Philadelphia concerts

[alankin]

Ars Nova Workshop presents:

Saturday, April 21

STEVE COLEMAN & FIVE ELEMENTS

Steve Coleman, alto saxophone; Jonathan Finlayson, trumpet; Miles Okazaki, guitar; Damion Reid, drums

Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Avenue, $15

Saturday, April 28, 2012 - 8:00pm

Bobby Zankel's Warriors Of The Wonderful Sound Meet Muhal Richard Abrams

Muhal Richard Abrams, composer + conductor

Montgomery County Community College

340 DeKalb Pike

Blue Bell, PA

Price: $15 General Admission

Bobby Zankel, alto saxophone

Bryan Rogers, tenor saxophone

Elliott Levin, tenor saxophone + flute

Daniel Peterson, alto saxophone

Julian Pressley, baritone saxophone

Herb Robertson, trumpet

Bart Miltenberger, trumpet

Stan Slotter, trumpet

Adam Hershberger, trumpet

Fred Scott, trumpet

Larry Toft, trombone

Dave Champion, trombone

Steve Swell, trombone

Tom Lawton, piano

Anthony Tidd, bass

Craig McIver, drums

[Chalupa]

One last plug...

Saturday, April 28, 8pm

BOBBY ZANKEL'S WARRIORS OF THE WONDERFUL SOUND MEET MUHAL RICHARD ABRAMS

Bobby Zankel, alto saxophone; Bryan Rogers, tenor saxophone; Elliott Levin, tenor/flute; Daniel Peterson, alto saxophone; Julian Pressley, baritone saxophone; Herb Robertson, trumpet; Bart Miltenberger, trumpet; Stan Slotter, trumpet; Adam Hershberger, trumpet; Fred Scott, trombone; Larry Toft, trombone; Dave Champion, trombone; Steve Swell, trombone; Tom Lawton, piano; Anthony Tidd, bass; Craig McIver, drums

Montgomery County Community College, 340 DeKalb Pike (Blue Bell), PA

$15 General Admission; $25 with Bus/Reception*

On April 28 at Montgomery County Community College, Philadelphia saxophonist/bandleader Bobby Zankel’s big band the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound will premiere a new piece - entitled Soundpath - written expressly for the ensemble by legendary pianist/composer Muhal Richard Abrams. The band, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, will follow up their thrilling, acclaimed performances of pieces by innovative jazz saxophonists Rudresh Mahanthappa and Steve Coleman with this new addition to their weighty repertoire.

Born in Chicago in 1930, Muhal Richard Abrams’ lifetime spans much of the history of modern jazz, a fact reflected in his style-spanning compositions. In 1965 he co-founded the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), a loose organization devoted to expanding opportunities for forward-thinking jazz artists and for incubating new approaches unhindered by limitations of genre or tradition. At 81, Abrams continues to wield an enormous influence through his recordings and teachings, not least through some of modern jazz’s most important musicians. Pianists Jason Moran and Vijay Iyer and saxophonists Steve Coleman and Greg Osby are among those who cite Muhal’s profound impact.

http://arsnovaworkshop.org/events/bobby-zankels-warriors-wonderful-sound-meet-muhal-richard-abrams-04-28-2012

*For only $25, join us at 5:30pm for a special reception featuring live music and a complimentary drink at the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz, 738 South Broad Street. A bus will leave from the Clef Club at 6:30pm for the performance at MCCC and return to the Clef Club following the performance.

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Over the past several weeks, local music writer Shaun Brady (Jazz Times, Philadelphia City Paper, Philadelphia Inquirer) has contributed a four-part series of blog posts and videos about the project which appeared on the Ars Nova Workshop website.

Part One: Brady talks to Zankel about the 10-year history of the Warriors and the ensemble's new project with Abrams.

http://arsnovaworkshop.org/blog/muhal-meets-warriors-part-14

Part Two: Brady interviews Zankel and pianist JASON MORAN, who is the Artistic Advisor for Jazz at the Kennedy Center and a former student of Abrams'.

http://arsnovaworkshop.org/blog/muhal-meets-warriors-part-24

Part Three: Brady talks to pianist VIJAY IYER about how Abrams has deeply influenced his own work.

http://arsnovaworkshop.org/blog/muhal-meets-warriors-part-34

Part Four: Brady interviews long-time Warriors ensemble members Daniel T. Peterson, Tom Lawton and Elliott Levin, and WRTI's J. Michael Harrison talk to Abrams.

http://arsnovaworkshop.org/blog/muhal-meets-warriors-part-44

[alankin]

Ars Nova Workshop presents:

Tonight! Thursday, April 11, 8pm
ICP ORCHESTRA
with Michael Moore, alto saxophone + clarinet; Tobias Delius, tenor saxophone + clarinet; Ab Baars, tenor saxophone + clarinet; Thomas Heberer, trumpet; Wolter Wierbos, trombone; Mary Oliver, violin; Tristan Honsinger, cello; Ernst Glerum, bass; and Han Bennink, drums

International House Philadelphia, 3701 Chestnut Street
$15 General Admission

Saturday, April 13, 8pm

THE ENGINES
with Dave Rempis, saxophones; Jeb Bishop, trombone; Kent Kessler, bass; and Tim Daisy, drums

Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street
$15 General Admission

[alankin]

I hope to get to this one next week:

Wednesday, May 1, 8:00pm
CRAIG TABORN TRIO
ECM Records release celebration
with Craig Taborn, piano; Thomas Morgan, bass; and Gerald Cleaver, drums

Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street
$15 General Admission

Ars Nova Workshop presents the Philadelphia debut of this trio led by the pianist Craig Taborn featuring the bassist Thomas Morgan and the drummer Gerald Cleaver.

“If there’s any danger that his music is going to harden into one specific thing — a style, even of his own — he seems to go the other way,” writes The New York Times about Craig Taborn. “He destabilizes any traditional framing idea — of a set, of a song, of a chorus — but with the assurance of a really good frame builder.”

The New York City pianist Craig Taborn has worked with Roscoe Mitchell, Tim Berne, Dave Douglas, Steve Coleman, and many others. Among his recent recordings are three excellent ECM albums: Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory's Far Side (2010), Taborn's solo piano album Avenging Angel(2011) and the Michael Formanek Quartet's Small Places (2012). Gerald Cleaver, the drummer for the trio, has worked with Taborn in numerous configurations, including in trios with William Parker and Lotte Anker, and in the Michael Formanek Quartet. Cleaver has also worked with Mario Pavone, Matthew Shipp and Jemeel Moondoc, and leads the Gerald Cleaver Group with Jean Carla Rodea, Andrew Bishop, Dave Ballou and Michael Formanek. The bassist Thomas Morgan has worked with Paul Motian, Masabumi Kikuchi, Jim Black, Bill Frisell and Lee Konitz.

http://arsnovaworkshop.org/events/craig-taborn-trio-05-01-2013

[alankin]

[Philadelphia] Center City Jazz Festival

Tomorrow!

$15/20 for all-performance pass. Performers include Thumbscrew (Tomas Fujiwara, Mary Halvorson, Michael Formanek), Steve Coleman, Tim Warfield, Justin Faulkner.

Saturday, April 19th 1-7pm:
The Third Annual Center City Jazz Festival presents a lineup of blockbuster performers on Saturday, April 19th as part of Jazz Appreciation Month. Attendees can expect a jam-packed schedule of 16 bands performing at four venues over six hours, all within walking distance of each other in the heart of Center City. One ticket provides access to all performances.

http://ccjazzfest.com/

Fergie’s Pub
Upstairs
1:00-2:00: Rhenda Fearrington
2:30-3:30: Mike Kennedy
4:00-5:00: Thumbscrew ft. Tomas Fujiwara, Mary Halvorson, Michael Formanek
5:30-6:30: John Raymond & The Roots Trio w/ Gilad Hekselman, Eric Doob

Milkboy- Philadelphia
Upstairs
1:15-2:15: Peter Gaudioso
2:45-3:45: Giovana Robinson
4:15-5:15: Justin Faulkner
5:45-6:45: Steve Coleman and Five Elements

Chris’ Jazz Cafe
1:30-2:30: Kimmel Center’s Creative Music Program
3:00-4:00: Tivon Pennicott
4:30-5:30: Joanna Pascale
6:00-7:00: Tim Warfield Jr. Quartet

TIME Restaurant
1:45-2:45: Charles Washington
3:15-4:15: Miss Ida Blue ft. members of the Boardwalk Empire Orchestra,
Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks
4:45-5:45: Stacy Dillard
6:15-7:15: Trio Up ft. Rick Tate, Nimrod Speaks & Ronnie Burrage

[alankin]

ARS NOVA WORKSHOP concerts - Ken Vandermark, Chicago Underground Duo, Milford Graves

http://arsnovaworkshop.org

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Monday, April 21, 8pm*
KEN VANDERMARK’S MADE TO BREAK
with Ken Vandermark, reeds; Jasper Stadhouders, el. bass; Christof Kurzmann, electronics [lloopp]; and Tim Daisy, drums

Barnes Foundation, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
$25 General Admission

MacArthur Fellow and Chicago jazz legend Ken Vandermark visits Philadelphia for the first time in over five years to premiere a piece inspired by the Barnes collection with his latest and most radical ensemble, Made to Break. Inspired by elements of Ethiopian music, Dutch group The Ex, the New Music concepts of John Cage and Morton Feldman, and jazz and improvised music history, Vandermark has devised a compositional framework that engages and complements Dr. Barnes’s peculiar personal curatorial philosophy. *Before the show (7pm), ticketholders are invited to join Vandermark and Blake Bradford, the Barnes Foundation’s Bernard C. Watson Director of Education, for a discussion on Vandermark’s composing practices and how they relate to Dr. Barnes’s curatorial vision.

New Paths Festival has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

Advance tickets: http://arsnovaworkshop.org/events/ken-vandermark’s-made-break-04-21-2014

Read the guest blog post from the Barnes’ director of education: http://arsnovaworkshop.org/blog/guest-post-vandermark-and-barnes

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Tuesday, April 22, 8pm
CHICAGO UNDERGROUND DUO
with Rob Mazurek, cornet, synth, Game Boy, electronics, bamboo flute; and Chad Taylor, drums, mbira, balaphone

+ TIM MOTZER & BART MILTENBERGER DUO
with Tim Motzer, guitar + electronics; and Bart Miltenberger, trumpet + electronics

Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad Street
$15 General Admission

"The Chicago Underground Duo—that’s cornetist/keyboardist Rob Mazurek and drummer/percussionist Chad Taylor—have got real flair, replete with a sound that’s evocative of a much larger ensemble. For 17 years, the two have worked together in a variety of Mazurek-led ensembles—Chicago Underground Trio (with bass player Noel Kupersmith) and Chicago Underground Quartet (with Kupersmith and guitarist Jeff Parker) among them—as well as separately with their own respective side projects. With roots in the avant-garde realm of improvisatory jazz, Mazurek and Taylor have managed to transcend into a rarified area of conceptualized music, building layer upon tantalizing layer of rich tonality for thrilled audiences.

By blending modern forms of electronica and other synth-heavy genres with a wide tapestry of a robust ethnic folk, the duo’s most recent work, Locus, delves deeper into the world of ambient music and free-form play. It’s clear the men of CUD are incredibly well-trained musicians in their own regard. But by combining the complexity of two virtuosos performing these esoteric arrangements and the actual density of the music itself, the Chicago Underground Duo has bravely set itself apart from its sonic peers, constantly seeking—and finding—new ground to explore in still-yet-undiscovered territories of contemporary jazz.” -Philadelphia Weekly

Advance tickets: http://arsnovaworkshop.org/events/chicago-underground-duo-04-22-2014

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Saturday, April 26, 8pm
MILFORD GRAVES

Bartram's Garden, 5400 Lindbergh Boulevard
$40 General Admission

Free Jazz legend, herbalist, acupuncturist, martial artist, professor, savant, and shaman Milford Graves (b. 1941) is best known for his work with Albert Ayler, the New York Art Quartet (featuring Roswell Rudd, Reggie Workman and John Tchicai) and John Zorn. Graves has spent decades connecting healing practices and herbology (he’s been co-director of George Washington Carver Botanical Garden in New York) to his personal improvising and composing approaches. For his first Philadelphia appearance in over four decades, Graves will present a very rare solo performance inside the oldest barn in Philadelphia County at Bartram’s Garden, the birthplace of American botany.

Seating for this concert is extremely limited.

Advance tickets: http://arsnovaworkshop.org/events/milford-graves-04-26-2014

New Paths Festival has been supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

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[BeBop]

What clubs/venues are active these days, downtown/Society Hill/South/Rittenhouse/Penn's Landing? I'm aware of Chris' and Ars Nova and am following both. (Going to miss Uri Caine and Dave Douglas on Friday, which leaves me bummed.)