2015 Angel City Jazz Festival poster by Kio Griffith
This week the Empty Cage Quartet reconvenes for performances at the Angel City Jazz Festival in Los Angeles (with Lucian Ban and Mat Maneri), Studio Grand in Oakland (with The Lost Trio), and Dagny’s Coffee Co. in Bakersfield. From there we head into the studio to work on material for our next album.
More info on the events page at emptycagequartet.com.
Known for decades as the “Johnny Appleseed of Free Improvisation,” saxophonist Jack Wright has forged a singular path, touring throughout the US and Europe in search of interesting partners and playing situations. Jack’s son Ben Wright came up in the Philadelphia punk scene but has spent the last 25 odd years exploring the double bass, and now lives in Taos, New Mexico. The father-son duo performs regularly, and their West Coast tour in early 2014 brought them to Bakersfield for an unforgettable performance at Dagny’s, with Epigraph Records founder Kris Tiner sitting in on trumpet.
This session was recorded the next morning. The music is completely improvised and presented as it was created, in four sections, without alterations and with very minimal editing. As such, we witness a fascinating musical dialogue being established, with moments of mutual agreement rising from nowhere and dissolving just as quickly into further debate, reaching nearly symphonic scope, three sonic explorers engaging the shared moment, sparring a bit, open to any possibility yet leaving much to the imagination, for instance…
For Instance is the third release on Bakersfield-based Epigraph Records, and it is the first in a series of digital albums we will be releasing this year. We have some amazing recordings in the works, featuring new and improvised music from Bakersfield locals and stellar visiting artists from around the world.
I’m glad to be able to share this recording. Ben is an old friend, and we’ve played together a number of times, but I had never played with Jack Wright before that night at Dagny’s. He is a legend of free music, now in his 70s, and his improvisations are as strong and profoundly beautiful as ever. We all enjoyed the trio so much that we reconvened the next morning at the house where they were staying. Ben set up a few mics and we were off. The whole thing was finished in under an hour, and then they were on the road.
For Instance is available now exclusively on our Bandcamp page. Download the full four-track album in the format of your choice for $5.99, and if you enter the discount code “june” at checkout you’ll get 15% off, good this month only.
Jack Wright – Ben Wright – Kris Tiner, Dagny’s, 1/25/14, photo by Andrew Koeth
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.
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.
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
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.
This Sunday will be the last Epigraph Records-sponsored concert of the year at Metro Galleries. Superb Sacramento guitarist Ross Hammond is bringing his trio (featuring Steuart Liebig on bass and Trevor Anderies on drums), and I’ll play in the opening set with the trio version of my new trumpet-synth project Not Twice (check here for a recap of our San Francisco performance back in August). Both sets will be recorded live. More info at this link.
Here’s a preview of the music I’ve written for our set:
New review of RITUAL INSCRIPTION in the October issue of the New York City Jazz Record:
“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…”
“Empty Cage Quartet, a tight-knit West Coast avant-jazz outfit including trumpeter Kris Tiner, reedist Jason Mears,bassist Ivan Johnson and drummer Paul Kikuchi, boasts an admirably wide dynamic range, encompassing funkyblare and chamber-style intimacy. This week the group plays two local gigs in support of a new limited-edition, self-titled LP on Prefecture Music. Sharing the bill on Oct 6 are the trios Cacaw and Killer Kate.”
–TIME OUT NEW YORK
This week the Empty Cage Quartet celebrates our TENTH year together with a new website, a new self-titled LP available now on Prefecture Music, and two gigs in New York City.
The new album was recorded at Jack Straw in Seattle early last year, and includes many of the tunes we’ve been playing on our live gigs over the past couple of years. The vinyl is limited to 300 copies, or you can download the digital album in whatever format you prefer, and you can name your price. Check the embed below to listen and purchase:
Please take a minute to check out hibari, an ongoing aid project for earthquake victims in northeastern Japan. It’s now in it’s 43rd week featuring new music weekly by 100 contemporary composers.
This week they are featuring a flute/piano duet I composed earlier in the summer, BEAUTIFULLY and impeccably performed by Reiko Manabe and Kaori Ohsuga. Scroll down for a reproduction of the score.
You can download the full seven minute performance by donating $5 or more. My piece will be available for the next seven days.
