Serving the San Francisco Bay Area New Music Community

Mon, May 26 2014 9:00 PM

Studio Grand
3234 Grand Ave, Oakland
Click for Venue page

Oakland Freedom Jazz Society presents
Lisa Mezzacappa's Bait & Switch
plus
Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble
CD release performance for their new recording "Crimmerian Crossroads" on Edgetone Records

~~Bait & Switch~~
Aaron Bennett, saxophones
Jordan Glenn, drums
John Finkbeiner, guitar
Lisa Mezzacappa, acoustic bass
"Mezzacappa's Bait & Switch delivers a raw, unfettered dose of primal expressionism that also works as sophisticated modern jazz." - Point of Departure
"Mezzacappa and her band of merry men plunder the jazz canon and delightfully toss the treasures about, playing with a bold approach and delightful musicality. What Is Known is no holds barred all the way, so bring your best wrestling moves and dive in." - New York City Jazz Record (formerly AllAboutJazz-New York)

~~Life's Blood Ensemble~~
Kim Cass – double bass & Markus Hunt – double bass
Timothy Orr – drums/percussion
Rent Romus - alto, soprano, c-melody saxophones
Life's Blood "damn well rock their Jazz" says blogger disaster amnesiac, while exploring the influences and inspirations that make the art of jazz and improvisation timeless. The ensemble pays tribute as well as brings to light, reinvents, deconstructs, and breaths life into the deeper realms of their collective body of memory. Originally created by saxophonist Rent Romus while on tour in Northern Europe in 1999, the group currently features bassists Kim Cass, Markus Hunt and drummer/percussionist Timothy Orr.

Hailed by Downbeat as having "...a bold sound, unmistakeable sincerity and conviction", Rent Romus is a force spanning over 25 years of music production curating over 80 shows a year for the new music, avant garde, and jazz communities as well as leading several groups from rolicking jazz to free abstract chamber music, to sounds tracks for film and dance. Timothy Orr studied drums with Edward Blackwell from 1985-89 at Wesleyan University. Timothy has played with musicians in many fields, including Josh Roseman, Stephen Schwartz, Marco Eneidi, Richard Hell, Adam Lane, and many more. Kim Cass is one of the most promising jazz bass players to come out of the New England Conservatory in recent memory, possessing both a remarkably individual sound and a personal and virtuosic technique. As a freelancer in New York City he played with Bill McHenry, George Garzone, Andrew D'Angelo and Ethan Iverson among others. Markus Hunt began his study of double bass at Howard University under Chris Sloniger, and later with Chuck Sher, Glenn Richman (Bobby Hutcherson) and Clarence Stephens (Church of Coltrane). Borrowing from 20th century European classical and American avant-garde jazz forms, his approach is both spiritual and intellectual.

VAMP Vintage Art & Music for the People will do a Pop Up Record Shop & Music Share before the show around 7:30pm
Cover $10 (100% goes to the artists)

Cost: $10
Audio samples in which musicians at this event play:
Videos featuring musicians playing at this event
avantNOIR, a suite of compositions for jazz quartet plus guests, is a musical companion to the crime novels of Dashiell Hammett and Paul Auster. All music by Lisa Mezzacappa.
Fred Frith, Guitar; Jordan Glenn, Drums; Jason Hoopes, bass
A montage of the free music group the Lords of Outland from their live presented as part of The Tenderloin Museum’s Sounds of the Tenderloin live music series at the Tenderloin National Forest in San Francisco July of 2022 Featuring Rent Romus on alto/soprano saxophones, Ray Schaeffer on bass, Anthony Flores on drums, and Philip Everett on