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hey everybody! sorry i haven't been in touch in a little while. i've had some really interesting shows this fall - hopefully soon i'll update my blog and tell you all about 'em. until then, here's some quick tidbits:
1. shows last month with Step Afrika! went really well. it was a big challenge for me, but i think it worked out nicely and i hope to continue working with them in '07. the music for their new piece combined rock and electronica elements. their step rhythms are really tricky and it kept me on my toes for sure. plus i had to play "composed" music so i had to worry about playing the right notes and stuff. i think i pulled it off. the piece also had some complicated video integration, so we all had lots of cues to remember (and hit at the right time). somehow it all worked even though the piece was still changing right up until the dress rehearsal. they're a wickedly talented bunch.
2. DCIC has a show coming up tomorrow night at the new & improved Warehouse Next Door. it's nicer than it was before, and the lineup is interesting. two acts from massachussets (i think they're both hampshire college students?) see below for the details and links to hear music by the opening acts. the show starts late - 10pm. if you're like me, that might be late for a weeknight... but come on out and hang with the night people. it will be fun, i'll even buy you a drink. at the low price of $7 it's your best entertainment value. we got together for rehearsal last weekend, and it's crazy how much the group's sound changes over time. we did more Rock and less Jazz than usual - and it was good. Plus one late night might be a good warm-up for all the holiday parties you have to go to this month. as Brian Williams, director of Step Afrika! might say, "It will be HOT."
here's details about the show. maybe see you tomorrow night?
-jon
Improv Arts, Inc. presents:
Soft Relativism and the Malaise of Modernity:
abstract electronics, fragile songs, and spontaneous jazz
Who:DC Improvisers Collective, Liz Isenberg, and Cassette Concret
When: Wednesday, December 6, 2006, 10:00pm, $7
Where: Warehouse Next Door, 1017 7th Street NW, Washington DC 20001
The DC Improvisers Collective (DCIC) is a trio exploring the intersection of jazz, contemporary composition and experimental music. Their current lineup features Ben Azzara (drums), Jonathan Matis (guitar), and Mike Sebastian (reeds). These musicians come together from diverse backgrounds, bringing experience from performing in rock bands and jazz groups, as well as post-classical composition. With ears wide open, they craft intricate compositions on the fly. Although the common metaphor for group improvisation often seems to be conversation, this metaphor fails to capture the true real-time, simultaneous collaboration that fuels the work. Equal parts tightrope act and group meditation, the ensemble explores the fertile territory of surprise just beyond the boundary where words fail. [and lately they are exploring the intersection of Doom Metal, Minimalism, and Mystical music from around the world. Q: What does that sound like? A: Hot.]
Liz Isenberg is a musician from Amherst, Massachusetts. She plays string bass, guitar, and works with electronic sound manipulation. She is currently touring as a solo artist, but is also a member of Fat Cat Records approved a.sweater (Sweater Weather). Of her work, Hampshire College Music Professor and Audio Culture (Continuum, 2005) editor Dan Warner writes "[Liz’s music] speaks beautifully in it’s own compositional voice…using minimal musical materials, but just the right amount of processing to enhance her delicate, compelling vocals." Alone or with her various bands she has played shows with several K Records related bands including Mount Eerie and Little Wings, as well as current Andrew Bird tour mates Head of Femur.
Cassette Concret is wacky electronic music.
http://morrismatis.blogspot.com
"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
1. shows last month with Step Afrika! went really well. it was a big challenge for me, but i think it worked out nicely and i hope to continue working with them in '07. the music for their new piece combined rock and electronica elements. their step rhythms are really tricky and it kept me on my toes for sure. plus i had to play "composed" music so i had to worry about playing the right notes and stuff. i think i pulled it off. the piece also had some complicated video integration, so we all had lots of cues to remember (and hit at the right time). somehow it all worked even though the piece was still changing right up until the dress rehearsal. they're a wickedly talented bunch.
2. DCIC has a show coming up tomorrow night at the new & improved Warehouse Next Door. it's nicer than it was before, and the lineup is interesting. two acts from massachussets (i think they're both hampshire college students?) see below for the details and links to hear music by the opening acts. the show starts late - 10pm. if you're like me, that might be late for a weeknight... but come on out and hang with the night people. it will be fun, i'll even buy you a drink. at the low price of $7 it's your best entertainment value. we got together for rehearsal last weekend, and it's crazy how much the group's sound changes over time. we did more Rock and less Jazz than usual - and it was good. Plus one late night might be a good warm-up for all the holiday parties you have to go to this month. as Brian Williams, director of Step Afrika! might say, "It will be HOT."
here's details about the show. maybe see you tomorrow night?
-jon
Improv Arts, Inc. presents:
Soft Relativism and the Malaise of Modernity:
abstract electronics, fragile songs, and spontaneous jazz
Who:DC Improvisers Collective, Liz Isenberg, and Cassette Concret
When: Wednesday, December 6, 2006, 10:00pm, $7
Where: Warehouse Next Door, 1017 7th Street NW, Washington DC 20001
The DC Improvisers Collective (DCIC) is a trio exploring the intersection of jazz, contemporary composition and experimental music. Their current lineup features Ben Azzara (drums), Jonathan Matis (guitar), and Mike Sebastian (reeds). These musicians come together from diverse backgrounds, bringing experience from performing in rock bands and jazz groups, as well as post-classical composition. With ears wide open, they craft intricate compositions on the fly. Although the common metaphor for group improvisation often seems to be conversation, this metaphor fails to capture the true real-time, simultaneous collaboration that fuels the work. Equal parts tightrope act and group meditation, the ensemble explores the fertile territory of surprise just beyond the boundary where words fail. [and lately they are exploring the intersection of Doom Metal, Minimalism, and Mystical music from around the world. Q: What does that sound like? A: Hot.]
Liz Isenberg is a musician from Amherst, Massachusetts. She plays string bass, guitar, and works with electronic sound manipulation. She is currently touring as a solo artist, but is also a member of Fat Cat Records approved a.sweater (Sweater Weather). Of her work, Hampshire College Music Professor and Audio Culture (Continuum, 2005) editor Dan Warner writes "[Liz’s music] speaks beautifully in it’s own compositional voice…using minimal musical materials, but just the right amount of processing to enhance her delicate, compelling vocals." Alone or with her various bands she has played shows with several K Records related bands including Mount Eerie and Little Wings, as well as current Andrew Bird tour mates Head of Femur.
Cassette Concret is wacky electronic music.
http://morrismatis.blogspot.com
"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death." -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
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