Upcoming: Nakatani + Tiner

dagnysNakataniTiner

TATSUYA NAKATANI solo and duo with KRIS TINER

Saturday, March 29, 4:00pm

Dagny’s Coffee Co.
1600 20th Street, Bakersfield
donation requested

more information

Phenomenal improvising percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani, originally from Osaka, Japan, returns to Bakersfield for a special afternoon performance at Dagny’s Coffee Co. on Saturday, March 29. A tireless performer who has been featured at concert venues around the world, Nakatani has developed a dramatic and intensely moving approach to improvised music that incorporates drumset, bowed gongs, cymbals, singing bowls, metal objects, bells, and various sticks and bows. Nakatani will play a solo set at 4pm and then will be joined by trumpeter Kris Tiner. The performance is presented by Epigraph Records, the local independent label that released their 2012 album RITUAL INSCRIPTION, recorded live in Bakersfield.



Critical praise for RITUAL INSCRIPTION (Epigraph Records lp-001)

“Tiner is free to fire strings of burning-hot brass lines and well-controlled blurts and blasts, while Nakatani wields unbridled creativity at his drum kit, striking and brushing skins and frames with a plethora of objets. The magic is there, and I was holding my breath throughout.”
– François Couture, Monsieur Délire (France)

“The music is raw, open-ended and strangely enough, deeply emotional… music that will grab you by the throat as well as make you dream… Highly recommended.”
– Stef Gijssels, Free Jazz (Belgium)

“Elastic, kinetic sounds mutate constantly, coloring a broad canvas through tight and thick interplay. No sound is obvious; the trio deserts common instrumental roles for inventive and challenging ones. The narrative of the improvisation is loose, but the fierce, intense sonic alchemy is arresting—an idiosyncratic language outlined spontaneously… brilliant and masterful.”
– Eyal Hareuveni, All About Jazz

“There’s something different happening in Bakersfield since the glory days of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. That at least is what would be suggested by the inaugural release from Epigraph Records.”
– Kurt Gottschalk, The New York City Jazz Record

Double Blind – Signal Out

signal out

Here’s a recording I participated in some time back, now available as a free download on Glenn Bach‘s MPRNTBL label. Other contributors include Bach, Dale Kaminski, Michael Raco-Rands, and Marco Schindelmann. Some background info:

On Thursday, September 18, 2008, Double Blind performed a live interpretation of Wounded Speaker. Divided into two sets of smaller groupings of the ensemble, plus a third set by the entire group, the improvised performance of Wounded Speaker took on new life and directions possible only within the context of a live, improvised performance.

Unfortunately, the Sony ECM-MS907 condenser microphone malfunctioned during the recording of the first two sets, resulting in an audio file marred by a consistent “on-off-on-off” stutter (with dropouts apparent in the final moments of the third set, as well).

As it turns out, Joseph Richard Negro videotaped the concert as part of his live video manipulations, and he provided an audio documentation of the first two sets as captured by the camera’s built-in microphone.

In the spirit of Wounded Speaker, Double Blind revisited the “failed” recordings in an attempt to recuperate the inherent promise of the original performances.

My contribution (heard on tracks 2 and 4) was a remix of the original Wounded Speaker audio, processed in real time on my Max/MSP rig. Bach edited and mixed together submissions from all the participants to create the final product. It’s a fascinating concept and well worth a listen if electronic music is your thing.

Cathlene Pineda – A Week’s Time

Cathlene-Pineda-A-Weeks-Time-1400-x-1400

Really honored to have played on a few tracks on LA pianist/composer Cathlene Pineda‘s new CD on Orenda Records. It’s uniquely beautiful and heartfelt music with an exploratory spirit, and these are some of my favorite musicians to play with these days. The sound is stellar and Orenda has really put a lot of time and care into the art and packaging. You can pre-order A Week’s Time at Orenda Records.

The official release date is February 25. We play that night at the Blue Whale in Los Angeles, more info at the Facebook event page.



Tone Drift Trio in Eagle Rock

Tone Drift Trio, Eagle Rock Center for the Arts, 1/5/14, photos by Andrew Koeth

Tone Drift Trio, Eagle Rock Center for the Arts, 1/5/14, photos by Andrew Koeth

“Tone Drift Trio is G.E. Stinson on electric ax, digital toodlebug Steuart Liebig on bass guitar/electronics and Kris Tiner on trumpet and flugelhorn. Together they’re three new-thing masters making shape-shifting aural landscapes pulled right out of the air — and their own ears, of course.”

–John Payne, LA Weekly

Honda-Schenck-Tiner at Berkeley Arts


Motoko Honda – piano
Beth Schenck – soprano and alto saxophones
Kris Tiner – trumpet

Berkeley Arts Festival
Berkeley, CA
December 1, 2013

IAHRQ LP Release Shows

Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet (with Kris Tiner and Phillip Greenlief)

Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet (with Kris Tiner and Phillip Greenlief)



In February 2012, the Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet assembled at Metro Galleries in downtown Bakersfield to record a live set of four original compositions in front of a packed house, with special guests Phillip Greenlief on tenor saxophone and Kris Tiner on trumpet. The show was organized by Epigraph Records, a new grassroots label devoted to presenting unusual and esoteric new music in Bakersfield. The IAHRQ are at the forefront of this scene. Blending Ethiopian funk with the outer realms of cosmic jazz and atonal psychedelia, these four young musicians weave a sound that is explicitly their own, while proudly paying tribute to their influences.

 
Sunday, December 1, 8pm
Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet + Phillip Greenlief + Kris Tiner
and Kris Tiner/Beth Schenck/Motoko Honda Trio
Berkeley Arts Festival, Berkeley, CA
More info on Facebook

Monday, December 2, 8pm
Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet + Kris Tiner
Nebraska Mondays at Luna’s, Sacramento, CA

Friday, December 6, 9pm
Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet + Kris Tiner
First Friday at Going Underground Records, Bakersfield, CA
 

Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet



In February 2012, the Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet assembled at Metro Galleries in downtown Bakersfield to record a live set of four original compositions in front of a packed house, with special guests Phillip Greenlief on tenor saxophone and Kris Tiner on trumpet. The show was organized by Epigraph Records, a new grassroots label devoted to presenting unusual and esoteric new music in Bakersfield. The IAHRQ are at the forefront of this scene. Blending Ethiopian funk with the outer realms of cosmic jazz and atonal psychedelia, these four young musicians weave a sound that is explicitly their own, while proudly paying tribute to their influences.

The second LP release from Bakersfield-based Epigraph Records is now available. It’s been well over a year in the making, but thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign we’ll be rolling this one out over the next few weeks. Check the events page for info on album release shows in the works.

Pre-order the LP at the Epigraph Bandcamp site and get an instant album download. Use the discount code “astro15” at checkout for 15% off downloads and LP pre-orders, for a limited time only.


Psychic Temple on Tour

psychic temple

Psychic Temple II is just about to be released, and for the next few days you can stream the entire record at NPR First Listen. I had the honor of playing a few solos on this album, and will be on tour with the band beginning this weekend in NYC and heading out from there. Here’s the schedule:

 
I’m also doing a performance in Brooklyn with Steuart Liebig, Nate Wooley, and Tom Rainey, minutes after touching down at JFK this Thursday night. More info on that one on Facebook.