- Opeye Quintet (featuring Henry Kuntz, who published Bells in the 70s)
- Nels Cline Trio (New CD on Enja; Nels also plays on Mike Watt's new CD)
- Andrew Voigt Quartet (w/ Gino Robair)
- Senator Buchanan (Improv-Space-Pop: Russ Schoenwetter, Joe Mahoney et al)
- 7:15 starting time!!! (being a school night!) ``Big Music, Little Musicians'' - Elementary school musicians from Oakland & The Manufacturing of Humidifiers, to play separately and together. The ManofHu will play compositions by the kids. (Call Randy Porter at (510) 845-7045 for info about the kids' CD ``Big Music, Little Musicians'')
- ``Percussion Detonation'' - Greg Bendian, Willie Winant, & Lukas Ligeti in a series of percussion duets and trios. More info.
- Sheldon Brown Trio
- Snorkel* (Ben Goldberg, John Shott quartet) Snorkel also played at The Berkeley Store Gallery Tuesday, March 28.
- Alex Candelaria + Trevor Dunn + Scott Amendola
- Bill Horvitz + Steve Adams + Joe Sabella
- Phillip Greenlief Group
- The Splatter Trio
- Carl Stone + Otomo Yoshihide
- Rotodoti (with Ron Heglin, Tom Nunn, Doug Carroll, and Tim)
- Pluto (with Russ Schoenwetter, Marc Weinstein, Myles Boisen, Bruce Anderson, and others)
- Steve Horowitz and The Code
- Polyphony Night: Seven Orchestras on A Single Continent!!! Or, to be more precise, at least seven events happening simultaneously at BEANBENDER's, including 20th Century chamber music, drums, poker, poetry, cheap electronics, and the occasional obligatory saxophone.
- Rituel
- Trance (featuring Mason Jones: guitar, drums Elden M: keyboards, piano Annabel Lee: violin)
- Joel Harrison 3 + 3 = 7 (3 guitars, 3 drummers. Includes Harrison, Nels Cline and John Schott on guitar).
- Richie West (with Graham Connah, Elliot Kavee, and Alex Candelaria)
- The Enormous Ensemble (w/ Mantra and Susan Volkan voices).
- Dan Plonsey's DiSaStEr OpErA ThEaTre
- What We Live Lisle Ellis, Larry Ochs, and Donald Robinson)
- The Glenn Spearman Trio (with Spirit)
- The ROVA Sax Quartet
- Tasuya Yoshida (drummer of Ruins!) solo performance.
- Fred Frith
solo guitar; his first Bay area solo appearance since 1987.
His only Bay Area performance this visit! Frith is one of my very favorite
musicians
of any time or place, and you haven't experienced half of his musicianship if you
haven't seen him
solo! $11, show at 8:30 PM
Advance tickets on sale at Aquarius Records (San Francisco), The ``Original Berkeley Store Gallery'' 2230 Shattuck Avenue (Berkeley), and at Shambhala Books (across Telegraph from Amoeba Music, Berkeley)
- Philip Gelb (shakuhachi, Roland CP-40 pitch to midi converter, Waldorf Microwave synthesizer, Lexicon LXP-15 delay/reverb, Oberheim Digital Echoplex, MAX, Galaxy) with Miya Masaoka, Scott Walton, & Gino Robair
- Beth Custer (solo clarinet and who knows what else? Beth can do just about anything!)
- Anna Homler (incredible vocalist from LA, sings in her own language; not a shrieker or a new-ager or a balladeer, but very musical. Has recorded with David Moss and many others).
- The
Evan Parker/
Barry Guy/
Paul Lytton
Trio(!!!)
From England, this trio is perhaps the most highly acclaimed of European
free jazz groups (follow their WWW links if you don't believe me).
See also John Shiurba's SF Bay Guardian article
``HEARTBEATS AND HURRICANES''.
They will be celebrating the release of their new CD on Rastascan.
$12, show at 8:30 PM
- LaDonna Smith (from Birmingham Alabama, LaDonna Smith is an amazing violinist/violist, and a truly extraordinary musician. Recent recordings include Eye of the Storm and a CD of duets with Davey Williams.)
- Graham Connah Group (with Ben Goldberg, Rob Sudduth, Marty Wehner, Trevor Dunn, playing Connah's original music inspired by Sun Ra, Mingus, and a contrary sense of harmony).
- Bonnie Barnett Group (from LA, Bonnie is a great singer whose groups always have a wonderful sense of improv chemistry and humor)
- Bruce Anderson Brutality (legendary guitarist and leader of Ralph Records' MX-80, O Type and a member of Rastascan's Pluto. Solo and with help from Dale Sophia)
- Matthew Goodheart Quartet featuring Marco Eneidi (Goodheart (piano), Eneidi (also sax), Michael Silverman (bass), Donald Robinson (drums))
- Alex Candelaria and the Amsterdam Improv Collective (Candelaria, Rob Armus, Victor DeBoo, Joe Williamson)
- The ROVA Sax Quartet The world-reknowned sax quartet makes its second Beanbender's appearance.
- Another Curiosity Piece Celebrating the release of a new CD by Dan Plonsey (reeds), John Hinds (keboards) & Peter Hinds (drums), with Mantra Ben-Ya'akova, Gino Robair and Tom Yoder.
- Steve Norton & Curt Newton from Boston, Norton and Newton play with debris and on the new CD of Braxton compositions Jump or Die. Newton also plays in a duo with Ken Vandermark. Various Bay area luminaries including Gino Robair and saxophonists Steve Adams, Dave Barrett, and Dan Plonsey will join them.
- Oluyemi Thomas & Gino Robair (Thomas is a powerful tenor sax/bass clarinetist with a recent CD on Music & Arts).
- Witches and Devils(John Shiurba, guitar; Chris Daniels, bass; Tom Scandura, drums. Inspired by Ayler, these guys can scream).
- The Molecules
- Marco Eneidi Quartet (Eneidi, alto sax; Lisle Ellis, bass; Don Robinson and Spirit, drums)
- The Manufacturing of Humidifiers (Dan Plonsey (reeds), Randy Porter (strings), Ward Spangler (percussion)).
- Thread(bari sax/bass clarinetist Charles Sharp leads this trio)
- Ellery Eskelin and the Ben Goldberg Trio. Eskelin is one of NY's hottest young tenor players.
- Emily Hay Singer from LA, with Michael Whitmore (guitar), and Brad Dutz (percussion)
- Richie West Notorious drummer from LA, with David Kwan (electronics).
- Bob Ostertag solo. Ostertag is an internationally reknowned musician who works with samples of music and sound. He has recorded with Frith, Zorn, and many others.
- Members of Mr. Bungle Meet Bob Ostertag
- Vinny Golia Quartet: the superlative player of bass, baritone, soprano saxophone, various clarinets, various flutes and who knows what double-reeds from LA. With Mike Vlatkovich, trombone; Bill Douglass, bass; and Billy Mintz, drums.
- Moe!: Moe is an eccentric percussionist who plays televisions, chinaware, and other flaming objects. He makes a mess. He's on last.
- Better Hose and Garters: dada, noise, and a bank robbery!
- Crawl Unit
- The ROVA Sax Quartet. Once again!
- The Splatter Trio. Rova and Splatter will play sets by themselves, then together.
- Gregg Bendian's ``Interzone''. Bendian has played with Cecil Taylor, Peter Brotzmann, Derek Bailey, etc. With Vinny Golia, and hopefully Alex Cline and Nels Cline.
- Doug Carroll's ``Chaotica Impropera'' - an opera based on phone messages, personals, and improvisation. With Lynn Tousey, Kattt, Ron Heglin, Fred Salvallon, Tom Nunn, Jim Hearon, Andrew Voigt, Ed Hermann, Doug Carroll, and conducted by Jason Gibbs.
- Elizabeth La Mantia's ``Ridin' the Color Train''. Improvisation based on melodic patterns, original paintings and colored light. La Mantia, steel pans and open piano; Beth Custer, clarinets; Kash Killion, cello and bass.
- Ralph Carney's ``Special Parrot''
- Laptop (Dave Slusser and Len Paterson)
- Fracture - SF's premiere noise/jazz/rock/story-tellers. Ron K, guitar; 99 Hooker, sax; Jim Nelson, drums, Carl Stanley, bass.
- Christopher Mahoney
- John Schott & Dan Plonsey Overlapping Large Ensembles. Schott and Plonsey present 3 large-scale (and one small) compositions for a large ensemble including Steve Adams, Mantra Ben-Ya'akova, Matt Brubeck, Laura Carmichael, Trevor Dunn, Ben Goldberg, Ron Heglin, Carla Kihlstedt. Matt Lebofsky, Jenny Scheinman, Dan Seamons, and Willie Winant.
- Jeff Kaiser's Mahacuisinarte. From LA, with Richard Wood, Jim Connoly and Rich West. Wearing dollhead coat, playing bible-thumping organ, or tunefully harmless trumpet?
- Hermann Buehler and Lisa Moskow. Swiss saxophonist and East Bay sarod virtuoso.
- Jack Wright and Andreas Stehle. Maverick saxophonist from Boulder Colorado, Wright's music is very personal, very political, and very very intense. Stehle plays saxophone and didgeridoo.
- OPEYE featuring the legendary Henry Kuntz. Avant-Shamanic Trance jazz of the highest caliber, this masked band is one of our all-time favorites!
...was to be a concert by Hans Reichel, but the gallery was not available. I include this note only because I wanted to find a good place to include a link to Reichel's font, Barmeno
- Pre-Thanksgiving Jam and Party! Bring an instrument or come for the food! Admission is free; donation or food contribution for food and drink. Come to meet and play with other crazy musicians, or just to hang in that pre-turkey atmosphere of ever-changing melodic invention.
- Punishment Cookies: Anna Homler, Kira Vollman, and Kaoru. Brilliant, funny, wonderfuly strange singers/instrumentalists from Los Angeles.
- Scot Gresham-Lancaster's Hot Flaming Skull. With Tim Perkis, John Bischoff, Chris Brown, Joe Catalano, Dave Ziegler, and more. Electro-acoustic music by a bunch of big-shots and professionals!
- NO CONCERT at the gallery! We're heading over to the Great American Music Hall in SF to see John Tchicai, Raphe Malik, Glenn Spearman, Rova, and others in a 30th anniversary celebration of John Coltrane's Ascension.
SPECIAL EVENT!!!
- Caffeine. From Chicago, Ken Vandermark (who has played with the Coctails, Hal Russell, his own quartet, etc.), tenor sax, with Baker and Hunt, keyboards (ARP 2600!) and percussion.
- Glenn Spearman, Raphe Malik, Marco Eneidi, Jon Raskin, Chris Brown, Lisle Ellis, Don Robinson
- Jason Gibbs & Carri Barclay, bassoon duets.
- Clarinet Thing: Custer, Ralph Carney, Ben Goldberg, Peter Josheff and Sheldon Brown, all on Clarinet.
- Beth Custer/Will Bernard Ensemble: Custer, clarinet; Bernard, guitar; Jeff Cressman, trombone; John Evans, bass; Jim Kassis, drums.
- Graham Connah Large Ensemble. Steve Adams, Trevor Dunn, Ben Goldberg, Birdsong, Eliot Kavee, Vijay Iyer, Sheldon Brown, Rob Sudduth, Marty Wehner
- Next Trio, with special guest Dave Slusser.
- Caroline Kraabel From London, saxophonist and founder of the world famous, most notorious Honkies! Solo, and with guest Ron Anderson.
- Chris Kelsey New York saxophonist, with Bill Horvitz and Joe Sabella.
1996
- Rotodoti. Ron Heglin, Tom Nunn, Doug Carroll, Tim Perkis. One of our all-time favorite groups!
- TBA
- ABB-EBB Elliot Kavee, Andy Borger, Brad Hargreaves, Bobby Lurie; percussion; Brian Kane, Butch Rovan: reeds.
- Gamalataki: Damon Smith, bass; Greg, alto sax; Zen Cohen, cello; Jeff Clinton, guitar; Jacob Lindsay, drums & clarinet.
- Oluyemi Thomas & Lisle Ellis Thomas is one of the area's hidden treasures, creating deeply spiritual music on tenor, soprano sax and bass clarinet in the post-Ayler continuum.
- Snowflake and the Fireballs. Violin, flute, guitar and others.
- KLiP Organ, guitar and drums.
- Drew Gardener Group
- Myles Boisen's Guitarspeak, with Robair, Barrett, Frasconi, Zen Cohen, and John Shiurba
- Mark Gordon: The absurd songs of Mark Gordon, Deborah Gwinn, and Michael O'Brien, sung by Mark Gordon.
- ADD Trio With one of the 'D's being for Robert Dick, who is known worldwide in circles of former flute-haters for having revolutionized the flute through the invention of many extended techniques which render the instrument capable of musical output.
- Sludge (aka Marino Pliakis trio)
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
- Vinny Golia Large Ensemble.
Vinny Golia is a madman/genius
composer/saxophonist/flutist/clarinetist etc. living in Los Angeles, where he
is king of all that he surveys. His music for large ensemble (26 players!) is
traveling up the West Coast to lose Vinny and friends lots of money, which is
another way of saying that he's spending it all on you and me, the public!
This special not-to-be-missed concert will take place at:
St. John's Presbyterian Church
2727 College Avenue
Berkeley
8 PM
about 10 blocks South of the UC Berkeley campus. St. Johns is a great location for concerts, being beautiful and having good acoustics. Your Beanbender's hosts will be on hand to ply you with the usual refreshments, along with some special additions!
- Disaster Opera Theatre. Dan Plonsey brings some of the Bay Area's finest and least dubious talent together for a giant Valentine's Day production massacre. Over 80 musicians have been invited to take part in the densest D.O.T. ever!
- Pluto: Russ Schoenwetter sings songs of love. Pluto = Bruce Anderson (of MX-80, O-type, etc.), guitar; Myles Boisen (Splatter Trio, Clubfoot Orch.), guitar, and Marc Weinstein and Russ Schoenwetter, drums.
- Joel Harrison Large Ensemble, featuring Paul McCandless.
- Ned Rothenberg solo alto saxophone, bass clarinet, shakuhachi. From the downtown NY scene, Rothenberg is one of the most exciting and innovative players around.
- Stephano Scodanibbio, one of Europe's foremost bass players in a series of duets with a couple of California's best bassists - Lisle Ellis, and Hannes Giger - and also with Bob Ostertag.
- Buckethead One of very few to have recorded with both Derek Bailey and Bootsy Collins! Here's a discography, aletter of complaint, the Buckethead Home Page, someone else's Buckethead page, and Buckethead Profile by Joe Gore (GUITAR PLAYER, Dec 1992)
- Kato Hedeki, an incredibly prolific and talented bassist/composer from Japan via New York.
- Beanbender's celebrates its First Anniversary! With the opening of an exhibit of photographs by Raven Nielsen and special snacks and wine. Reception at 7:30, concert at 8:30.
- Gamelan Si Aptos (Lou Harrison's own gamelan!)
- Tom Heasley solo tuba; has played with Charlie Haden.
- Chris Brown, computers, and friends
- Scott Rosenberg Ensemble 16 musicians!
- Lisle Ellis "Wake Up Crazy", featuring India Cooke, Donald Robinson, Mickey Waldman, and Philip Greenlief.
- Eugene Chadbourne. Yes, it's EuGeNe!!!
- Rituel CD release party for their new CD New Music for a New America on Rastascan! With many special, special guests, including the Splatter Trio and Mantra Ben-Ya'akova. Press Release.
- Andrew Voigt, Gino Robair, Harold Carr This group did a wonderful, quiet, intense performance last year at Beanbender's; we've been looking forward to their return! Voigt was the "V" in the ROVA saxophone quartet, Robair the "R" in Splatter Trio, and bassist Carr maintains a Carr home page.
- Francis Wong Group
- Job: Chunky-style improv and other things featuring Mark Schifferli, Jai Young Kim, and Matt Lebofsky. Yes, they even maintain their own web page, located here.
- The Manufacturing of Humidifiers, featuring Dan Plonsey, saxophones and clarinets; Randy Porter, guitar and exotic strings; Ward Spangler, percussion, and special guest Mantra Ben-Ya'akova. Elastic, iconoclastic and bombastic as anybody. They (we) will play 7 or 8 fully notated miniature symphonies amidst their (our) unusually cataclysmic set-construct.
- Vinny Golia Quintet: Vinny's one of our favorite multi-reedists. From LA, with some of LA's best free-jazz musicians.
- Dave Scott / Tony Malaby Quartet: also from LA, with the formidible Billy Mintz on drums.
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
- AMM
One of the world's longest-lived improvisational groups,
AMM are at last achieving worldwide recognition as masters of the art of
ensemble improvisation. Watch for information about advance ticket sales.
This concert is their last stop in a brief (and very rare!)
U.S. tour.
You can E-mail your reservation(s), or buy tickets at Shabhala Books (2482 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley, across from Amoeba Music), Aquarius Records in San Francisco, or at any Beanbender's show.
- Blowhole Anarchist improvisors from Seattle, favorites of Thurston Moore and all who appreciate the diabolical possibilities of anti-structure. Blowhole's new CD, Billowing Sheen, is available from apraxia music research. They say: "Billowing Sheen, Blowhole's first foray into the land of digital sound reproduction, is a collection of mostly studio recordings from the past three years. The disc shows the development of Blowhole into two separate regional bands that both began to veer towards an explosive mixture of loud rock and improvisation. The bombast is especially borne out on such cross-country improvisations as "Figuring Ground" and "Displacement Theory," and on the two live tracks (recorded at Lollapalooza!). The loud rock attack is tempered by occasional fits of textural ambience and the stumbling free jazz that you have come to expect from Blowhole."
- Miss Murgatroid Formerly of the Bay Area, now of Seattle, Miss M takes the accordion to new depths. HotWired gives her recording Methyl Ethyl Key Tones (WorryBird) the following review: ``On this relatively recent release, Miss Murgatroid's squeezebox whine evokes an otherworldly soul journey. Accordion amplification and distortion gives her nerdy cries of pleasure and pain a cyborg veneer and a punk-rock soul.''
- Kingdom Scum
- Splatter Trio and J.A. Deane Splatter Trio (Gino Robair, Myles Boisen and Dave Barrett) are practically synonomous with ``creative music'' at this point. In celebration of their great (and quite uniquely recorded and processed) new CD: Hi-Fi Junk Note.
- Sadly, we must announce the postponement of Miya Masaoka and 3000 Bees. Unfortunately, these somber and industrious insects have other committments. But soon, we hope!
- Bertram Turetsky. THE new-music bass player! Virtuosic, imaginative, and very musical. Solo, and perhaps playing with the othe bands as well.
- Steve Horowitz and the Code. Horowitz has been a mainstay in the Bay Area creative music scene since the days of Improvcore at Olive Oil's. He's played with The Manufacturing of Humidifiers, and his own groups: Scatter Tactics, and The Code. His music reflects the indeterminate work of Earle Brown, Frank Zappa, and Bootsy Collins. He has two CDs on Ponk records: The Code and The Psychosexual Album. This is a Farewell performance for Steve Horowitz and the Code Ensemble: Steve Horowitz, Bass and Band leader; Sten Rudstr?m, Voices; Greg Chua, Guitar; Jim Hedges, Guitar; Nik Phelps, Reeds; Chris Frumkin, Piano; Dave Ravelli, Drums. Special Guests for this show will be: Dave Barrett, Reeds; Jhos Cepachchoinn, Percussion Tom Yoder, Trombone Dan Plonsey, Reeds Matt Brubeck, Cello Laura Carmichael, Clarinet. Steve's wife Keesje will be exhibiting her mono prints for this night only with a reception to be held at 7:30pm the music will start at 8:30
- Flex Plan Delta. Marilyn Lerner: piano, from Canada. Has performed with Lori Freedman, Paquito d'Rivera, Peter Erkine. Harold Carr, bass, recently moved to SF from Utah. Has performed with Steve Lacy, Lightnin' Hopkins... Andrew Voigt, reeds. Founding member of the ROVA Saxophone Quartet Peter Valsamis, drums, recently moved to SF from Canada after performing in Asia for the last year. Flavia Cervino-Wood, violin, from Chile. Has performed with Cecil Taylor, Milton Nascimento. Flex Plan Delta's music is a mix of Braxtonian structuralism, Ornette Coleman harmelodicism, and modern jazz harmony ala Joe Lovano/Gunther Schuller. In other words, lots of free playing with a solid harmonic/rhythmic foundation.
- Lukas Ligeti. Electronic and acoustic drum compositions.
- Graham Connah Group. More small-big-band music from the master! In the post-Monk, Mingus, Sun Ra continuum. With Ben Goldberg, Rob Sudduth, Trevor Dunn, Elliot Kavee, et al.
- Myles Boisen Guitar Trio. With Mark Schifferli and John Finkbeiner. Identical cousins like on the Patty Duke show inasmuch as they work within the same operational logics but with different degrees of scrutibility, not to mention tension-resolution dynamics as controlled by the volume pedal. Abstract, but not without spontaneous (and occasionally (drolly) humorous) character-development revelation - at least metaphorically.
- Bill Hsu Trio, piano; Geoff Lipman, guitar; and Dave Slusser, reeds and electronics. Very sparky! Ka-POW! Like on Batman (the TV show with Adam West and Burt Ward, especially as when the Riddler (Frank Gorshin) was on).
- Nels Cline Trio. We can hardly say enough about the Nels Cline Trio. Cline is one of the most exciting guitarists of this time, making a powerful and original music out of a mix of jazz, noise, and hypnotic Branca-esque strumming. If you are at all interested in the music that spans the gaps of jazz/noise/trance, or if you have any interest in inventive guitar, you must see this group!
- Bonnie Barnett Band. From LA, Bonnie is a great singer and bandleader. Her groups are never bombastic; they work on creating a strong, empathic ensemble music, often with touches of humor, carrying on surreal half-musical half-poetic conversations. With Richard Wood on alto sax and others...
- Rent Romus. Saxophonist Romus appears with Jonas Muller and Tomas Barfod, from Denmark.
- OPEYE. One of my favorite groups! Henry Kuntz, John Kuntz, Brian Godchaux, Ben Lindgren, and Esten Lindgren making avant-shamanic trance jazz like you've never seen, unless you come from one of those planets where folks have zipped around in their flying objects, collecting gamelan instruments from Indonesia, double-reeds from China, violins, percussion and masks from who-knows-where, which they then play with reckless abandon just like the Lizard band in Pinkwater's Lizard Music.
- Zen Disaster. Chris Muir and Henry Kaiser, guitars; Danielle DeGruttolla vc; Lukas Ligeti, drums. This is Kaiser's first appearance at Beanbender's, and we're very excited to have him! Not only has Kaiser made recordings with all of my favorite musicians (e.g., Fred Frith, John French, Derek Bailey, ROVA, etc., etc), and not only did he introduce me to Daniel Pinkwater, but it was his recording Ice Death with Henry Kuntz (of OPEYE) among many others that convinced me back around 1980 that the Bay Area has the highest concentration of odd musicians of any city in the US. It might or might not have been true then; it most certainly is now!
- Rova Sax Quartet. Like Kuntz and Kaiser, Rova have been mainstays in the Bay Area Creative Music scene for over twenty years. Back for a fourth performance at Beanbender's, the quartet will be playing music mostly or entirely new to local audiences, including works by Lindsay Cooper, Raymond Scott (arranged by Steve Adams), Steve Adams &/or Larry Ochs.
- ABB-EBB. How better to follow 4 saxophones than with 4 percussion virtuosi (with a couple sax/clarinet/bass clarinetists thrown in): Elliot Kavee, Andy Borger, Brad Hargreaves, Bobby Lurie; percussion; Brian Kane, Butch Rovan: reeds. (Except that - on this occasion - ABB-EBB is actually: Brian Kane, Matt Ingalls, Matt Rosenberg, reeds; Morgan Guberman and someone else on percussion.) Playing compositions in which structural elements are determined by dealing cards. We were very impressed by their first appearance at Beanbender's. [concert review].
*** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event!
- John Butcher British saxophonist Butcher is only just becoming a household name among fans of creative music. When I think of some appropriate description for his approach to the saxophone I'll put it in here, for now let's just say that this concert is very highly recommended to all who appreciate alternative performance logics.
- Melvyn Poore and Martin Blume Tuba and percussion from Britain and Switzerland. Brilliant improvisors whose work appears on FMP and other European improv labels. The plan is to do three sets: Butcher; Poore/Blume; Butcher/Poore/Blume.
- Glenn Spearman Double Trio CD release party. The group's fourth CD! With Lisle Ellis, Donald Robinson, Chris Brown, Larry Ochs, and Willie Winant. Foundation-shaking acoustic music for punks, Deadheads, and Cecil Taylor afficianados alike!
- Min Xiao-Fen solo pipa virtuoso, celebrating the release of her new CD of mostly traditional Chinese music. (Which, as we know from our jazz history texts is a music much revered by jazz traditionalists for its resemblance to bebop!) Min Xiao-Fen is also known for her ability to belt out Chinese aria karaoke, often in the company of Carl Stone.
- The Gordons: dada bakery songs by Mark Gordon and Deborah Gwynn
- Offramp: Doug Carroll (processed cello), Tom Nunn (homemade percussion), Jim Hearon (violin)
- Dana Reason, Peter Valsamis, Francis Wong & Gino Robair
- Damon Smith a solo bass interlude.
- Snowflake and the Fireballs (violin, flute, guitar; featuring Nancy Clarke, Evelyn Mann, and David the guitarist)
- Oluyemi Thomas / Gino Robair Duet Rastascan CD release party. Their duet CD was recorded last year at BEANBENDER's! Oluyemi Thomas is one of the most exciting and energetic players of the sax and bass clarinet, working in a similar musical realm to Charles Gayle, but really much more akin to the source of all joyful noise vibration, Mr. Albert Ayler.
- Positive Knowledge Oluyemi in a different context, with voice and poetry and with the amazing Spirit on drums.
- Matt Sperry bass, from Seattle, both solo and in duet with pianist Dana Reason.
- Zen Cohen's Opera, featuring Scott Rosenberg, Marco Eneidi, Garth Powell, Morgan Guberman, Ron Heglin, Dan Plonsey and Bob Marsh.
- Dan Plonsey's large ensemble, with John Schott, Graham Connah, Gino Robair, Steve Lew, Dave Barrett, Carla Kihlstedt, Jenny Scheinman and Laura Carmichael. Crude and slidey music in delayed counterpoint.
- ROOM encounters Phil Gelb (Chris Brown - piano, electronics; Larry Ochs - tenor, sopranino sax; Willie Winant, percussion; Phil Gelb, shakuhachi)
- Ralph Carney's Special Parrot
- Matthew Goodheart, Donald Robinson & Garth Powell. Goodheart is known both as a formidible composer and pianist.
- Gubakane: Morgan Guberman and Brian Kane, in solos and duet. Morgan plays bass and sings what sound like arias from Italian operas, but which, when examined more closely, are actually coded instructions to the many communists who attend our concerts regularly. Kane is also a known subversive, having just finished arranging four days worth of songs by Kurt Weill (which he now plays around town), so all you red-blooded folks out there beware!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event!
- Wadada Leo Smith and Nda-Kulture, with special guest Eugene Chadbourne . The master composer and trumpeter is accompanied by master tuba player Bill Roper, Gino Robair and others. Wadada's most recent CD is tao-njia, on the Tzadik label. Before that, he had a solo CD on ECM, Kulture Jazz, and before that... Leo Smith is a very important figure in the history of Creative Music. A member of the AACM, his imaginative and innovative work as a composer and theorist compares in both creativity and prolificity with that of frequent collaborator Anthony Braxton. He's been a longtime inspiration to a great many people within the creative music community, and although he's been underrecorded over the years, it seems like his time for wider recognition may just be dawning. He is currently on the Cal Arts faculty.
*** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event!
- SUN RA ARKESTRA under the direction of Marshall Allen with Michael Ray, Tyrone Hill, Samarai, John Ore, Kwame Hadi, James Jacson, Bruce Edwards and others. The Arkestra should need no introduction, but if you'd like, we have a small list of links to
- Sun Ra
material. Of course Sun Ra, the great saxophonist John Gilmore
and singer June Tyson are no longer with us, but the Arkestra is
still going strong. Their performances are incendiary
and magical, but Bay Area appearances are rare - this is the only one on
this tour - so don't miss them!
Two sets: 8PM and 10PM.
For reservations, send e-mail to: dan@plonsey.com.
This is a very last-minute booking (confirmed only on August 16), so please help us get the word out!
- Bill Horvitz, Steve Adams, & Joe Sabella
- Moe! and another Human Being. Moe is well-remembered for his phenomenal drumming with and upon guitars, telephones, dinnerware, fire, television sets, and wire constructions.
- Steve Adams, Vinny Golia, Ken Filiano & Billy Mintz
- John Schott Trio, with Trevor Dunn and Donald Robinson.
- Jackson Krall, Gino Robair, Garth Powell & Donald Robinson DRUM QUARTET!
- Miya Masaoka, Spirit, Jenny Scheinman, Marco Eneidi, Lisle Ellis & Jackson Krall
- Alex Candelaria Trio, with Jon Evans and Elliot Kavee.
- Open stage/Improv Workshop! Bring your instruments and play in a series of short improvs by small groups. To go quite late, potentially.
- Bertram Turetzky. Legendary new music bassist, from San Diego.
- Torrid Anos. Beth Lissick tells stories and rants to the sweet musical strains of Gino Robair, John Shiurba, and Dan Plonsey.
- Henry Kuntz solo saxophone. Longtime Bay Area improvisor, writer, traveller, and leader of the amazing avant shamanic group: OPEYE.
- Pauline Oliveros and the Mills College Contemporary Performance Ensemble, directed by Steed Cowert. Performing compositions and improvisational structures.
- Meeting at 5:30, open to the public, but especially to creative musicians, and to those interested in helping to promote creative music. Topics for discussion may include: 1. What to do about this scene: Is it too dense? 2. Bringing in big name artists. 3. Fundraising and/or revitalizing IMA? 4. Festival?
- What We Live - Lisle Ellis, Larry "Lawrence" Ochs, and Donald Robinson.
- Ron Heglin and Sabine, vocal duets and conversation from the outskirts of......
- Wobbly - Spontaneous live mixing and manipulations of cassettes, samplers, prepared guitars and post-toys.
- Wet Gate - a trio which uses 16mm projectors and film fragments for its instrumentation. Using sampling delays and other minor gadgets, Wet Gate attempts to tear the stitching out between image and sound as normally married on a piece of film, relying mainly on the process of looping "found" or created sources repetitively so as to wrench new and/or unintended meanings out of the material while deliberately NOT bringing any outside sources (tapes, etc.) into the mix. Wet Gate has been referred to as using film for "the antithesis of its intended purpose" and is comprised of Peter Conheim, Steven Dye, and Owen O'Toole.
- Scott Looney Quartet. Looney, piano; Aaron Bennett and Dan Plonsey, saxophones; Richard Saunders, bass.
- Joel Harrison's 3+3=7, featuring Nels Cline. CD release party! Also featuring John Schott and the Percussionists Three.
- Myles Boisen and Ed Chang
- Tim Berne & Jon Raskin Quartet. With Eliot Kavee, drums; and Michael Formanek, bass. Two sets.
- Fred Lonborg-Holm, Eric Bergkvist, Michael Gendreau. This free-impro vising trio came together at Mills College about 7 years ago. Lonborg-Holm has since made a name for himse lf in downtown New York circles, Gendreau continues to put out beautiful and subtle noise recordings as half of Crawling With Tarts, and Bergkvist plays the trombone in a mysterious manner.
- Ben Goldberg with Francis Wong, Miya Masaoka, Elliot Kavee. No words necessary!
- Actual Size: Bruce Ackley, George Cremaschi & Garth Powell. Rova's inventive soprano (and tenor) player, Ackley stretches out in this trio setting with the explosive bass-playing of Cremaschi and the unpredictable virtuosity of drummer Powell making this trio the ideal counterpart to the Splatterers.
- Splatter Trio - one of the last shows for a long while from one of the Bay Area's premeire creative music units: saxophonist Dave Barrett will be going to Mexico for up to two years in January! This is music for those who adore a penthouse view.
- SF Electric String Trio: Doug Carroll, John Ettinger, Jim Hearon. All three are very accomplished players, and their use of electronics is intelligent and mostly tasteful, occasionally overwhelming, like Crumb's "Black Angels" on a rampage. Music for those who would like to see the Kronos Quartet members taken over by demons for just one evening.
- Scott Rosenberg Quartet CD Release, with Matt Ingalls, Morgan Guberman, Gino Robair.Music that is intelligent and exhuberent - influenced equally by John Cage's notions of indeterminacy and general dada craziness: a bass player who sings opera, a drummer who plays with toys, and two young reed phenoms.
- Pauline Oliveros, India Cooke, and Caroline van Putten. Oliveros is one of the most important and (better yet) most interesting of those composers who have taken John Cage's notions of sound and silence out of the academic world and back into the wider world. This trio gave a short performance at Beanbender's in September which left us hungry for lots more. There is something here for anyone who calls her/himself a musician.
- Matt Sperry and friends. Friends being Carla Kihlstedt, violin; and Gino Robair, drums. Bassist Sperry is from Seattle. His music is agile, full of extended techniques, angles and impliments (a Fred Frith of the upright bass), and it moves.
- The ROVA Sax Quartet.
- Dana Reason CD Release. With drummer Peter Valsamis. "Canadian born pianist/composer Dana Reason is pleased to announce the release of her premier recording Primal Identity on the Deep Listening Label. Primal Identity features solo piano and duet pieces with Philip Gelb on shakuhachi."
- Scott Walton Group. Scott is a great pianist from San Diego, where he has worked with George Lewis. Instrumentation: clarinet/bass clar, trumpet/flugelhorn, guitars(1/4tone and frettless)/koto, contrabass/prepared piano.
- Graham Connah's NoPorkestra. Maestro Connah presents a big band (5 saxes, 2 clarinets, trumpet, violin, voices, bass, drums, keyboards), and who knows what else?
- Phillip Johnston Quintet, of Microscopic Septet and Big Trouble fame. With Jon Raskin, saxes; Dickie Dworkin, drums; Richard Saunders, bass; Graham Connah, piano. Special Guest: Bruce Ackley.
- X-mas and Seasonal Music, played in improv/stretched-manner, by many ensembles! Curated by Dave Barrett. If you're interested in participating, send me e-mail.
- Billy Mintz & Vinny Golia Quartet, from LA.
- Touch the Earth Trio. Damon Smith, Jacob Lindsay, Michel Dumonceau.
1997
- Laura Carmichael and Ned McGowan Flutist Ned McGowan and clarinetist Laura Carmichael will perform contemporary duets, solos and improvisations including "Three Outside Insights" by Elizabeth Brown "Ko-Lho" by Giacinto Scelsi, clarinet solos by Chen Yi and Kurt Rhode, flute solos by Ferneyhough and Robert Dick and improvisations.
- Miya Masaoka, solo koto and electronics. Recently returned from touring Europe with Fred Frith and others!
- Bob Fuller and friends
- O-Type with Bruce Anderson, Marc Weinstein, Dale Sophia - all of MX-80 and Jim Hrabetin. All-improv "Black Sabbath/Morton Feldman" set!
- Eugene Chadbourne (as Eddie Chatterbox)!!! "Eddie" is also playing elsewhere in the Bay Area, "exclusively," so we can't say exactly who he is. However, we can tell you that he'll probably be playing some of the following instruments: guitar, dobro, banjo, rake, plunger... And he willhave a many uniquely packaged artifacts for sale.
- Offramp CD release party. Doug Carroll, Jim Hearon and famed instrument-maker Tom Nunn.
- William Parker & Jackson Krall, from New York! Parker is one of the mostrecorded and sought-after bass players around. He leads his own giant orchestra, and plays with such musicians as Cecil Taylor and Charles Gayle. Krall is a drummer who has also performed with Taylor and many of the other free jazz musicians around the world.
- Marco Eneidi's American Jungle Orchestra, with Parker and Krall as guests - and possibly the irrepressable Eddie Chatterbox too!.
- Water Shed 5tet, from Pittsburgh! Featuring Ben Opie.
- Bonnie Barnett Band, from LA! Featuring Barnett (vocals), Richard Wood (alto sax, clarinet, toys), Graham Connah (piano), and Spirit (percussion).
- Malcolm Goldstein (violin), Jaap Blonk (from Amsterdam, a Kurt Schwitters-vocalist), Lisle Ellis (bass) and Miya Masaoka (koto). Two sets of quartets, trios, duets!
- Dan Seamans, Carla Kihlstedt, Elliot Kavee Trio. Violin, bass, cello and drums.
- Hear. From Switzerland, this bass & vibes/percussion duo was a big hit last time around. They play very odd little pieces with great humor and aplomb. They say: "Erich "Joey Oz" Fischer, Vibraphone, Percussion Aarau (Switzerland); Hannes "Yellow" Giger, Contrabass, Los Angeles (USA). `Hear' was developed in a collaboration over the last four years. In the unusual combination of vibraphone and contrabass the two musicians play free improvisations and pieces with formal concepts. The exploration and enlargement of the sonic spectrum is a primary focus of this bi-continental duo, and the pleasure of experimentation is an integral part of their process. The `play' of improvisation, the liveliness of the unforeseen, promise the listener a new `hear' experience. The sound of the instruments both individually and in ensemble has to be reconsidered, the unthinkable all of a sudden becomes audible..."
- Aaron Bennett, Charles Sharp, John Finkbeiner. Woodwinds, guitar, musical straws, and a whole lot more.
- Gianni Gebbia, from Italy! "Everything: from free masters, radical improvisation, ney flute music to unknown ethnical masters comes out in Gianni Gebbia solo with a kind of circular ring shape plus a special mediterranean attractive." -- Marco Boccitto liner notes for Angelica Festival Bologna 1991
- Phil Gelb and friends. From Florida, Gelb wields the shakuhachi with the authority of a Los Angeles law enforcement official.
- Jack Wright, notorius iconoclastic saxophonist (and writer, philosopher, painter, etc.; regular essayist for The Improvisor) visiting from Boulder, CO.
Special FRIDAY show! $10. Usual 8:15-ish starting time. Reserve tickets by sending e-mail to: dan@plonsey.com.
- Wadada Leo Smith / John Tchicai Quartet. Two of the longtime masters! Wadada is a trumpeter and composer of great power who has worked and recorded with Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell and appeared on many AACM recordings. Tchicai has recorded with John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, Don Cherry and many others.
- Wadada Leo Smith & Oluyemi Thomas Duet.
- Vinny Golia & Marilyn Lerner Duet.
- Acid Karaoke: Carl Stone & Min Xiao-Fen!!!!!
- The Scott Fields Ensemble with Donald Robinson and Matt Turner. From the wilds of Wisconsin.
- Jay Rozen, solo tuba. From Austin, Texas. Rozen has performed with the infamous European Tuba Quartet, and has written and commissioned many works for tuba. With guests Ron Heglin, Tom Heasly, and Dan Plonsey.
- Flex Plan Delta. Members are: Marilyn Lerner : piano, from Canada. Has performed with Lori Freedman, Paquito d'Rivera, Peter Erskine. Just returned from recording her second CD in Cuba. Harold Carr : bass. Has performed with Steve Lacy, Lightnin' Hopkins. Andrew Voigt, reeds. Founding member of the ROVA Saxophone Quartet. Peter Valsamis, drums. Featured on Dana Reason's new CD. Flavia Cervino-Wood, violin, from Chile. Has performed with Cecil Taylor, Milton Nascimento. Flex Plan Delta's music is a mix of Braxtonian structuralism, Ornette Coleman harmelodicism, and modern jazz harmony ala Joe Lovano/Gunther Schuller. In other words, lots of free playing with a solid harmonic/rhythmic foundation.
- Randy Porter's Pleasure Music Ensemble, featuring Porter (guitar with a rod through it), Dave Slusser, Garth Powell, Tom Nunn and Richard Saunders.
- 024c (not to foresee): Butch Rovan, Tom Swafford.
- Steve Lew Quartet, featuring Lew (bass), Dan Plonsey, Tom Yoder, and Gino Robair. Lew is known for his work in Eskimo and Ebola Soup with Yoder and Robair.
- Roberto DeHaven group
- Bobby Driscoll memorial solos and duos night: Music of death and rebirth, with the Beanbender's crew (Alan Brightbill, Doug Carroll, Nancy Clarke, Bill Hsu & Dan PLonsey), Myles Boisen, Dave Slusser, and Easter ham!
- Luc Houtkamp, saxophonist/electronic musician from Holland.
- Phillip Greenlief / Wadada Leo Smith. Another visit from LA-based trumpet-great Wadada Leo Smith, this time joining 9 Winds recording artist Phillip Greenlief.
- Bobby Bradford with Ben Goldberg, Bill Douglas and possibly Don Preston (of Frank Zappa fame)! Two sets. Bradford is known to many as Ornette Coleman's other great trumpet player, recording on Ornette's Science Fiction andBroken Shadows; he is also well-known as a longtime collaborator with the late John Carter, as well as for his recordings with David Murray and others. He has been living and teaching at Pomona College (near Los Angeles) for many years, but this is a very rare Bay Area appearance, and his first at Beanbender's.
- India Cooke CD release party for her new CD, RedHanded, on the Music & Arts label. With Lisle Ellis, Larry Ochs, and Donald Robinson. Two sets. As you might expect, this CD is getting great reviews. Among many other crentials, India Cooke is one of the very few women instrumentalists to have played with Sun Ra, and she recently appeared at Beanbender's to play a wonderful concert with Pauline Oliveros. She is also known for her work as a teacher.
- Alvin Curran, solo.
- Dave Slusser, Len Patterson, Graham Connah, electronics trio.
- John Schott Diglossia Ensemble, with Steve Adams, Dan Seamans, Greg Sinabaldi, Joe Karten and Jason Lewis.
- Mark Zaki solo violin & electronics. His set will include performances of compositions by Schnittke and Zaki.
- Drew Gardner Group.
- Sean Meehan, solo percussion.
*** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event! *** Special Event!
- Hans Reichel
"Hans Reichel has been making some of the world's most unusual instruments and
music for over 20 years, building his own guitars that look and sound like no
other. For the past decade, he's been developing the daxophone, a bowed block
of wood with an ethereal, almost vocal quality. In Reichel's hands, the
daxophone is capable of producing a remarkable range of sounds, from the
operatic to the gastrointestinal."
-- Notes from WFMU's catalogue for Reichel's Rastascan recording, Lower Lurum.
"Hans Reichel conjures some lovely, eerie, and some downright weird sounds from his acoustic guitars that he builds himself. One main feature of his guitars is that, instead of a fixed bridge like on a normal flat-top, they have a moveable bridge and and a tailpiece like on an archtop. These guitars have frets between the bridge and the tailpiece as well as the normal frets on the neck, so he can play the strings on both sides of the bridge. On these guitars, he can set up some resonances that you would swear were produced by some kind of space alien steam-harp from Jupiter. He is definitely worth checking out, if you can find any of his recordings, which will most often be found in the import bins of more open-minded record stores."
-- Rec.Music.Makers.Guitar.Acoustic Frequently Asked Questions.
His SHANGHAIED ON TOR ROAD, "The World's 1st Operetta Performed On Nothing But The Daxophone" is a highlight in the FMP catalogue. This is obviously an extremely significant event for Bay Area fans of the guitar and daxophone! You can e-mail ticket reservations. You won't receive a reply (I'm away until May 11), but please arrive between 7:30 and 8.
- Experimental Tokyo, celebrating the release of their new CD, Experimental Tokyo. Three of the seven electroacoustic musicians featured are coming from Tokyo to perform: Yasuhiro Ohtani, Yuko Nexus6, and Satoru Wono. Yasuhiro Ohtani began his career as a professional jazz guitarist in the early 80s. His ongoing "Invisible Objects" project combines music with images, dance, and mixed media. With Jun Oenoki he created and developed a Mac-based interactive system for conducting improvisers in real-time over the Internet. Yuko Nexus6 began composing electronic music in the early 90s, writing and performing in both Japan and the US. Her work on "Experimental Tokyo" is based on the reconstruction of Japanese folk songs in the Osaka dialect, combining recorded vocalizations which are composed, played and mixed. Satoru Wono started his career in electronic music as a sampling composer/performer in 1990. With his training in classical music, electronic music, and Music Concrete Starou's award winning compositions for traditional instruments have been performed in numerous festival and concerts. He also creates house music for clubs (performances for John Zorn's COBRA Tokyo club) as well as commercial music for video games, advertisements, and film.
- Ron Heglin, solo tuba, trombone, voice.
- Moe! Staiano's Moekestra! Includes members of Molecules, Eskimo, Savage Republic, etc. 23 musicians and industrial percussion.
- Tom Heasley, Dale Meyer, Katrina Wreede, tuba, vibes and viola respectively.
*** Special Gala Event! *** Special Gala Event! *** Special Gala Event! *** Special Gala Event!
2727 College Avenue (at Garber) in Berkeley. That is, it is not in the usual location, the Berkeley Store Gallery Annex!!!$8 admission.
- OPEYE Quartet, featuring HENRY KUNTZ (tenor saxophone, chirimia, musette, wood flutes, toy violins, gamelans, and percussion), BRIAN GODCHAUX (violin, viola, mandolin, and percussion), JOHN KUNTZ (ukeleles, guitar, mandolin, gamelans, and percussion), and ESTEN LINDGREN (trombone, trumpet, banjo, and percussion). Celebrating their first CD, MOSS COMES SILK on Humming Bird Records; expert practitioners of Avant Shamanic Trance Jazz.
- Thornhill Elementary School Band and String Orchestra, under the direction of Randy Porter. The band will perform structural improvisational works by Sun Ra, Ornette Coleman, and Duke Ellington as well as original compositional/improvisational music created by the band s members. The band has already produced one CD, and their performance at St. John's will be as a benefit to produce a second one.
- The Manufacturing of Humidifiers, featuring Randy Porter, Dan Plonsey, and Ward Spangler will also perform in collaboration with Tom Nunn, Dave Slusser, and others from the Pleasure Music Ensemble.
- Ravensgate: stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe, presented by Rent Romus. With Mantra Ben-Ya'akova (narrator), Doug Carroll, Jon Birdsong, Dan Plonsey, and others.
- Zen Flesh Collective: Ambient Industrial music.
- Sheldon Brown & Rick Myers: reeds and guitar.
- Out by Five: Bill Horvitz (guitar), George Cremaschi (bass), Garth Powell (drums).
- John Butcher is back! This eminent British saxophonist has taken his place alongside such masters as Braxton, Evan Parker, Roscoe Mitchell as one of the great structuralist solo performers. His previous appearance at Beanbender's caused quite a sensation among the cognescenti and pre-cog alike.
- The Great Circle Saxophone Quartet comes to town from Boston, Middletown Connecticut, Brooklyn, and El Cerrito (Steve Norton, Chris Jonas, Randy McKean and Dan Plonsey, respectively), to celebrate their new CD on New World Records. Norton is a member of Boston's notorious Debris, Jonas leads his own groups and plays with Cecil Taylor and William Parker, and Randy McKean is known for his recording on Rastascan with Paul Smoker. Dan Plonsey you know as being me, and perhaps also for his/my new solo CD, Ivory Bill (Music & Arts 982) which is finally out!
- Project W, featuring Toshi Makihara (percussion) with Wally Shoup alto sax (and a cellist).
- KLiP. Last time at Beanbender's (January 24, 1996) Garth Powell was bouncing objects from his frame drum into a mini-piano.
- Michael Moore, of the Clusone Trio, (clarinets), Jody Gilbert (vocals), Mary Oliver (violin), Ben Goldberg (clarinets), Richard Saunders (bass)
- Herd of the Ether Space (psychedelic sound collage)
- Matthew Sperry, Seattle's premiere bassist, with Carla Kihlstedt (violin), and Gino Robair (percussion).
- Tom Guralnick Trio: Guralnick (saxes), Steve Feld (trombone), and Jefferson Voorhees (drums), from Santa Fe, New Mexico.
- Myles Boisen Guitar Orchestra. Approximately one dozen of your favorite guitarists gather to interpret the works of Boisen, in a stately (Myles) manner.
- Backbone, featuring David Tohir's feedback trombone.
- Positive Knowledge, featuring Oluyemi Thomas (reeds and percussion), Ijeoma Thomas (voice and percussion), and Spirit (drums and percussion).
- Peter van Bergen: Dutch saxophone phenom, in concert with Gino Robair, John Shiurba and others.
- Tom Djll, trumpet and electronics; with Chris Brown, piano; Gino Robair, percussion.
- Michael Vatcher and friends, being: Ben Goldberg, (clarinets), Sheldon Brown (reeds), Richard Saunders (bass), and Vatcher (drums).
- Phil Gelb and friends, including Dana Reason, Ben Goldberg, and Mr. Gino Robair.
- Malcolm Mooney, former singer with Can, with members of the late-lamented Pluto.
- Wadada Leo Smith Creative Orchestra, including some of the best musicians in California; at least a dozen of 'em! Wadada may present two sets of material, some for the entire orchestra and other works and improvisations for various subsets. We are promised at least one premeire performance by this masterful, original, unique and utterly under-recorded composer/trumpet-player/theorist/philosopher!
-
Vacation day number one, because the
Sun Ra Arkestra
under the direction of Marshall Allen will be playing this evening at La
Pena, and one of the most creative forces on the planet, Mr.
Anthony Braxton,
will be leading his ensemble in their last of five nights at
Yoshi's.
-
Vacation day two; it's Labor Day weekend, and our
plans involve cars, heat, and destruction (think of Godard's Weekend).
See you in September!
Update, August 29: Beanbender's and Roscoe Mitchell are very disappointed to have to announce that the September 3 concert will not take place. Mr. Mitchell is recuperating from emergency surgery for an intestinal condition. He's reportedly doing well, but won't be traveling to Seattle, Berkeley, or Detroit for scheduled concerts next week.
What was scheduled: Roscoe Mitchell, solo; Nonaah alto saxophone quartet; music for Creative Orchestra.
One of the great creative forces in all of music, Roscoe Mitchell is a founding member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago with whom he has recorded many many albums; while also leading his own ensembles, releasing recordings on Delmark, Lovely Music, Black Saint, Nessa, Victo and others. I've created a provisionary discography of Roscoe Mitchell's recordings. His most recent release is a double CD on Delmark, Sound Songs, on which he plays solo and overdubbed saxophones, flutes, and his trademark little percussion instruments; an entirely remarkable recording.
- Ned MacGowan, Amsterdam flutist of extreme virtuosity, who can play Ferneyhough without blinking. Memorized, no less! Here he presents new music for solo flute, and also improvises with Laura Carmichael, John Schott, and Dan Plonsey.
- Joel Harrison Octet. Guitarist/composer Harrison leads an ensemble consisting of Sheldon Brown, Eric Crystal, and Paul Hanson reeds; Marty Wehner, trombone; Dred Scott, piano; Dan Seamans, bass; Elliot Kavee, percussion, in celebration of Harrison's recently-released CD, Range of Motion (Koch).
- Dave Slusser CD release party, for his new CD on John Zorn's Tzadik label, Delight at the End of the Tunnel. With guests Graham Connah, Tom Nunn, Randy Porter, Ralph Carney and Partial Parrot.
- Wolfgang Fuchs, from Berlin, saxophonist and leader of the King Ubu Orchestra, whose music is available courtesy of FMP among others.
- Adam Rudolph's Moving Pictures, with Hamid Drake ("Perhaps Chicago's most exciting percussionist"), Ralph Jones, and butoh master Oguri.
- Tom Nunn's Edgewater Experimental Instruments Consort: 14 Tom Nunn instruments and 15 players - an extravaganza of percussion boards and space plates!
- John Oswald's Distant Acquaintances (with Henry Kuntz, John Schott, Danielle DeGruttola). Oswald is world-reknowned, loved, feared, and the subject of intense (legal) scrutiny as the maker of Plunderphonics, and of course the Grateful Dead "Dark Star" collage, Gray Folded. Oswald is also a phenomenal saxophonist.
- Dan Plonsey's Close Personal Friends. Nepotism runs amok in this family-oriented performance by the master of the slide-saxophone (me!!). With John Schott, Joe Karten, Greg Sinibaldi, Tom Yoder, Steve Lew, Jenya Chernoff and Matt Lebofsky.
- Tonguego: Morgan Guberman, John shiurba, Andy Borger and Chris Davis.
- Snorkel: Ben Goldberg, John Schott, Trevor Dunn and Scott Amendola. Celebrating the new arrival of packaging for their self-produced Bootleg CD, which will be available to all concertgoers at low low prices!
- Eugene Chadbourne solo! The great Doctor of Rake-ology returns, this time lugging along his newly published book (MIX Books, no less!) which will guide you through the perils of the music business!
- Eugene Chadbourne and the Insect and Western Ensemble
- The Shaking Ray Levis. Yi!!!!!!!
- Graham Connah Septet. Oggggg!!!!
- Matt Ingalls, solo clarinet and electronics.
- Carl Stone, solo electronics
- What We Live: Larry Ochs, Lisle Ellis, and Donald Robinson.
- The Bran (Another plight of medics...): Pos, solo electronics
- Molly Barker's Secret Language: slide show/book release party, with music by Ben Goldberg
- Steve Horowitz' Mousetrap, with Laura Carmichael, clarinet; Matt Brubeck, cello; Dan Plonsey, reeds; Dave Revelli, drums. Steve Horowitz returns for one week from Amsterdam!
- MSF: Evelyn Mann, flute; Michelle Sargent, voice; Sean Feit, violin and piano
- Billy Mintz and... Dave Scott.
- PB&J: Dan Plonsey, Blank canvas, and Chris Jonas: reeds, lecturer's chalk, erasers, and 7' x 11' canvas. And of course gourmet PB&J sandwiches with homemade Arctic White nectarine jam, fresh-ground peanut butter, and the finest imaginable breads!
- PMIAMK: Paul Plimley, piano; Miya Masaoka, koto; Mark Izu, bass; Scott Amendola, drums; DJ Mariko; Henry Kaiser, guitar
- India Cooke, violin, with: Alan Kimara Dixon, piano; Marshall Trammell, drums; Martial Anney, perc.
- Mills College Contemporary Performance Ensemble,
directed by Steed Cowart and William Winant.
Performing:
- John Bischoff - "Delicate Antinomy" (Premiere) for computer electronics and ensemble
- John Zorn - "Cobra." William Winant, conductor (Zorn will not be present).
- Artifact Artists Night. Electro-acoustic music by members of
the Artifact label corral. The following is an outline of entrances
and exits; there will be much overlap of ensembles.
- 8:15pm Mark Trayle
- 8:30pm Chris Brown
- 9:00pm Kenneth Atchley
- 9:15pm Circular Firing Squad
- 9:30pm Tim Perkis
- 9:45pm John Bischoff
- 10:00pm Brian Reinbolt
- 10:15pm Ben Azarm (~3 minute finale) w/ Ken, Brian, John, and Tim
- Dana Reason, with other musicians, probably including the original Shakuhachi Shamen, Phil Gelb. Reason is a wonderful pianist, formerly of the Bay Area, now of San Diego.
- Moe! Stainao CD release party, with Ron Anderson, Nancy Clarke and many many characters. What percussion will the maestro play? What will he create? And what destroy?? Certain to be the event of the Shortest Day of the Year!
1998
-
Concert Review
- OPEYE: avant shamanistic trance jazz with Henry Kuntz, celebrating the Previously Announced -- Now ACTUAL -- Premier CD Release of OPEYE's Moss 'Comes Silk.
- Vinny Golia, multi-reed master from LA, Golia plays like a demon from hell on way more than Nine Winds! With George Cremaschi and Garth Powell.
- the DTs: Dan Lederer guitar, Tim Bolling drums.
- Oluyemi Thomas and Spirit, reeds and drums.
- Jack Wright, saxophones, theory, dance, from Colorado, with the wondrous bassist Matthew Sperry, from Seattle.
- Jon Raskin/India Cooke/Carla Kihlstedt/Myles Boisen/Gino Robair
- Wadada Leo Smith, Marco Eneidi, Alec Ramsdell, Damon Smith, Spirit.
- Wadada Leo Smith's N'DA Kulture
- Matthew Goodheart / Garth Powell: piano / percussion duets
- Matthew Ostrowski performs "Verterbra" (power electronics)
- Karen Stackpole's Euphonics: gongs, bowls and bells.
- JOB: Mark Schifferli, guitar; Jai Young Kim, keyboards; Matt Lebofsky, drums. Energetic post-maximalists who sample everything, throw it down, and then pick it up again - a little dirty, but it still tastes good! Okay, okay, sounds like I'm writing for Option magazine; actually I'm watching a baby eat instead of listening to music! JOB, in fact, is a trio of smart fellows who want you to think that their music is "improvised rock," but that's just because they are "pretentious fuckers." The truth is, they don't really have an attitude, they make high/low-tech improvisations, and when they're on they're really really on, playing with an unrestrained exhuberance. They are a band to watch!
- Biggi Vinkeloe, a Sweden-based saxophonist and flutist. She is described as "having immense energy and creativity" with "an uncompromising style of playing with drive and solidness, a balancing between irresistable strength and sparkling lyricism." She has been a key player in the Swedish free jazz scene, recording four CDs with her trio, and playing with such musicians as Cecil Taylor, Barre Phillips, and Peter Kowald.
- The Unmusical Rivets: your Beanbender's hosts, in their musical manifestation (see picture at top of this page), making beautiful sounds and beautiful cookies too!
- Georg Graewe solo piano Graewe is one of the most popular musicians in the international world of creative music, according to a recent Cadence magazine poll of readers' favorite recent recordings, but he is not yet well-known in the Bay Area. He is German-born, currently spending much time in Chicago. After playing guitar in various rock bands in the early 70's, he began to develop an approach to improvised music in which his impeccable and lightning-quick technique is at the disposal of a most un-idiomatic, delicate concept; free, but entirely distinct from the bombastic approach of many other free piano players. He is also known for his own label, Random Acoustics.
- Georg Graewe with guests.
- Larry Ochs, John Schott, Trevor Dunn, Scott Amendola.
Larry Ochs: Geboren 1949 in New York City. Studierte acht Jahre Trompete, begann erst 1971 mit dem Saxophonspielen. Er besass in den 70er Jahren ein Studio, gruendete 1978 das Label Metalanguage Records und betaetigte sich in den 80er Jahren als Komponist fur eine Verfilmung von Charles Bukowski's Lebensgeschichte "Bring me your love". Er erhielt zahlreiche Awards und formierte neben dem Rova Saxophone Quartett noch einige weitere Bands wie 1991 das Glenn Spearman Double Trio und 1994 das Trio "What We Live".
Translation (courtesy of Systran Translation Software):
Born 1949 in New York town center. Studied if eight years trumpet, only 1971 began with that saxophone plays. It possessed a studio in the 70's, created 1978 the label Metalanguage record and worked in the 80's as a composer for a filming of Charles Bukowski's life history "brings to ME your love." It received numerous Awards and formed beside the Rova of saxophones quartet still some further of tape like 1991 the Glenn Spearman double Trio and 1994 the Trio "What We Live."
Mr. John Schott is among the most visionary of living composers. He is also one of the most serious students of music (and music history) I have ever encountered. I strongly encourage all to acquire his recent CD, In These Great Times! - Eugene Chadbourne!!! The man with an "official" site, as well as an "unofficial fan club" site. Appearing with his Insect & Western Ensemble! Chadbourne is one of the most brilliant and demented minds in the history of music. Come and buy his new book on how to survive as a musician! Come see why the SFBG says, "The Doctor is Out!"
- Evan Ziporyn, solo bass clarinet and clarinet. Another brilliant and demented mind, clarinetist/composer/ethnomusicologist Evan Ziporyn visits us from Boston. His music draws upon the rhythmic obsessions of Balinese music (of which he is an expert, leading the M.I.T. gamelan, Gamelan Galak Tika), and the bare harmonic and rhythmic stilted-strangeness of Monk. He brings a percussive, explosive approach to the clarinet, and his compositions are intelligent, rebellious, charming, and even screwball. He is a member of the Bang on a Can All-Stars. He's also an old friend of mine, so I want you all to come to this concert!
- Peter and the Wolf, presented by Henry Kaiser (guitar), with Sarah Cahill (piano), and Mantra as the narrator; animals TBA. In this version, Cahill's piano and Mantra's narrative keep the improvisors in check - but just barely!
- Toychestra. This West Oakland women's toy-playing ensemble has been a sensation at every location in the nation. Well, that is, at least a few of us are big fans of theirs, but we're certain you will be too! Featuring Paula Alexander, Lexa Walsh, Shari Robertson, Carrie Lin, and Mary George. They are first-prize winners of the Alameda Fourth of July Parade! This appearance is the Toychestra's farewell to Lexa (reknowned artist, performer, and beloved booker of the Heinz Afterworld Lounge, to you old-timers!)
- Gino Robair, solo. Mr. Robair will do a short solo set, full of toys, vibrators, kitchen impliments, and what else? Oh yeah... drums!
- Gamelan Sekar Jaya presents: Gamelan Angklung Kembang Sari and Gamelan Jegog Asta Jaya Sari, with I Made Arnawa, Guest Artistic Director. Gamelan Sekar Jaya has been called "the "finest Balinese gamelan outside of Indonesia" (Indonesia's news magazine Tempo). The gamelan angklung is a Balinese percussion orchestra played by about twenty musicians. The instruments include bronze metallophones, tuned gongs of various sizes, drums, and flute. Gamelan angklung has a distinctive four-tone tuning, producing an unusually sweet and, by Balinese standards, melancholy- sounding timbre. Angklung music holds a special musical role in the Bali-Hindu religion where it is often used to accompany temple ceremonies, processions and cremation rituals. Here is a detailed press release.
- Scott Looney, piano, drums and electronics; with Aaron Bennett, reeds; Adam Lane, bass; and Tom Nunn, homemade percussion.
- Offramp: Doug Carroll, cello and electronics; Jim Hearon, violin and electronics; Tom Nunn, percussion and electronics.
- RedHanded Trio: India Cooke, Lisle Ellis, and Donald Robinson. This rare local performance of Red-Handed is one we're especially looking forward to! India Cooke is a wonderful violinist, composer and all-round musician, and the exceptional bass playing of Mr. L.S. Ellis has been heard more in Europe than in California of late!
- Marco Eneidi's American Jungle Orchestra present William Butler Yeats's play Deirdre, directed by Jessica Loos.
- Loren MazzaCane Connors, with Bruce Anderson (MX-80, O-Type, and Pluto), guitar; Henry Kaiser, bass(!); and Marc Weinstein (also MX-80, O-Type and Pluto), drums. Loren has been playing and recording since the 70's, but has only emerged from deep underground in the last few years. From 1995, his discography lists twenty recordings, including a number of collaborations, including duets with Thurston Moore and Jim O'Rourke.
- Gianni Gebbia solo saxophone. Gianni visits us again, from his home in Palermo, Sicily. His first visit to Beanbender's was so exciting that Rastascan records moguls dragged him into the studio the next day to record the solo CD whose release this performance celebrates! The best description of Gebbia's music still belogns to Marco Boccitto: "Everything: from free masters, radical improvisation, ney flute music to unknown ethnical masters comes out in Gianni Gebbia solo with a kind of circular ring shape plus a special mediterranean attractive." Right on!
- Gianni Gebbia with guests.
- 1001 Noirs: Author Jonathan Lethem (Gun With Occasional Music, Amnesia Moon, The Wall of the Sky, The Wall of the Eye (a collection of stories), and As She Climbed Across the Table) and John Schott present a set of short black-humor stories with Occasional Music. With Jenny Scheinman, Dan Plonsey and Dan Seamans.
- 024c (not to foresee) James Livingston (sax), Tom Swafford (violin), Loren Dempster (cello); with guests Gino Robair and Bill Hsu. Guided free improv with Oblique Strategies cards
- Ben Goldberg, clarients; John Schott, guitar; and Trevor Dunn, bass.
- Rich Halley and the Lizard Bros., from Oregon.
- Shoko Hikage/Phil Gelb/Ben Goldberg/Carla Kihlstedt: koto, shakuhachi, clarinet, violin.
- Dave Slusser's Ellington project
- Compomicro-dexall: Jake Rodriguez, voice/electronics; Jeremy Stone, bass; Mike Guarino, drums.
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
- Clusone Trio: Han Bennink, Ernst Reijseger, and Michael Moore. Bennink is probably the best known improvising percussionist in Europe, and this concert will be his first ever in the Bay Area!
- Open jam night.
- Circular Firing Squad: David Kwan, Eva Baumgartner, Xopher Davidson, Tim Walters, electronics.
- Bob Boster Faces Circular Firing Squad, replacing the Seattle Young Composers' Orchestra, which has had to cancel this appearance - see them instead at Venue 9 (call 415-289-2000 for sate and info).
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
We are very pleased to announce the re-scheduling of a concert which
was to have taken place September 3, but which was cancelled due to
an emergency hospitalization of the artist.
- Roscoe Mitchell, solo;
Nonaah alto saxophone quartet;
music for Creative Orchestra.
One of the great creative forces in all of music, Roscoe Mitchell is a founding member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago with whom he has recorded many many albums; while also leading his own ensembles, releasing recordings on Delmark, Lovely Music, Black Saint, Nessa, Victo and others. I've created a provisional discography of Roscoe Mitchell's recordings. His most recent release is a double CD on Delmark, Sound Songs, on which he plays solo and overdubbed saxophones, flutes, and his trademark little percussion instruments; an entirely remarkable recording.
- Moe!kestra performs Death by Dildo
- Moe! plus musicians in a variety of small groups and more!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
- The Gerry Hemingway Quartet, with Ray Anderson, trombone; Ellery Eskelin, tenor sax; Mark Dresser, bass, and Gerry Hemingway, percussion. Individually some of the very strongest players in the creative music world, the quartet has been getting great reviews as it plows inexorably across the country. I first heard Hemingway and Anderson in New Haven in the late 70's, and things have never been the same since! (While you peruse all the group member's web sites, be certain to visit Eskelin's page about his father, Rodd Keith, one of the most unique and oddly talented of musicians ever, some of whose vast oeuvre is available on I Died Today (Tzadik, Lunatic Fringe Series)).
- Gebhard Ullmann's Tá Lam 10 (grown from the earlier Tá Lam Acht), from Germany. 9 woodwinds and one accordion, about which is said: "This introverted music seems to respire the fragrance of wood and leather. Expressing something earthenly and genuinely creative it carries the listener to faraway distances. The music is viscously applied but, nevertheless, creating a picturesque and delicate transparency." Of Gebhard Ullmann, Paul Bley says, "Gebhard Ullmann is one of the finest improvising artists in the world."
- Matthew Sperry and Carla Kihlstedt
- John Butcher and Gino Robair Two sets of music for people who are sick of bombast and just want a little quiet magic. And we don't talk about magic very often in these practical times!
- Ben Opie and friends. Opie is an inventive saxophonist/clarinetist/vacuum hose-playing Sun Ra enthusiast from Pittsburgh, where he leads the Water Shed quintet. With John Shuirba, Morgan Guberman, and Gino. "It should be a good night!" says Opie, and we heartily agree!
- Bilge: Eric Glick Rieman, keyboards; David Mairs, drums; David Slusser, theremin, slussomatic, saxophone, samples; Len Paterson, samples, guitar; Robin Walsh, guitar. Eric makes the following definition: "bilge: darkly humorous improvised music made with the audience in mind," and also: "Bilge = momentarily ambient and occasionally groovy improvisational structures combining electronica with acoustic instruments."
- SPORK: Christa Williams, keyboards and assorted noises; Roger Reidlebauer, guitar, effects; Eddie X, drums. (Die Knodel ("The Dumplings") have had to cancel.) Spork will perform "a set of avant-garde easy-listening pieces that would fit in at Beanbenders as well as over the intercom of your local supermarket."
- Steuart Liebig, with Vinny Golia and Billy Mintz. Composer/improvisor/bassist Liebig has played and recorded with Les McCann, Julius Hemphill, and most of LA's finest creative musicians. This is his first performance at Beanbender's.
- Trouble Bound: Vinny Golia fans will want to be home by 11:35 for the screening of "Trouble Bound" (1993), a slasher movie for which Golia contributed the soundtrack!
- Supermarky and friends,
including: Chris Maher,
Randy Porter, Carla Fabrizzio, Toyoshi Tomita, Sarah Willner, Mantra,
and Dan Plonsey. Supermarky is a genius
artist of thieves - or at least of borrowers -
who only improves upon what he takes; a composer
"fighting for the windmills, not against." His
totally amazing, gaudy, extravagant web site
reflects his undiscriminating passion for all that is most glamorous and trashy.
Supermarky writes: "
Supermarky de Sage and the Sexy fuckers will perform music by Hedy
Wong/Gregory Corso, Kurt Schwitters, Supermarky/Gregory Beaumont, Chris
Maher/Adolf Wolfli, and Hans Eisler/Berthold Brecht 8 pm 7/19 at
Beanbender's.
Supermarky de Sage can forgive almost anything to beauty but would prefer to see art in the service of revolution. He symphonizes, videotapes, writes, sings, draws and takes pictures. Many tuneful works have been written for him by wonderful composers such as Hedy Wong (James Tenney is mad for her), Dan Plonsey, Barney Jones, Taylor Poff, Jonathan Golove and others. He has been featured in lavish productions of works by Mauricio Kagel, Luciano Berio, Gyorgy Ligeti, John Cage, Dieter Schnebel, Sylvano Bussotti, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Soon 3 and others. He has also acted in independent, underground and horror films. He studied voice with Mildred Owens, Faith Winthrop and Pandit Pran Nath and composition with David Reck, Jonathan Kramer, Robert Moore, Krzyztof Penderecki, Peter Maxwell Davies, Martin Bresnick, David Rosenboom and Lou Harrison. Supermarky is a prominent personality presence on the internet and you can get a taste of him, purchase recordings, artifacts, relics and enter his online contest at www.loop.com/~supermarky (soon to be accesible through www.supermarky.com). - CMU - electronic music from Sacramento, our state's capital city!
- Sepecu - Justin and friend.
- Laura Carmichael - cancelled!
- Dan Plonsey Ensemble. C'est moi! A melancholy yet harmonically lush collection of works for strings, a few winds and a disgruntled voice or two. With Carla Kihlstedt, Jenny Scheinman, Tom Swafford, Samantha Black, Ashley Adams, Tom Yoder, Randy Porter, and Mantra Ben-Ya'akova. The "Pre-mix Version" - a distorted deconstruction (pre-construction) of the "Orchestral" version, in which the performers re-arrange, re-harmonize, re-interpret and rhythmically offset their music, as a sort of deja vu impression - will be performed two days earlier, at the East Bay Creative Music Festival. New t-shirts will be available for the discerning garment-wearer!
- Positive Knowledge: Oluyemi Thomas, Ijeoma Thomas, Spirit, and special guest, Tim Perkis.
- Steve Horowitz's Mousetrap. Former Bay Area resident Horowitz is now living in Amsterdam, composing music for medical films. With Dave Revelli, drums; Wiley Evans, tuba.
- Ben Goldberg's Brainchild: Ben whispers instructions to a dozen or more of the area's most suggestible improvisors! With Steve Adams, Dan Plonsey, Jacob Lindsay, reeds; John Schott and Will Bernard, guitars; Graham connah, piano; Carla Kihlstedt, violin; David Ewell (sp?), bass; Smith Dobson Jr., drums; and Jewlia Eisenberg and Brenda Boykin, voice.
- Ben Goldberg's Brainchild: Ben whispers a whole bunch of different instructions to a dozen or more of the area's most suggestible improvisors! (This band is definitely worth seeing as many times as possible!) Personnel more-or-less the same as above, plus Mantra Ben-Ya'akova, voice.
- Myra Melford, solo piano. Chicago born, New York based, Melford is one of the great pianists of this time period. (A second web site).
- Steve Lew Quartet, with Tom Yoder, trombone; Dan Plonsey, clarinets; Gino Robair, percussion; and Lew, bass. Steve Lew is a veteran of one of the greatest rock bands of all time (Eskimo), and currently plays with the even-more-obscure and perhaps-more-incredible Ebola Soup. His quartet music was greeted with considerable enthusiasm on his previous Beanbender's appearance, March 23, 1997.
- Low Birthweight, featuring Dave Tohir on feedback trombone. "It's a groove based thing with noise on top. And it doens't go on too long."
- Sangha Trio
- Amy Denio, on tour in Petunia, presents solo works and various collaborations with friends (including Steve Lew, Carla Kihlstedt, and the ubiquitous Plonsey).
- Chris Jonas & Dan Plonsey Line Duets, with special guests. Drawing, music, and silence!
- PLONSEY. Yes, more works from the feverish mind of Dan Plonsey! What is the excuse? Well, it's Plonsey's 40th birthday in just two days, so he has a lot to do in the meantime! Expect music from the New Solo Conception, the Bird Thing, more music/painting duets with Chris Jonas, and the first performance by Disaster Opera Theatre in quite some time. Important Plonsey Artifacts, including original artworks, PlonseyCards, more new t-shirts, stories and even CDs which are cluttering Plonsey's house will be awarded to all!
Originally scheduled for September 6, The Splatter Trio have had to reschedule to a date in the fall.
- Myles Boisen Guitar Trio, with John Finkbeiner and Mark Schifferli.
- Myles Boisen Curates Solos and Duos of relatively unknown local musicians. Mr. Boisen, who engineers and produces CDs for some of the area's finest creative musicians has graciously agreed to unearth from among the less self-promoting musicians a collective gaggle of excellence. Including: Miguel Frasconi (sampler), Mark Growden (reeds/ winds), Ron Thompson (7 & 8-string guitars), and Neil Straghalis.
- Frank Pahl: visiting
town from Wyandotte, MI.
"I'd seen Pahl's name alongside those of David Thomas, Elton Dean and Henry Kaiser on a couple of those Passed Normal compilations, but I'd never heard his music until now. Sure enough, he belongs right beside the Grand Wazoos of Weirdness; most of this is excellent, if difficult to pin down." - Michael Davis - Eugene Chadbourne!!! The Doctor has an "official" site, as well as an "unofficial fan club" site. This set will be of the prolific Dr. C's "Insect & Western" music. (Check out Dexter's Insect Photography Pages for a Western Checkered Skipper).
- Avram Fefer, tenor saxophonist (post-Rollins, David Murray, etc.) from NY will do an after-hours set with John Schott, Dan Seamans and Don Rollins.
- Barre Phillips!!! Solo bass. Barre Phillips is one of the legends of the contrabass. We are fortunate to have lured him to Beanbender's during a rare visit to the U.S.
- Matthew Shipp and William Parker, piano and bass. Shipp and Parker are two of the most celebrated of New York's contemporary jazz musicians. Both have recorded extensively, leading their own groups and playing together, as members of David Ware's quartet. Parker leads one of the world's finest big bands, Little Huey.
- Kattt, Tom Nunnn, Doug Carrolll and Tim Perkisss.
- Chris Brown, Jab, and John Ingle perform Anthony Braxton's Composition 104. To the best of our knowledge, this 50-minute work is unrecorded.
- Henry Kuntz solo, and with Tim Perkis. Henry is celebrating the release of ONE ONE & ONE (Humming Bird Records, HB CDs 2 & 3).
- Matthew Goodheart solo piano, performing his own works, some rarely heard solo piano compositions by Wadada Leo Smith, and premiering a new work written for him by Glenn Spearman.
- Homophlegm
- Moe! Staiano (drums, guitar, reed), Tom Scandura (electrified drums), Ches Smith (drums), Michael DeLaCuesta (cornet, guitar)
- Compomicro-Dexall: Chris Broderick, clarinet, flute, voice; Mike Guarino, drums, percussion; Jake Rodriguez, electric bass, effects. Performing a new piece entitled "Flamming the C-Monster".
- Greg Goodman piano, George Cremaschi bass, Garth Powell percussion
- Daxophones meet Saxophones with Mark Stewart daxophones and guitar, Evan Ziporyn and Dan Plonsey clarinets, saxophones, and Pamela Z, electronics. Mark Stewart is a virtuoso guitarist (a member of the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet!) and also one of perhaps six daxophonists in the entire world! Fortunately he is also a wonderful cellist, so the intricacies of daxophone bowing come easily to him. Mark and Evan are also members of the
- Bang on a Can All-Stars who happen to be in town to play two nights at the Other Minds Festival on Wednesday and Thursday (Oct 21 & 22), performing their re-working of Brian Eno's Music for Airports, as well as the west coast premeires of compositions by Pamela Z and Dan Plonsey! Daxophones Meet Saxophones performed first at the Knitting Factory this May, and found that their unique mix of sounds and shared sense of humor opened up huge new world to exploration.
- No show tonight
- OPEYE presents a VERY SPECIAL 'DAY OF THE DEAD' performance-ritual-celebration which will include the setting up of a Mexican-style "Ofrenda" on which photos and offerings will be placed honoring recently departed loved ones as well as those passed who have offered particular inspiration in life, work, and art. Offerings will take the form of myriads of flowers, particularly gold in color, and of foods such as fruits, pastries, and drink which the audience will be invited to partake of following the performance. Those in attendence may also make their own contributions to the DAY OF THE DEAD "Ofrenda." OPEYE is Henry Kuntz, Ben Lindgren, Brian Godchaux, Esten Lindgren, and John Kuntz. Various instruments -- saxophone, trombone, flutes, musette, violin, ukulele, mandolin, piano, doublebass, drums, gamelan and xylophones -- will be utilized!
- Paul Hoskins, solo contrabass clarinet. (Those low low frequencies are a great remedy for those suffering from constipation of colon or mind or both!).
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
*** Special Event! *** Special Event!
-
Tina Marsh and the Creative Opportunity Orchestra!!!
From Austin Texas, this 13-member big band is one of the most creatively eclectic units operating, playing new compositions which have reminded me of Sun Ra, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, and Terry Riley at one time or another. The group has been around for 19 years, but only occasionally find the funds necessary to tour (this tour is co-sponsored by WESTAF), so this is their first Bay Area appearance. They are celebrating the release of their new CD, Worldwide. Previous recordings include Benediction, Radiocative, Transformation, and most recently, The Heaven Line. Fans of the tuba will want to attend this concert for the CO2's Jay Rozen, one of the foremost of improvising tubists worldwide! 
- Yasuhiro OTANI, Mac Powerbook controlled electronics, projections, and more. A member of Experimental Tokyo, a collaborator with Yoshihide Otomo, Carl Stone and many others, Yasuhiro Ohtani began his career as a professional jazz guitarist in the early 80s. His ongoing "Invisible Objects" project combines music with images, dance, and mixed media. With Jun Oenoki he created and developed a Mac-based interactive system for conducting improvisers in real-time over the Internet. Here is his press release for his fall 98 US tour.
- Wet Gate, the all-projector ensemble, was created in 1995 by Steve Dye, Peter Conheim, and Owen O'Toole as "a performing group devoted to the use of 16mm film projectors and film fragments as musical instruments, celebrating the joys of optical analog sound and the cinema experience." They wowed a huge audience here two years ago . They say, "Using sampling delays and other minor gadgets, Wet Gate attempts to tear the stitching out between image and sound as normally married on a piece of film, relying mainly on the process of looping 'found' or created sources repetitively so as to wrench new and/or unintended meanings out of the material while deliberately NOT bringing any outside sources (tapes, etc.) into the mix. Wet Gate has been referred to as using film for 'the antithesis of its intended purpose.'"
- Dean Santomieri, with Bruce Anderson (guitar from MX 80), Karen Stackpole, and David Kwan. Story and music from all-star cast.
- The Splatter Trio!!! Reunited (briefly, at least) while Dave Barrett visits from Mexico. Come see them actually play their instruments!
While the following event is not technically a "Beanbender's event," it takes place in our usual space, and we very much hope that you will be able to join us.
- A TRIBUTE TO GLENN SPEARMAN Marco Eneidi, Spirit, G-FORCE, Donald Robinson, JD Parran, Chris Brown, ROVA, Lisle Ellis, Jim Routhier, William Winant, Matthew Goodheart, Musa Physics, Oluyemi Thomas, Don Paul, The American Jungle Orchestra, Jack Foley, Ben Lindgren, Ijeoma Thomas, Kash Killion, Vinnie Golia, The Double Trio, Jasper Baker and Ahmad Spearman, performing the music and writings of Glenn Spearman.
- Pauline Oliveros, Dana Reason, & Phil Gelb
- Crib: solo bass exploration.
- Species Being: being a species of noise from San Francisco.
- Paul Plimley, solo piano. One of our very favorite piano players, and we are not kidding!!!
- Jack Wright, saxophones, from Boulder Colorado, the Johnny Appleseed of improvised music!
- Kaffe Matthews, from England. Solo violin and electronics.
- Georg Graewe, another really good piano player who some of us like every bit as much as Paul Plimley, and that is saying a lot, Buster! With Frank Gratkowski reeds, Kent Kessler bass, Hamid Drake percussion.
- Alan Brightbill, solo guitar.
- Stinkbug: Nels Cline, G.E. Stinson, Steuart Liebig, and Scott Amendola. Do we need to say anything more than: NELS CLINE?
- Bill Hsu, Dave Slusser and friends, instruments of various sorts and electronics. Mr. Hsu is known for throwing water at and/or slapping the faces of many cretins worldwide. He is a hero to those who savor a profound listening experience in an atmosphere of cool stillness - with a tiny edge of fear.
- KLiP: Elliot Kallen electronics, John Lauffenberger bass, Garth Powell percussion.
- Mantra Ben Ya'akova conducts an ensemble of improvisers, including: Ashley Adams, Myles Boisen, Jenya Chernoff, Nancy Clarke, Cleveland Plonsey, Dan Plonsey, Gino Robair, John Schott, Karen Stackpole, Moe! Staiano, Susan Volkan, and Tom Yoder.
- Holiday Open Stage, no cover! Bring an instrument and some holiday music and play!
1999
New Starting Time for All Concerts!!!
7:30 PM
- Uncle: John Shiurba and Myles Boisen, celebrating the release of Uncle's second CD-R.
- Dan Plonsey, oboe,
voice and cheap synth; Myles Boisen, real-time processing. Celebrating the
release of the new CD-R
Understanding Human Behavio,
Limited Sedition 006.
Come hear such number one hit favorites as:
"I've got a little oboe in my soul"
"I'm sitting on top of the world (with an oboe)," and of course:
"One of these times - I'm going to play the oboe again"
- Open Stage, no cover! Bring an instrument and play!
- Mats Gustafsson and friends. Saxophonist Mats Gustafsson is the most prominent of all Swedish improvisors. His discography lists 34 recordings since 1988! He has been in residence in Chicago recently, but this is his first Bay Area appearance (we believe). Here Mats will perform solo, and then in a series of duos, trios, quartets, etc., with Bruce Ackley and Jon Raskin (both of the Rova Saxophone Quartet), George Cremaschi, Gino Robair, and Garth Powell.
Note that this show is not in our usual location!!! It is very nearby, however:
The Capoeira Arts Cafe
2026 Addison
4 blocks North and 1/2 block West of our current location; one block North of the main exit from Berkeley BART; halfway between Shattuck and Milvia, right across from the Berkeley Rep.:
- Chicago Underground Duo: Rob Mazurek, cornet, piano, and bamboo flute; Chad Taylor, Percussion and vibraphone. Taylor has played with many AACM members, including Fred Anderson, Malachi Favors and Ernie Dawkins; he's also played with Lou Donaldson, Junior Mance and Leon Parker. He is a participant in the Chicago Underground Orchestra. Mazurek has played with the late great Fred Hopkins, Tortoise, Gastr del Sol, Loren Mazzacane Connors, and Jim O'Rourke. The duo has a new album, 12 Degrees of Freedom (Thrill Jockey), with guest Jeff Parker (Tortoise, New Horizons Ensemble). This recording is #38 in The Wire Magazine's 1998 favorites.
- Brokeback: Douglas McCombs, Tortoise and Eleventh Dream Day bassist. Solo, his music is sparse and subtle, yet recognizably Tortoise-linked. His most recent release as Brokeback is Returns to the Orange Grove (Thrill Jockey). Here is an interview with Doug, in Ink Blot, and also an interview with Doug, in Ultra.
February 7 - April 10: Nothing Scheduled
This following show was cancelled, due to Gebbia's ill health.
Gianni Gebbia, saxophonist extraordinaire from Palermo, Sicily!
The best description of Gebbia's music still belogns to Marco Boccitto:"Everything: from free masters, radical improvisation, ney flute music to unknown ethnical masters comes out in Gianni Gebbia solo with a kind of circular ring shape plus a special mediterranean attractive."
Gebbia appeared previously at Beanbender's, on April 26, 1998, and on February 23, 1997, both times to considerable acclaim, and to an immediate contract for a solo recording with Rastascan Records, for what would be released as H Portraits.
- Gebbia with Damon Smith and Garth Powell, celebrating the CD release of their brand new Rastascan release "People in Motion."
- A set of solos, duets, trios, quartets with: Dan Plonsey, Gino Robair, Tom Nunn, Elliot Kallen, Phil Gelb.
Beanbender's Begins it's series of Last-Sunday-of-the-Month shows at the
Fine Arts Cinema, Shattuck @ Haste, Berkeley, CA:
- 6:00PM: Film: "Music in New American Cinema (collected shorts)"
- 7:30: Rotokadoti - Ron Heglin, Tom Nunn, Kattt, Doug Carroll, and Tim Perkis.
- 8:30: Moe! solo!
- 9:00: Beanbender's All-Stars - Nancy Clarke, Bill Hsu, and Dan Plonsey; with visuals by Alan Brightbill.
The following two shows (May 11 and May 23) are co-sponsored by the
Berkeley Festival of the Arts.
Both start at 8:30 PM.
Both take place at:
2026 Shattuck Avenue
(between University and Addison, a block from Berkeley BART)
...and now back at the Fine Arts Cinema, 2451 Shattuck @ Haste, Berkeley, CA:
- 6:00 - Movie: Rare Cream
- 7:30 - Shoko Hikage - solo, and with guests
- 8:30 - Tim Perkis/Yasuhiro Otani duet.
Sunday, June 20, 8PM
from Holland, Ensemble LOOS
At CNMAT, 1750 Arch St, Berkeley (by the UC Berkeley campus)
$8-12, sliding scale
Info: CNMAT 510-643-9990, Beanbender's 415-621-1967
(LOOS will also perform Sat. 6/19 at Tehama Alley, 58 Tehama, SF, with Inseminator (Dave Slusser, Len Patterson, Ken Kearney) and the Bran (another plight of medic's...) Pos)
Holland's Ensemble LOOS is known for a variety of projects involving notated music, improvised music, live electronics and avant-garde theatre. They have played at major European festivals such as Donaueschingen Musiktage in Germany, and are passing through the Bay area en route to their performances at the Vancouver Jazz Festival.
The music of LOOS is sparse and intense, with abrupt textural and tempo changes. They acknowledge the influence of Japanese Noh theatre, and have been compared to Captain Beefheart. Kevin Whitehead describes them at length in his book New Dutch Swing, on the Dutch new music scene.
Composers such as Louis Andriesson, Guus Janssen, Richard Barrett, and Cornelius de Bondt have dedicated pieces to LOOS. Recent recordings have appeared on the Donemus/Composers Voice and Geestgronden labels.
"Like Captain Beefheart, van Bergen can make the thorniest stuff really move." Kevin Whitehead
LOOS current lineup:
Peter van Bergen (saxophones and electronics). In an article in Option in 1993, John Corbett lists van Bergen as one of three major avant-garde saxophonists of the '90s (the others being John Butcher and Mats Gustafsson). Van Bergen has a long career in new music, including extended stints with the group Hoketus, and collaborations with Louis Andriesson, Cecil Taylor and the Sun Ra Arkestra.
Huib Emmer (guitars and electronics) is known as both a composer and performer. A recent CD of his chamber music was released on the Dutch Donemus/Composers Voice label, and a CD of electronics on the X-OR label.
Gerard Bouwhuis (piano) is well-known as a performer of classical music, including works of the 20th century. Among his recordings is a disk of pieces by Messian for two pianos.
The other band members are Dennis Rudge (voice and movement), Patricio Wang (guitars), and a percussionist.
...and back at the Fine Arts again...
- 6:00pm Films: Delinquent, Hipster, Square (with Max Roach), rare early Rolling Stones footage
- 7:30 Dean Santomieri/Bruce Anderson guitar and electronics
- 8:30 Gene Coleman solo bass clarinet plays compositions by Scelsi, Globokar
- 9:15 Gene Coleman with Doug Carroll electric cello, Tom Nunn sound sculptures
- 6:00pm Films: TBA
- 7:30pm Henry Kuntz, solo saxophone, plus exotic instruments.
- 8:30pm Phil Gelb (shakuhachi), Hugh Livingston (cello), Damon Smith (bass) and Tim Perkis (electronics).
- 6:00pm Films: TBA
- 7:30pm Film: Nosferatu, with Steven Garling providing the score.
- 8:30pm Susan Rawcliffe, hand-made ceramic flutes.
- 9:00pm Bob Ostertag
Concert Review 8PM, admission $13
At Mills College(5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, 510-430-2296)
-- with the kind help of the Mills College Music Department -- Beanbender's presents:
Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink!!!!!
Misha Mengelberg (piano) and Han Bennink (percussion) are two of the most important Dutch musicians active today. In Kevin Whitehead's recent book New Dutch Swing, he considers Misha and Han to be the founders (along with one or two others, most notably Willem Breuker) of what has become the major school of Dutch new music over the last 30 years.
This concert will be the last of a limited tour of North America.
Misha Mengelberg and Han Bennink; photos by
Massimo Golfieri and Bill Smith respectively.
2000
May 16, 2000, 8PM. $6-10, sliding scale.
Beanbenders is poking its head up to present a concert by
English violin and electronics artist,
Kaffe Matthews.
And, see
here also.
"Joan of Arc meeting Segovia in a back alley electronics laboratory,
. . . a menage \340 trois of singular mad electronics and strange visions
of a magical musical afterlife."
"Kaffe Matthews . . . . . . If one of Charlie's Angels played the MIDI violin and
had a Marcel Duchamp
fixation . . . . . ."
"Kaffe Matthews . . . . . . A farmer's daughter seduced by urban
tribalism"
At a relatively new space called Tuva: 3192 Adeline, where M.L.K.
and Adeline merge together, half a block south of Ashby BART.
There will
be three sets:
- Kaffe Matthews solo
- Kaffe plus Shoko Hikage and Noriko Tsuboi (both on Koto!)
- Kaffe amd Gino Robair
Kaffe will be "in residence" at Tuva from noon-4, on Tuesday, to meet and jam with anyone interested.
June 2000:
In honor of the "American Mavericks" concerts, Beanbender's presents:
Monday June 12, 8PM. $6-10, sliding scale.
Mark Stewart with Pamela Z and Dan Plonsey
Also at Tuva: 3192 Adeline, where M.L.K. and Adeline merge together, half a block south of Ashby BART, West side of the street.
Mark plays guitar with the Fred Frith Guitar Quartet, the Bang on a Can
All-Stars, and on Paul Simon's recent tour. He's also one of only a
handful of daxophone players in the entire world! (The daxophone is a
bowed, fretted, slat of carved wood - the invention of Hans Reichel -
named for the plaintive cries and low grunts of the "dax": the Eurasian
badger.)
Pamela Z is a San Francisco-based composer/performer and audio artist
who works primarily with voice, live electronic processing, and
sampling technology. In performance, she creates layered works
combining operatic bel canto and experimental extended vocal techniques
with a battery of digital delays, found percussion objects, and sampled
sounds triggered with a MIDI controller called The BodySynthTM (which
allows her to manipulate sound with physical gestures).
Dan plays saxophones, clarinets, oboe, autoharp, violin, toy pianos,
acrusonic organ, trombone and other things. Also known as an MC for
many Beanbender's concerts, and most recently for his music
for Daniel Popsicle, and for a false - or failed - Renaissance.
Sunday, September 10, 8PM. $18
Concert Review
At the Mills
College Concert Hall (5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland)
Beanbender's...
...in collaboration with
Mills College (specifically Chris Brown),
Amoeba Music,
and a grant from a local keyboardist/composer who wishes to
remain anonymous,
and made possible with generous support from the
Wallace-Reader's Digest Funds
via the Western Jazz Presenters Network
...Presents the:
The ICP Orchestra
featuring some of Holland's best known (and best!) musicians:
Misha Mengelberg (piano)
Ab Baars (clarinet/saxophone)
Michael Moore (clarinet/saxophone)
Thomas Heberer (trumpet)
Wolter Wierbos (trombone)
Mary Oliver (viola)
Tristan
Honsinger (cello)
Ernst Glerum (bass)
Han Bennink (drums)
Kevin Whitehead, in his recent book
New Dutch
Swing,
gives quite a bit of attention and praise to these musicians,
in particular to Misha and Han, who are generally recognized as
two of the most significant innovators in European music of
the last 35 years.
The rest of the members of the band are all well known in Europe
if not the US - Michael Moore and Han Bennink were 2/3 of the
Clusone Trio.
Beanbender's sponsored
a concert of just Misha and Han last year
September 19,
1999,
and that concert got
mostly rave
reviews
For reservations, e-mail or call: dan@plonsey.com / 510-642-3163.
(Do not call Mills College for anything other than directions - their help
in sponsoring the show is limited to providing the hall at a substantial discount.)
Sunday, June 24, 2001
7PM
2200 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA. 40-minute sets by four orchestras, in the following order:
7:00PM: Daniel Popsicle
7:50PM: Ben Goldberg's Brainchild
8:40PM: Toychestra
9:30PM: Graham Connah's Jettison Slinky
$6-10, sliding scale.
This event is part of the Berkeley Arts Festival, Beanbender's presents an evening of music in the former Lee Frank Jewelers, 2200 Shattuck Avenue, downtown Berkeley, across the street and a block away from our old location, a south of Berkeley BART.
For more information about the Berkeley Arts Festival, call: 510-665-9496.
The lineup of musicians
Ben Goldberg's Brainchild will include: Dan Plonsey, saxophone; Jacob Lindsey, clarinet; John Schott, guitar; Will Bernard, guitar; Zev Averbach, guitar; Carla Kihlstedt, violin; Suzy Thompson, violin; Matt Brubeck, cello; Graham Connah, piano; Devin Hoff, bass; Miya Osaki, bass; Ches Smith, drums; Scott Amendola, drums; Willie Winant, drums; Ethan and Reuben, keyboards?; Sex for Teens, speech.
Daniel Popsicle includes at least the following: Ben Goldberg, clarinet; Michael Zelner, clarinet; Carol Adee, flute; Phil Gelb, shakuhachi; Randy Porter, guitar, cumbus; John Schott, banjo, guitar; John Shiurba, electric guitar; Marc Culbertson, bass; Ward Spangler, percussion; Wayne Vitale, Balinese percussion.
Toychestra is: Lexa Walsh, Paula Alexander, Shari Robertson, Corey Weinstein, Petra Podlahova, and Angela Coon.
And finally, we must assume that Jettison Slinky will play a typical set of conventional, unadventurous, seemingly nostalgic jazz-rock. More information about Graham Connah may be gleaned from this interview in All About Jazz.
Cancelled!!!
Tuesday, March 12, 2002The Evan Parker/ Barry Guy/ Paul Lytton Trio show that was scheduled for this date has been cancelled!! The whole west coast tour is postponed until 2003, when they hope to be able to do it all in a van, vs. trying to do it now, flying.
2003
While Beanbender's presented weekly concerts for 5 years (and now an occasional few more beyond), the concert I still hear about most often is from June 1995:Two other favorite concerts were the appearances of the legendary Toychestra. (Appearance 1.)
Thus, we are very pleased to announce:
FRED FRITH and TOYCHESTRA - Apart and Together.
"Together" part featuring the world premiere of a concerto for guitar and toys by Dan Plonsey.
Two dates:
- May 1 (Thursday), Starry Plough, 3101 Shattack Ave., Berkeley. 9PM.
- May 6 (Tuesday), Cafe Du Nord, 2170 Market St., San Francisco. 9PM.
Fred Frith's solo music is amazing and wonderful for the way in which he can mix shimmery noise, strange tunings, brushes, kitchen utensils, and folk-like melodies into a dramatic and surreal narrative. Frith's compositions received wider public attention recently as the score for "Rivers and Tides," the Andy Goldsworthy film. (This soundtrack will be released by Winter & Winter in June.)
Toychestra's six women are charming and crude superheroes who save bits and pieces of the world at a time from dreary and maddening cynicism with their collection of toy pianos, toy violin, emergency board, yes-man, boing-boing, accordion-people, grrrlz-rule, etc., apparently arranged for under the influence of beer and marshmallow peeps.
Toychestra is: Lexa Walsh, Shari Robertson, Corey Weinstein, Petra Podlahova, Angela Coon, and Michelle Adams.
As part of the 2003 Berkeley Arts Festival, Beanbender's co-presents 3 shows at the Festival Headquarters:
2110 Shattuck Avenue, between Addison and Center, right by Berkeley BART
Saturday, October 11, 2003, 8PM
Dan Plonsey, Mantra Plonsey, Joe Karten, Liz Allbee, Tom Djll,
Lynn Wold and John Schott: FISH POND.
$8.
Thursday, October 16, 2003, 8PM
Chris Jonas, Molly Sturges, Randy McKean, Tom Duff, various Plonseys,
and others, in 1's, 2's, 3's and 4's as chosen by The Hat.
$8.
Wednesday, October 29, 2003, 8PM
The Manufacturing of Humidifiers play together for the first time in... years!
Dan Plonsey, Randy Porter and Ward Spangler.
$10.
2003
Beanbender's is thrilled to co-present (with Rastascan Records, Limited Sedition, and BarelyAudible): Anthony Braxton in San Francisco, Thursday December 11, 2003
Click here for 300dpi version of photo.
Anthony Braxton will be making a rare West Coast appearance with a tentet performance at San Francisco's Victoria Theater on December 11. This will be Mr. Braxton's first Bay Area performance in 6 years, since he played at Yoshi's 1997.
Thursday, December 11, 2003
Victoria Theatre
2961 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 863-7576
Tickets: $15/20/30, available from
www.tickets.com
Anthony Braxton is considered to be one of the pre-eminent living saxophonists and composers. He is a recent recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Award. He has written over 300 compositions which range from his ground-breaking solo saxophone works to full-scale operas and pieces for multiple orchestras. He has toured and recorded prolifically, presenting in his bands such musicians as Dave Holland, Marilyn Crispell, George Lewis and Gerry Hemingway. The restless, wide-ranging complexity of his artistic vision frequently confounds the self-appointed guardians of the "jazz tradition," while at the same time inspiring serious listeners as well as countless students. Mr. Braxton is the subject of several books, including his own Tri-Axium Writings and Composition Notes (available from Frog Peak). A former resident of Oakland (he taught at Mills College for six years), he currently lives in Middletown, CT, where he is professor of music composition at Wesleyan University.
The tentet Mr. Braxton will be presenting features many of the players from the critically acclaimed recording Six Compositions (GTM) 2001 in live performance for the first time. The ensemble will premiere new compositions by Mr. Braxton, who will be conducting and performing in the ensemble. The complete ensemble lineup is as follows:
Anthony Braxton: reeds; Liz Allbee: trumpet; Matt Ingalls: clarinets; Greg Kelley (Boston): trumpet; Dan Plonsey: reeds; Gino Robair< /B>: percussion; Scott Rosenberg (LA): reeds; Jay Rozen (NY): tuba; Sarah Schoenbeck (LA): bassoon; John Shiurba: guitar.
Most conspicuously absent from this performance will be our great friend, bassist Matthew Sperry, who was struck and killed by a car this summer. Matthew had been the bass player in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," which had a long and successful run, also in the Victoria Theatre.
For more information, CDs, interview requests, etc., send e-mail to: Dan Plonsey: plonsey@kato.lmi.net, or call Plonsey at: 510-237-9007.
Links providing more background on Anthony Braxton
About "Six Compositions (GTM) 2001," Ben Watson writes the following in "Hi Fi News":
"For the last decade, Anthony Braxton has declared that the image of the black musician as a mere 'Improvisor' was racist and that he wanted to be treated as a 'composer'. He produced a series of works, often interpreted by inferior collegiate bands, in which system outweighed musical interest. Over-enthusiastic small-label owners conspired to flood the market with poor releases.
"Now, however, Braxton has found a real band, and the critical listener can see the point of his previous experiments. John Shiurba (guitar), Matthew Sperry ( bass), and Gino Robair (percussion) provide just the right speedy context for Braxton's mind-blowing reeds, and carry the tentet required for "Composition No 286". Braxton's iridescent, multicoloured music writhes like a flaming dragon -- Shiurba's skronk guitar adds crucial punk edge. Braxton's solo line has never sounded so intelligent, so potty, so logical an extension of Charlie Parker. Bravo, maestro!"