Dan Senn

Dan Senn works as a composer, sound sculptor, filmmaker, instrument builder and installation artist. His documentary films on Civil War brass instruments have been shown on PBS and his sound installations have been presented throughout the US and Europe. Senn is the winner of the famed sculpture prize, awarded by the Hoesch Museum in Düren, Germany. His notated music is published by Smith Publications and his improvised music has been released by Periplum Records. Dan has been most recently involved with his International Space Band Initiative and related public art projects in Portland, Oregon, Prague and Kladno, in the Czech Republic.
Dan’s work can be viewed in detail at: www.newsense-intermedium.com.

Mary Halvorson (guitar) and Jessica Pavone (viola)

Mary Halvorson and Jessica Pavone have been collaborating for over three years to create a unique body of duo music. The pair combines lush melodies with textural improvisation and jagged rhythms to create concise, enigmatic musical episodes. Their collaboration utilizes a variety of timbres, achieved through amplification and electronic effects as well as acoustic presentation. Halvorson and Pavone, each of whom contributed original compositions to the project, have developed a constantly expanding repertoire comprised of over 50 pieces. This concert celebrates the release of their fist album on the Lucky Kitchen label.

Taylor Ho Bynum Ensemble:THB (cornet, compositions,) Matt Bauder (tenor sax, clarinet,) Mary Halvorson (electric guitar,) Evan O'Reilly (electric guitar,) Jessica Pavone (viola, electric bass,) Loren Kiyoshi Dempster (cello,) Tomas Fujiwara (drums.)

The THB Ensemble is a small ensemble committed to the further exploration of the extensions of composition and improvisation pioneered by masters like Ellington, Ives and members of the AACM. Led by cornettist/composer Bynum (best known for his work with Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, and the Fully Celebrated Orchestra,) the group features some of New York's most outstanding young musicians, all established as leaders and composers in their own right, with the skills to navigate through many styles and genres in the search for something else.

Taylor Ho Bynum is a performer on cornet and various brass instruments, composer and bandleader. Born in 1975, Bynum was raised in Boston and presently resides in Brooklyn. He has established a reputation as a unique musical voice willing to take chances in a wide variety of artistic contexts. His projects cover a diverse range of artistic expression -- from ensembles in the jazz tradition, to work with DJs, contemporary classical composers and world music ensembles, to composing for film and theater, to collaborations with dancers and visual artists. He presently leads his Sextet and the nine-piece ensemble SpiderMonkey Strings, and works with many of the leading figures in creative music. Bynum's work with Anthony Braxton has spanned ten years and projects ranging from duo to orchestra, most recently touring Europe with Braxton's new Sextet and Trio, and co-conducting Braxton's European Creative Orchestra. Their CD "Duets (Wesleyan) 2002" has received wide critical acclaim. Bynum's next CD as a leader, "Other Stories (Three Suites,)" with SpiderMonkey Strings, will be released on 482 Music this fall. Check out www.taylorhobynum.com for more info.

The Village Voice calls Bynum “one of the savviest trumpeters to come along in recent years, a growling sound-and-space man in the tradition of Lester Bowie” and Signal to Noise Magazine reports, “his command of color and nuance is supreme...I don't know how he did any of this, but it's wonderful...Sheer joy."

Gustavo Matamoros

- Gustavo Matamoros presents a mini retrospective of his work, including selections from Music On A Budget, gated pieces, sound videos, and an excerpt from Amazonas, a piece for paper weather instruments, saw and text, in collaboration with guest artist Alison Knowles.

Gustavo Matamoros’s intermedia output includes musical and sound-performance works, sound-objects, tracings and sound-portraits, sound-installations, sound-texts, sound-video, radiophonic and public artworks.  Over his 20-some year career, he has made work and friendships with numerous artists and musicians.  Some recent ones include Alison Knowles, Russell Frehling, Malcolm Goldstein, Jacqueline Humbert, Sam Ashley, Shahreyar Ataie, David Manson, Charles Recher, Lou Mallozzi, Helena Thevenot, Dinorah Rodriguez, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Davey and Jan Williams. Gustavo’s projects include performances for solo handsaw and other gated instruments of his own design, as well as recent performances of his saw band SEE. His activities have lead to grants and commissions from Florida’s Art in State Buildings, Miami Performing Art Center, the Florida Consortium’s 2000-Visual and Media Arts Fellowship, and two of Venezuela’s national prizes in composition.  Matamoros has been the artistic director of the Subtropics experimental music festival in Miami since 1989 and director of the interdisciplinary Sound Arts Workshop since 1996.

Okkyung Lee  
Okkyung Lee (cello and composition), with Anthony Coleman (keyboards),
Shelley Hirsch (voice) and jim pugliese (percussion) present a set of songs that evoke unspoken emotions, sighs, heartache and tenderness through unconventional yet expressive musical ways.

A native of korea, okkyung lee has been developing her own voice in a contemporary cello performance, improvisation and composition. using her solid classical training as a springboard, she incorporates jazz, sounds, korean traditional music, noise with extended techniques and create her unique blend of music.

since moving to new york in 2000, she has performed and recorded with numerous artists such as derek bailey, carla bozulich, jaap blonk, nels cline, anthony coleman, mark dresser, shelley hirsch, susie ibarra, vijay iyer, eyvind kang, alonzo king, andrew lampert, christian marclay, raz mesinai, min xiao-fen, thurston moore, ikue mori, lawrence D. "butch" morris, jim o'rourke, zeena parkins, marc ribot, marina rosenfeld, elliot sharp, saadet türköz and john zorn to name a few.

in addition to frequent solo performances and leading her own ensembles, she is a member of TOT Trio with percussionist tim barnes and turntablist toshio kajiwara; an improvisational duo NoNo Twins with dancer/choreographer heather kravas; vijay iyer and mike ladd‚s In What Language? and upcoming Still Life with Commentator projects; greg tate's Burnt Sugar Arkestra Chamber among many other groups.

okkyung‚s debut album, Nihm (TZA 7715), a compilation of her compositions on john zorn's Tzadik label has generated critical acclaims in the states and Europe. with array of the most adventurous improvisors from new york, the album was met with enthusiastic reviews from Wire Magazine (UK), Baltimore City Paper, TimeOut New York and All About Jazz US. the first track on the CD "On a Windy Day" was featured on Art of The States Radio Program on WGBH to be broadcasted in over 50 countries.

Marty Ehrlich - MARTY EHRLICH'S DARK WOODS FIVE; Marty Ehrlich – clarinets, Mark Feldman – violin, Erik Friedlander – cello, Alan Jaffe – guitar, Mark Helias – bass.

Marty Ehrlich continues his Dark Woods odyssey, with an expanded edition of his long-running ensemble. The live performances of this group have been called "an object lesson in the limitations of labels."  Come in for the shade, stay for the fire.

Marty Ehrlich is one of the most celebrated artists of his generation, critically acclaimed as both composer and player. Equally fluent on clarinet, saxophone, and flutes, Ehrlich has been hailed as "one of the most formidable multi- instrumentalists since Eric Dolphy...the jazz dream musician" (The Village Voice). The New York Times calls him "one of the premier melodicists of his generation," and The Nation, "one of his time's most original thinkers (with) a rare and wonderful talent, a now yearning, now biting attack and a stunningly voice like expressiveness." Jazz Zeitung states that "If there is a believable poetic sensibility in jazz, you will find it with Marty Ehrlich." The Jazz Journalist Association honored him as Wind Player of the Year in 2001, and as Clarinetist of the year in 2003.

Since moving to New York in 1978, Ehrlich has performed his compositions throughout America, Europe, and Canada with three ongoing ensembles. The music of The Marty Ehrlich Quartet has been called "sophisticated, rewarding work of a mature artist's vision, masterfully realized." (Barnes and Noble.com) Its most recent release is Line on Love (2003). The Traveler's Tales Group is a quartet of two horns and rhythm section. Its most recent recording, Malinke's Dance, was chosen as one the ten best recordings of 2001 in the Village Voice. The Dark Woods Ensemble features Ehrlich's woodwinds with cello and bass. Its most recent release, Sojourn, received an award from Absolute Sound Magazine as one of the three best recordings of the year. Ehrlich has recorded 14 CD's with these ensembles, on the Palmetto, Enja, New World, Omnitone, and Tzadik labels.

12/9 & 11/2005           
The Eclipse Quartet --a contemporary string ensemble based in Los Angeles, California. Violinists Sarah Thornblade and Sara Parkins, violist Joanna Hood and cellist Maggie Parkins.

Eclipse will present two programs on Dec. 9 and 11 that will include two new works by Zeena Parkins, and quartets by such luminaries as guitarist Fred Frith, violinist Mark Feldman, and Austrian born LA composer Gernot Wolfgang. Several pieces have been composed especially for these concerts, including works by members of the Tin Hat Group: guitarist Mark Orton and violinist Carla Khilstedt, as well as pieces by Berkeley composer David Jaffe by and Toronto-based Justin Haynes.

The mission of this dynamic group is to create a unique concert experience by combining their talents with other artists in a variety of mediums, including film, dance, and spoken word. Formed in 2003, Eclipse has performed in a variety of settings and has actively sought composers’ newest works. They are currently completing their first CD of music by New York City composer and avant-garde electric harp improviser Zeena Parkins for the Tzadik label and will be heard on the Bravo network with a score of their own creation for the Dance Play, Opium, performed by the Canadian based, Suddenly Dance Troupe.
Eclipse continues to seek collaborations with other artists. In addition to working with dancers, Eclipse has commissioned original filmmakers to present their visual medium with preexisting compositions. Contributors include Seattle based artists Stanford Lee Wilson and Mark O’Connel, and Los Angeles based Susan Weber, Martin Garcia and graphic designer/videographer Sally Coates. Future projects include a collaboration with spoken-word artist Terri Philips and performances of string quartets in combination with electric guitar, marimba and quarter-tone flute.

Amy X Neuburg, with cellists Jess Ivry, Elaine Kreston, Kelley Maulbetsch

Since her NYC debut at Roulette in 2003, San Francisco-based "avant-cabaret" artist Amy X Neuburg has toured the U.S. and abroad performing her "one-woman musical hurricane" (Otago Times, NZ) of emotionally intense, tightly crafted songs and stories accompanied by electronic percussion and layers of live vocal looping. This appearance will mark the New York debut of Amy's new cello trio, as they perform selections from her in-progress song cycle "The Secret Language of Subways" for voice, cellists, electronic percussion and electronic processing. Amy will also premiere several new solo works. The New York Press has described her as "an astonishing array of musical talents... a phenomenal voice... a master with electronics."

Amy X Neuburg‘s "avant-cabaret" songs for voice and live electronics are diversely influenced and sung in various styles -- from rock to bel canto to "world" -- over a nearly four-octave vocal range. In performance Amy accompanies herself with real-time looping and electronic drums, using the drum kit to trigger sounds, control looping functions, and change mixer settings. She has performed her solo work at venues and events throughout the U.S., including the Other Minds Festival (San Francisco); Roulette, Joe's Pub, and the Bang on a Can Marathon at Symphony Space, (New York); Seattle's Experience Music Project; the San Jose Tech Museum; numerous college residencies; and her own multimedia theatrical show "Songs About Life & Death & Love & Insects." She recently returned from a 2-week performance tour of New Zealand and will return as composer-in-residence at Christchurch Arts Centre in 2006.

The Eclipse Quartet --a contemporary string ensemble based in Los Angeles, California. Violinists Sarah Thornblade and Sara Parkins, violist Joanna Hood and cellist Maggie Parkins.

See Friday December 9 description

Separate program