Steel Bridge Trio and Ochs Robinson Duo.
Steel Bridge Trio: Aram Shelton, Safa Shokrai, Tim Daisy
Steel Bridge Trio is a new music group organized by Chicago percussionist Tim Daisy and includes two mainstays of the Bay Area improvising scene: Aram Shelton on alto saxophone and clarinet and Safa Shofrai on bass. The group was formed as a vehicle for Tim's original compositions and is the first group which has him featured primarily on the vibraphone. Inspired by the pioneering work of the AACM as well as several of innovators working in improvised music including Steve Lacy, Cecil Taylor, Don Cherry, Anthony Braxton, and Walt Dickerson.
Tim Daisy is a Chicago based sound artist, percussionist and composer working in the fields of improvised and composed music since 1997. Has performed, recorded, and toured both solo as well as with many acclaimed musicians and ensembles from both the USA and abroad. Working in a number of different environments including modern dance, film, free jazz and improvised music ensembles. Solo work "On The Ground" explores connections between acoustic and electronic sounds in an improvised context. Using radios, alarm clocks, a snare drum, turntables, plus other miscellaneous found objects, sound collage in real time set up `on the ground.' Worked with many creative ensembles and musicians from Chicago and elsewhere including: multi reedist - ken vandermark :: bassoonist - katherine young :: austrian pianist- elisabeth harnik :: the seldoms (chicago based dance ensemble) :: clarinetist -james falzone/ saxophonist -dave rempis/ cellist - fred lonberg-holm/ nyc based trombonist - steve swell/ multi-reedist - aram shelton :: swedish tubist- per ake holmlander and polish saxophonist mikolaj trzaska.
Safa Shokrai is inspired by visual art, architecture, and movement. They inform the color and tone of his work. He has performed in a wide range of groups, ranging from punk-jazz (The Drift) to world music (Rupa & The April Fishes) to old-timey swing (Tin Cup Serenade). He has played bass since he was a preteen, and had the privilege to study with the great Ray Brown and San Francisco great Marcus Shelby. www.safashokrai.com
Aram Shelton is an improviser and composer. He performs on saxophone, clarinets, and live electronics. Based in Oakland, California, the projects Tonal Masher, Broken Trap Ensemble, Gold Age, and Ton Trio II represent his music. He is connected to Chicago through his Quartet, the cooperative sextet Fast Citizens (Delmark), and Jason Adasiewicz' Rolldown (Cuneiform). Currently focused on performing in the Bay Area, he has performed his own music in Europe, Canada and the United States including appearances at the Monterey and Chicago Jazz Festivals. His playing and music are available through Delmark, Clean Feed, Cuneiform, 482 Music, and his own Singlespeed Music.
Larry Ochs, Tenor and Sopranino Saxophone / Don Robinson, Drums
In his thirty-plus years in Rova,
Larry Ochs has created roughly two dozen compositions for saxophone quartet as well as other pieces for Rova in extended ensembles, many of which are recorded, and some of which were commissioned by Chamber Music America/Doris Duke Foundation and Meet the Composer. He has been acting executive director of Rova:Arts since 1987. In addition Ochs currently composes for and leads
Larry Ochs Sax & Drumming Core (with Scott Amendola, Don Robinson, Satoko Fujii, and Natsuki Tamura[Stone Shift, CD]) and Kihnoua with vocalist Dohee Lee, Scott Amendola and special guests [the Sybil's Whisper, 2012 CD]). He is performing in collective bands: East-West Ensemble (with Didier Petit, Sylvain Kassap, Miya Masaoka, Xu Fengxia), Jones Jones (with Mark Dresser and Vladimir Tarasov), Maybe Monday (with Masaoka and Fred Frith), Shelton-Ochs Quartet (with Aram Shelton, Kjell Nordeson and Scott Walton).
Donald Robinson is a technical master of the drums. Long-time studies with funk- master Charles Cook, and also with bebop pioneer Kenny Clarke in Paris in the 1970's, honed his physical technique. Performing with the likes of Cecil Taylor, Glenn Spearman, Lisle Ellis, and Rova Sax Quartet honed his mental acuity. He is a stalwart of the San Francisco Bay Area avant-garde jazz scene, playing and recording with many of the area's improvisational players, from saxophonists John Tchicai, Marco Eneidi and
Larry Ochs to koto player Miya Masaoka and pianist Matthew Goodheart. He has also been Bay Area drummer of choice for prominent visitors like Wadada Leo Smith, Cecil Taylor, Joe McPhee, George Lewis, Raphe Malik, Dave Douglas, and Paul Plimley.
Much of his work has seen him featured in the stellar rhythm section of Robinson and bassist Lisle Ellis, especially including the band "What We Live" with
Larry Ochs on saxophones, a trio that toured in Europe and North America from 1994 - 2002, sometimes with special guests such as Dave Douglas, Wadada Leo Smith or Kazakh vocalist Saadet Turkoz. Recordings with all three of these artists were made in that period as well as three trio recordings.
His longest musical association, dating from the 1970's, was with the late tenor saxophonist Glenn Spearman; these two appear on something close to a dozen CDs together in sextets, quintets, and quartets with several tours to Europe, including in the 1990's with "The Glenn Spearman Double Trio." Robinson is currently playing in many configurations with a broad range of musicians throughout Europe and the USA including "
Larry Ochs Sax and Drumming Core" with Satoko Fujii, Natsuki Tamura, Ochs and Scott Amendola. He is also the drummer of choice on Rova Saxophone Quartet's two recordings of John Coltrane's Ascension (from 1996 and 2003). Other performers he has appeared with include Amiri Baraka, Idris Ackamoor + The Pyramids, Jean Marc Montera (France), Peter Kowald, Frank Gratkowski (Germany), John Butcher(UK), Mats Gustafsson (Sweden), and from USA: Fred Frith, Miya Masaoka, India Cooke, George Lewis, William Parker, Chris Brown, William Winant, Scott Walton, Eddie Gale, JD Parran.