, 560 2nd St., Oakland | $5

From Ross Hammond:

Sunday, February 26, 3pm
Sierra Mountain Coffee Roasters will host Ross Hammond Quartet with Randy McKean/Ludi Henrichs. Sierra Mountain Coffee Roasters, 671 Maltman Dr., Grass Valley |

From Bay Improviser:

Sunday, February 26, 9pm
The Subterranean Arthouse presents a triple-bill evening of dreamy song, ambient meditations and improvisations, and delicious, like candy, art-pop featuring, from Florida, Jane Jane Pollock, the Bay Area’s own Aloonaluna, and The Andrew Weathers Ensemble. Subterranean Arthouse, 2179 Bancroft Way, Berkeley | $10-15

From kuumbwa jazz:

Monday, February 27, 7pm
kuumbwa jazz is proud to bring the Tim Berne Snake Oil project to our stage. Saxophonist Tim Berne leads an uncompromising new ensemble featuring Oscar Noriega (clarinet, bass clarinet), Matt Mitchell (piano), and Ches Smith (drums, percussion). kuumbwa jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz | $20 adv / $23 door, with 1/2 price students with valid I.D.

From Nebraska Mondays:

Monday, February 27, 7pm
Nebraska Mondays at Luna’s Cafe will host the CD release by the Ross Hammond Quartet. Also scheduled to perform is the Josh Fernandez/Shawn Hale Duo. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento | $5-20 sliding

From Bay Improviser:

Monday, February 27, 7:30pm
Mills College hosts an evening with Jozef van Wissem, the sublime Dutch master of the baroque lute, in a lecture entitled The Liberation of the Lute. He will demonstrate a “swan neck” baroque lute which was especially built for him. Van Wissem is renowned for his ability to appropriate the Renaissance and Baroque lute in the context of contemporary experimental music. By cutting and pasting classical pieces, reversing melodies, and adding electronics and processed field recordings, he is able to bridge the language of 17th century music with that of the 21st century without compromising the timbre and resonance of traditional lute playing techniques. Mills College, Ensemble Room, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland | Free

Tuesday, February 28, 7:30pm
Tuesdays at Tom’s Place presents a double bill, with Jozef van Wissem (lute, electronics) and Suit (Tony Dryer, Jacob Felix Heule, and guests). Tuesdays at Tom’s Place, 3111 Deakin St., Berkeley | Free, donation requested

From Yoshi’s Oakland:

Tuesday, February 28, 8pm
Yoshi’s Oakland is proud to present Tim Berne: Snakeoil. Saxophonist Tim Berne leads an uncompromising new ensemble, featuring Oscar Noriega (clarinet, bass clarinet), Matt Mitchell (piano), and Ches Smith (drums, percussion). Yoshi’s Oakland, 510 Embarcadero West, Jack London Square, Oakland | $12

From Bay Improviser:

Wednesday, February 29, 8pm
The Berkeley Arts Festival presents an evening of improvised environments and sound, featuring Per Ahlund (electronics) from Sweden, with Phillip Greenlief (tenor saxophone), Steuart Liebig (electric bass, effects, processing), and Gino Robair (electronics, energized surfaces). Berkeley Arts Festival, 3122 University Ave., Berkeley | $10

Wednesday, February 29, 8:30pm
The Subterranean Arthouse presents a Brooklyn-Bay Area creative jazz double header, with Harris Eisenstadt and Canada Day (from Brooklyn, NY) and Lisa Mezzacappa’s Bait and Switch. Harris Eisenstadt and Canada Day features Nate Wooley (trumpet), Matt Bauder (tenor saxophone), Chris Dingman (vibraphone), Garth Stevenson (bass), and Harris Eisenstadt (drums, compositions). Lisa Mezzacappa’s Bait & Switch features Aaron Bennett (tenor saxophone), John Finkbeiner (electric guitar), Vijay Anderson (drums), and Lisa Mezzacappa (acoustic bass). Subterranean Arthouse, 2179 Bancroft Way, Berkeley | $10

From Bay Improviser:

Sunday, January 19, 3pm
Club 475 presents a house concert with Jack Wright (saxophones), Bob Marsh (bass, voice), and Spirit (percussion). Jack Wright has been playing with both Spirit and Bob Marsh for over 25 years, and Bob Marsh has been playing with Spirit for the last few years, but the three of them have never played together. They will present solos, duos, and trios. Club 475 (house concert), 475 43rd St. (corner of Barrett),
Richmond | donations accepted

Sunday, January 19, 7:30pm
OutSound presents the SIMM series with, at 7:30, Forward Energy CD release set of “The Awakening” featuring Jim Ryan (saxophones), Rent Romus (saxophones), CJ Borosque (trumpet), Scott R. Loney (piano), Eric Marshall (bass), and Timothy Orr (drums). At 8:30, the trio of Emily Hay (voice, flutes), Motoko Honda (piano), and Valerie Kuehne (cello) will perform. Musicians Union Hall, 116 9th St. (@ Mission), San Francisco | $8/10

From Nebraska Mondays:

Monday, January 20, 7pm
Nebraska Mondays presents a double bill with Gongfarmer (featuring Jim McAuley) and the Emily Hay Trio. Nebraska Mondays is the weekly creative music series, hosted by Ross Hammond. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento | $5-20 sliding

From Bay Improviser:

Tuesday, February 21, 9pm
The Oakland Active Orchestra returns to the Uptown, with large group improvisations and compositions by Bennett, Schott, Shelton, and more, featuring Hillary Overberg (violin), Emily Packard (viola, violin), Aram Shelton (alto sax, bass clarinet), Aaron Bennett, (baritone saxophone, flute), Cory Wright (tenor sax, clarinet), Darren Johnston (trumpet), Theo Padouvas (trumpet), Rob Ewing (trombone), John Schott (guitar), Mark Clifford (vibraphone), Kim Cass (bass), Doug Stuart (bass), and Jordan Glenn (percussion). Uptown Nightclub, 1928 Telegraph Ave., Oakland | donations encouraged

From CCRMA Stanford

Wednesday, February 22, 5:15pm
The Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford presents Colloquium – Matt Ingalls. Oakland musician Matt Ingalls is a composer, clarinetist, concert producer, and computer music programmer. Often incorporating elements of improvisation, his music is heavily influenced by his long involvement in computer music. His composerly solo improvisations explore extended clarinet techniques that interact with the acoustic space, often as combination tones. Stanford University, CCRMA Classroom, Stanford | Free

From Bay Improviser:

Thursday, February 23, 8pm
OutSound presents the Luggage Store New Music Series, with an evening of works by Daniel Steffey (composer, percussionist), Pete Rat Martin (composer, multi-instrumentalist), and Benjamin Ethan Tinker (multidisciplinary artist and electronic musician). Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market St. (@ 6th St.), San Francisco | $6-10

Thursday, February 23, 9:30pm
The Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut hosts an evening of improvisational music with local musicians in different configurations, welcoming Joe Straub (acoustic guitar, electronics) back to the San Francisco Bay Area from Berlin, Germany. The performance also features Jason Hoopes (double bass), Karl Evangelista (electric guitar), David Leikam (moog rogue, electric bass-cello), Jordan Glenn (drums), and Sarah Howe (electronics, video). Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut, 671 24th St., Oakland | donations encouraged

From CCRMA Stanford

Friday, February 24, 8pm
The Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford presents CCRMA Winter Concert, a showcase of electronic music made at CCRMA, and some special guests. On this program (not in concert order) will be Fernando Lopez-Lezcano and Kurt Werner (analog synth + multichannel electronics), Jessica Aszodi and Bruno Ruvaro (voice + electronics), and Chris Carlson (live-electronics + video). Stanford University, CCRMA Stage, Stanford | Free

From Bay Improviser:

Friday, February 24, 8pm
Open Sound West presents: Lewis Jordan and Music at Large, plus Addleds (Bruckmann, Dryer, Heule, Nishi). Music at Large is a performance series dedicated to interdisciplinary and multicultural productions. Lewis Jordan has collaborated with musicians, poets, dancers and actors for over 30 years, focusing on creative structures for improvisation. Music at Large features Lewis Jordan (saxophone, poetry), India Cooke (violin), Karl Evangelista (electric guitar) and Marshall Trammell (drums). Addleds is the quartet of Kyle Bruckmann (oboe/English horn), Tony Dryer (double bass), Jacob Felix Heule (percussion) and Kanoko Nishi (koto) who explore timbral and textural extremes of distended instrumental technique via improvisation and open-ended compositional strategies. Their music tends towards a brutalist minimalism as informed by the noise underground as by recent developments in the field of free improvisation. University of California Berkeley, CNMAT, 1750 Arch St., Berkeley | $5-15

From Heavy Discipline:

Saturday, February 25, 5:30pm
Heavy Discipline presents two sets with Alt Tal – David Alt (saxophone), Kenny Annis (bass), and Andrew Ryan (drums). Good Bellies, 4659 Telegraph Ave., Oakland | donations encouraged

From Bay Improviser:

Saturday, February 25, 9pm
The Swarm Gallery presents two sets of creative music with the Ross Hammond Quartet and the debut performance of Swarm Intelligence. Ross Hammond (guitar) will perform with Vinny Golia (reeds), Steuart Liebig (bass), and Alex Cline (drums). Swarm Intelligence features Karl Evangelista (guitar) with Phillip Greenlief (reeds), Cory Wright (reeds), Dan Seamans (bass), and Jordan Glenn (drums). Swarm Gallery, 560 2nd St., Oakland | $5

From CCRMA, Stanford:

Thursday, February 9, 12pm (noon)
The Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics presents Mugam: A Real-Time Exploration of Azeri Musical Improvisation and Modes. This is a unique musical tour exploring connections across microtonal systems of the Middle East, featuring live improvisations by visiting artists Alim and Fargana Qasimov and joined by Phaedon Sinis, a Stanford-based scholar and performer of Ottoman music. Stanford University, CCRMA, CCRMA Stage, Stanford | Free

From Bay Improviser:

Thursday, February 9, 8pm
OutSound presents the Luggage Store New Music Series, this week featuring Zachary Watkins (solo electronics) at 8pm, and at 9pm Ernesto Diaz-Infante (bajo sexto) will celebrate the CD Release performance for “Emilio”, a series of 32 unaccompanied experimental solo performances on the Bajo Sexto. Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market St. (@ 6th St.), San Francisco | $6-10 sliding

Thursday, February 9, 8pm
The third edition of the NEXT NOW SHOW – An evening of eclectic improvised musics featuring three ensembles: VERB – Jayn Pettingill (alto sax), Lisa Mezzacappa (bass), Vijay Anderson (drums), and Matt Plummer (trombone); CARTOON JUSTICE – Mika Pontecorvo (guitar, flute), Mariko Miyakawa (cello, voice), Kersti Abrams- (alto sax, flute), Greg Baker (clarinet, laptop), Aaron Levin (drums), and Eli Pontecorvo (bass); PLUMMER/ZIMMERMAN/SWANAGON – Jameson Swanagon (guitar, autoharp), Jacob Zimmerman (alto sax), and Matt Plummer (trombone). El Valenciano Restaurant & Bar, 1153 Valencia St., San Francisco | $5

From Red Poppy Art House

Friday, February 10, 7:30pm
The Red Poppy Arthouse presents AMENDOLA VS. BLADES: Drums Vs. Hammond B3, with Wil Blades and Scott Amendola conjuring various sonic deities though only a duo. Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St., San Francisco | $12-20

From Bay Improviser:

Friday, February 10, 8pm
To mark the centennial of Vaslav Nijinsky’s Afternoon of a Faun, the Oakland-based dance theater group ‘this sweet nothing’ will present an evening-length performance inspired by the seminal ballet. Since its controversial premiere by Les Ballets Russes in Paris in 1912—during which outraged patrons caused a near riot—artists ranging from Jerome Robbins and Mikhail Baryshnikov to Freddie Mercury and Queen have revisited the work because of its inherent pull and mystery. For this re-imagined fantasy, choreographer Sonsherée Giles, composer Caroline Penwarden, and visual artist Heike Liss will create an erotic and teasing dreamscape, charged with sexual ambiguity all in order to undermine our collective sense of what is “real”. The three protagonists will be joined by dancers from AXIS Dance Company, as well as guest artists Lisa Bufano, Amy Lewis, Rebecca Gilbert, Janet Das, John Carnahan, Kevin Atkinson, Alicia Ruth, Damon Waitkus, Aram Shelton, Noah Phillips, Jim Kassis, and Jason Hoopes. The Marion Green Black Box Theater at the Fox Theater, 530 19th St., Oakland | $15-30, advance tickets recommended

Saturday, February 11, 8pm
The Mills College Music Department and the Center for Contemporary Music present Mills Music Now 2010-2011: Guest composer Larry Polansky and composers from the Mills College Center for Contemporary Music present a program of recent works for a variety of technologies featuring works by John Bischoff, Chris Brown, James Fei, Maggi Payne, Les Stuck, and Larry Polansky. Mills College, Littlefield Concert Hall, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland | $15 general / $10 seniors and non-Mills students / Free to Mills students, faculty, staff, and alumnae/alumni

From CNMAT, Berkeley:

Saturday, February 12, 8pm
Cal Performances, CNMAT and the Department of Music present the Eco Ensemble, UC Berkeley’s professional performance group dedicated to new music by established and emerging composers, featuring new works by Kaija Saariaho, Franck Bedrossian, and Magnus Lindberg, and will also feature guest soloist, Gloria Cheng (piano). UC Berkeley, CNMAT, Hertz Hall, 1750 Arch St., Berkeley | $30+, tickets available here

From Bay Improviser:

Sunday, February 12, 12:01am
The Day of Noise is a 24-hour marathon of live music from experimental, noise, and all things interesting/beautiful/unique artists, including Brian B James, Kurt James Werner, The Voice of Doom, Feast and Friends, Bad News, Peter Nyboer, David Leikam and Joe Straub,
David Slusser, Bill Orcutt, Jessica Rylan, zBug, Frank Rothkamm, Ernesto Diaz-Infante, Negativwobblyland (Jon Leidecker & Peter Conheim), Danny Paul Grody, En, Matt Davignon, Aloonaluna, Matt Ingalls and John Ingle, Matt Ingalls, John Ingle, Matt Davignon, and Abode, Thomas Dimuzio, Megabats, Abode, Thea Farhadian, White Pee, The Lickets, Vulcanus 68, and more. (Sunday; 12:01AM-11:59PM, Pacific Time) KZSU 90.1FM, Stanford University, Stanford | [Live Worldwide Broadcast!] | Free, encouraged donations

Sunday, February 12, 7:30pm

OutSound presents the SIMM Series, featuring Jack Wright (solo saxophone) at 7:30, and at 8:30, the Emergency String (X)tet – Bob Marsh and Doug Carroll (celli), Angela Hsu, Adria Otte, and Jonathan Segel (violins), and Tony Dryer (double bass). Musicians Union Hall, 116 9th St. (@ Mission), San Francisco | $10/$8

From Nebraska Mondays:

Monday, February 13, 7pm
Nebraska Mondays, the weekly creative and improvised music series hosted by Ross Hammond, presents the Jack Wright Trio. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento | donations appreciated

From Bay Improviser:

Monday, February 13, 7:30pm
The Mills College Music Department and the Center for Contemporary Music present: A TALK BY ALVIN LUCIER (Jean Macduff Vaux Composer-in-Residence). Trailblazing explorer of acoustics and psychoacoustics, visiting composer Alvin Lucier begins his residency at Mills with a public talk about his work. Mills College, Littlefield Concert Hall, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland | Free

Wednesday, February 15, 7:30pm
A Grand Spectacular at Turquoise Yantra Grotto: Enter the MSP Fire-Dragon — Marsh, Wright, Lasqo & Samas. Start things out with a *bang* and join us to open the Dragon Year with special guests: extraordinary East Coast saxophonist Jack Wright, and Bob Marsh, performance artist, musical agent provacateur/éclatiste, mad cellist/bassist/pianist/guitarist/found-instrumentist/vocalist/+++ (& tap-dancer!). Highlights will include MSP processing of the Hong Kong (Tai Hang Dancing Fire Dragon), to accompany Bob Marsh in Sonic Suit. We’re also privileged to present Bob Marsh’s unique invented instrument, the Silver Park, as played by its invented musician, Mr. Mercury. German publication, Bad Alchemy, on Jack Wright: “Wright does not make music, he embodies it, he transforms it with a naiveté of another order. It grows into a sound river, he is part of the diaphragm through which the heterogeneous whispers.” Joe Lasqo will join guests throughout on the Gamelan Piano & the Steinway and also play some meta-rāgas and material from his album Turquoise Sessions during the between-set candlelight tea. David Samas will join guests in both sets with extended vocal techniques of Tuvan throat/overtone singing, Inuit vocal competitions, bird & whale song, as well as give a virtuoso performance on his Zen Industrial Carillon. Turquoise Yantra Grotto,to reserve contact Joe Lasqo: (415) 286-0482 or joe (at) joelasqo.com | $12-15 (advance reservation required)

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From Bay Improviser:

Thursday, February 2, 8pm
sfSound presents New Music with Electronics, featuring James Tenney’s Ergodos II (For John Cage) (1978) for computer generated tape with instrumental responses, Phil Niblock’s Disseminate (1998) for pre-recorded and live instruments, Mario Davidovsky’s Synchronisms #3 (1965) for cello and tape, Per Bloland’s Quintet (2005) for sax and live electronics, Kyle Bruckmann’s Cell Structure (2009) for oboe, clarinet, and recorded analog electronics, and Matt Ingalls‘ False Awakening (2008) for amplified instruments and electronics. sfSound performers will include Kyle Bruckmann (oboe), Matt Ingalls (clarinet), John Ingle (saxophone), and Monica Scott (cello). Stanford University, CCRMA Stage, The Knoll Building, 660 Lomita Drive, Stanford | Free

Thursday, February 2, 8pm
OutSound presents the Luggage Store New Music Series. This week at 8pm will be a solo set with Travis LaPlante (tenor sax), folowed by a solo set with Trevor Dunn (bass) at 8:30, then a duo set at 9pm with Andrea Centazzo (percussion) and Gino Robair (voltage made audible). Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market St. (at 6th St.), San Francisco | $6-10 sliding

Friday February 3, 7pm
Explorist International presents Free Jazz Friday, with two sets from Texas-based Tenor Saxophonist Mike Forbes. The first set will feature Forbes with Aram Shelton (alto sax) and Jacob Felix Heule (drum set), and the second set will feature Forbes performing with Randylee Sutherland (alto sax) and Mark Miller (drum set). Explorist International, 3174 24th St., San Francisco | Free

Friday February 3, 8pm
Studio 1510 is pleased and proud to welcome a wonderful pioneering reed improviser from Seattle, Paul Hoskin, playing contrabass clarinet and possibly other reeds. He will be playing solo and in duo with Scott R. Looney (prepared piano). Studio 1510, 1510 8th St., Oakland | $6-10 sliding

Friday, February 3, 8:30pm
The Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut proudly presents a Trevor Dunn Solo Set at 9:15pm,
Travis Laplante Solo Set at 10pm, and a set from Silian Rail at 11pm. The Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut , 671 24th St., Unit B, Oakland | $10-15

Saturday, February 4, 8pm
1727 Goss Street presents Texas-based Mike Forbes (tenor sax) with Aram Shelton (alto sax) and Jacob Felix Heule (drums set), along with sets by Stillsuit (marissa, vanessa, jamie) and others TBA. 1727 Goss St., Oakland | donations encouraged

Saturday, February 4, 8pm
The Temescal Arts Center presents Frank Moore’s The Uncomfortable Zones of Fun. Frank will conduct improvised passions of musicians, actors, dancers, and audience members in a laboratory setting to create altered realities of fusion beyond taboos. Bring your passions and musical instruments and your senses of adventure and humor. Temescal Arts Center, 511 48th St., Oakland | Free, donations encouraged

Sunday February 5, 12pm(noon)
The Bay Area’s own Tealchemy erects a temporary tea house in the gallery of the Berkeley Art Museum, dispensing “drinkable art” to accompany the musical experiences. Come toast cups of liquid gold as we celebrate Cha Dao, the Way of Tea. Listen to virtuoso violinist and composer Jennifer Curtis, who studied at both Mills and Juilliard, play solar compositions on her violin. Finally, “psychedelic minimalists” Date Palms (Gregg Kowalsky and Marielle Jakobsons) ease us gently into the afternoon. Berkeley Art Museum, Woo Hon Fai Hall, 2626 Bancroft Way, Berkeley | Free to $7

Sunday, February 5, 4pm
Four Seasons Arts presents an afternoon of Contemporary Music, with works by Kit Young, Narong Prangcharoen, Robert Ashley, Annea Lockwood, Alvin Lucier, and Anne Gutherie, performed by Thomas Buckner (baritone), Kit Young (piano), Sun Yin (quqing), Ted Mook (cello), Annea Lockwood (voice, compositions), Chris Nappi (percussion), and Jill Van Nostrand (french horn, slow sweep pure wave oscillators, electronics). Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco | $40, 35, 30

Sunday, February 5, 7pm
Harlem-based saxophonist and multi-media performer Matana Roberts and Oakland-based artist and performer Jacob Wick meet for one set of duo improvisations in the Trapezoid Gallery at the California College of the Arts. An informal discussion follows. Trapezoid Gallery @ California College of the Arts, 8th St. & Hooper St., San Francisco | Free

From Nebraska Mondays:

Monday, February 6, 7pm
Nebraska Mondays at Luna’s Cafe presents Alex Jenkins Trio w/ E2. Nebraska Mondays is a weekly creative music event, hosted by Ross Hammond. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento | donations encouraged

From Bay Improviser:

Monday, February 6, 8pm
The Monday Makeout presents: KNUDSEN-ARKIN-COLEMAN TRIO – Kasey Knudsen (saxophone), Michael Coleman (keyboards), and Jon Arkin (drums), ROVA SAXOPHONE QUARTET – Steve Adams (alto sax), Jon Raskin (baritone sax), Bruce Ackley (soprano sax), and Larry Ochs (tenor sax), and the JORDAN GLENN GROUP – Rent Romus (reeds), Karl Evangelista (guitar), Michael Coleman (keyboards), Jason Hoopes (bass), and Jordan Glenn (drums). Makeout Room, 22nd St. (at Mission), San Francisco | Free

Wednesday, February 8, 7:30pm
Meridian Gallery presents The Universal Flute: A Concert of Contemporary American Music for the Shakuhachi, performed by Ralph Samuelson. This program features compositions for the Shakuhachi, Japanese Bamboo Flute, by American composers including works by Henry Cowell, Elizabeth Brown, Richard Teitelbaum, and Barbara White. Meridian Gallery, 535 Powell St., San Francisco | $10, $5 students/seniors

From Bay Improviser:

Thursday, January 26, 6pm
The Rooz Cafe hosts “Light A Fire: Out With The Old?”, two sets of music. At 6pm, prepare your ears for exploratory EAI outness/free improv by Tom Djll (parts of trumpets, tubes, mutes and other noisemakers), Phillip Greenlief (reeds), and Gino Robair (energized surfaces and voltage made audible). Set two begins at 7pm with shoegaze-y standards in a hybridized slow motion/Motian Trio/Motion by Lee Konitz vein with Karl Evangelista (electric guitar), Jordan Glenn (drums), and Cory Wright (reeds). Rooz Cafe, 1918 Park Blvd., Oakland | donations accepted

Thursday, January 26, 8pm
OutSound presents the Luggage Store New Music Series, this week featuring electroacoustic music with field recordings featuring Andrea Williams and Jen Boyd. Artist and composer Andrea Williams will, at 8pm, begin the evening with some of her work, and at 9pm, sound artist Jen Boyd will present some of her soundscapes which explore the textures and timbres of the natural world with some processing. Luggage Store Gallery, 1007 Market St. (@ 6th St.), San Francisco | $6-10 sliding

Friday, January 27, 8pm
Rova Saxophone Quartet will perform new spatial works that are a continuation of their involvement with acoustic surround sound that was showcased at the Berkeley Art Museum in 2011. What better way to spend an evening in the middle of moving saxophones? Rova is Larry Ochs, Bruce Ackley, Jon Raskin, and Steve Adams. Berkeley Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., Berkeley | $15 ($10 for HSC members and seniors)

Friday, January 27, 8pm
Studio 1510 hosts Ghosts in the Waters and Ghost in the House. This concert features famed instrument builder, Richard Waters (The Waterphone) and Ghost In The House ~ Tom Nunn (Lukie Tubes, Crustacean, Waterphone), David Michalak (lap steel, cardboard skatchbox), Dean Santomieri (resonator guitars, voice), and John Ingle (soprano and alto saxes). The performance will include Dream #77 (For 2 Waterphones), excerpts from, “The Dream Machine” including Dockside Discovery and The Dream Machine and other new pieces. Studio 1510, 1510 8th St., Oakland | $6-10

Saturday, January 28, 8pm
House Concert – Chez Jacob Lindsay present The Lost Trio, featuring Phillip Greenlief (tenor saxophone), Dan Seamans (bass), and Tom Hassett (drums) performing their unique arrangements of the music of Thelonious Monk. House Concert – Chez Jacob Lindsay, 784 65th St. (between Shattuck and MLK), Oakland | $6-10

Saturday, January 28, 8pm
The Berkeley Arts Festival presents Eric Glick Rieman and the Snail Orchestra (solo Prepared Rhodes electric piano/ensemble performance of structured improvisation using graphic scores), featuring Karl Evangelista (electric guitar), Matthew Goodheart (piano), Jason Hoopes (contrabass), Crystal Pascucci(cello), Christina Stanley (violin), Daniel Steffey (percussion), Mia Bella D’Augelli(violin), and Eric Glick Rieman (multi-instrumentalist, composer). Berkeley Arts Festival, 2133 University Ave., Berkeley | donations accepted

From Mutual Aid:

Sunday, January 29, 3pm
The Berkeley Arts Festival presents the Lewis Jordan Quartet, featuring Lewis Jordan (baritone and alto saxes), Richard Saunders (upright bass), Marshall Trammell (drums), Karl Evangelista (guitar). Berkeley Arts Festival, 2133 University Ave., Berkeley | $10-20 (suggested donation)

From Bay Improviser:

Sunday, January 29, 8pm
OutSound co-presents The Deconstruction Orchestra with Josh Allen (director). Deconstruction Orchestra will fly again! The 20 something piece spontaneously conducted Deconstruction Orchestra directed by tenor saxophonist Josh Allen returns to record live at the Arena Theater on the DVC Campus in sunny Pleasanton. The groups uses Cell Structure Notation inspired by Cecil Taylor, and various spontaneous conducting techniques by Josh Allen. Henry Kaiser and John Finkbiner (guitars), William Winant and Mike Guarino (drums, percussion), Matt Montgomery and Kurt Ribak (double basses), Matt Ingalls, Aaron Bennett, Rory Snyder, Phillip Greenlief, Sam Flores, Larry De La Cruz, Misha Poleshuk, Roberto DeHaven, Rent Romus, Aram Shelton (saxophones), C.J Borosque, George Moore, Rafa Postel (trumpets), Matt Striech (trombone), Ron Heglin (tuba), and possibly more! Diablo Valley College Arena Theater, 321 Golf Course Rd. (connected to the Performing Arts Center near lake), Pleasant Hill | $10 sliding

From Nebraska Mondays:

Nebraska Mondays at Luna’s Cafe, hosted by Ross Hammond, presents Tony Passarell, Randy Stark and Chris Ferreira with Tim Stephenson. Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th St., Sacramento | $5-20 sliding

From Bay Improviser:

Monday, January 30, 7:30pm
Mills College presents Songlines Series – Spring 2012, with ANTIMATTER / XOPHER DAVIDSON. ANTIMATTER is the work of Xopher Davidson who began his experiments in electronic sound from a basis in painting, film, and installation art, mixed with a long-time interest in electronics. Davidson will play a 20-30 minute set and then talk about his recent work. Mills College, Ensemble Room, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland | Free

Tuesday, January 31, 8pm
The Berkeley Arts Festival presents Daniel Popsicle (Plonsey’s large-ish band) plays Dan Plonsey‘s Music of El Cerrito, featuring compositions from the New Monsters and Color Music series. Daniel Popsicle is
Dan Plonsey (tenor saxophone, C melody saxophone, clarinet), Masha Albrecht (violin), Herb Diamant (bassoon, flute), Adrian Gormley (bass clarinet, clarinet), Lynn Murdock (keyboard), Suki O’Kane (drums), Chris Silvey (trumpet, flugelhorn), Cory Wright (bass clarinet, clarinet), and Michael Zelner (clarinet). Berkeley Arts Festival, 2133 University Ave., Berkeley | $10 (suggested donation)

Wednesday, February 1, 7:30pm
Tuesdays at Tom’s Place presents Andrea Centazzo (percussion) with Larry Ochs (sax). Tuesdays at Tom’s Place, 3111 Deakin St., Berkeley | Free (donation requested)