Bruce Ackley
Link to home page : Bruce Ackley
Biography:
Born in 1948 in Detroit. A 1986 Bay Area Music award nominee for best saxophonist, Ackley has recorded with such noted musicians as John Zorn, Henry Kaiser, and Eugene Chadborne, and collaborated with trombone/electronics composer J.A. Deane on sound environments for the films of Bay Area film maker, David Machalak. He was a founding member of the Sound Clinic, an improvising wind trio, with trumpeter George Sams and saxophonist Lew Jordan and a 1970's precursor to the all-winds Rova, and participated in the founding of the Blue Dolphin, an artist-run alternative art space in San Francisco. He began playing saxophone in 1970, and formed his first trio that year in Detroit. As a disc jockey from 1973-75, Bruce presented jazz and new music programs on San Francisco's community sponsored station, KPOO.
Upcoming Events:
Community Music Center
544 Capp Street
Btwn 20th and 21st
SFFriday, Oct 1 2010 8:00 PM
Wrack + Rova: On Procedural Grounds
Local improvising oboist and composer/performer Kyle Bruckmann will premiere an extended work for Rova in collaboration with his long-running quintet Wrack.
Kyle Bruckmann’s creative work spans a dizzying range, from a traditional Western classical foundation into genre-bending gray areas encompassing free jazz, electronic music and post-punk rock. International touring and appearances on more than 50 recordings have led to his recognition as "a modern day renaissance musician" and "a seasoned improviser with impressive extended technique and peculiar artistic flair."
Since moving to the Bay Area in 2003, he has performed with the San Francisco Symphony and ensembles throughout the region, joined forces with Quinteto Latino and new music collective sfSound, and become firmly enmeshed in the local improvised music community. From 1996 until his westward relocation, he had been a fixture in Chicago's thriving experimental music underground, with frequent collaborators including Jim Baker, Jeb Bishop, Olivia Block, Guillermo Gregorio, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Robbie Hunsinger, Ernst Karel, and Michael Zerang. Long-term affiliations include the electro-acoustic duo EKG and the "rock" monstrosity Lozenge.
Bruckmann’s Wrack project was founded in 2002 with the explicit intent of blurring distinctions between compositional and improvisational procedures, creative and interpretative mindsets, Afro-American and Euro-American experimental traditions. It is equally a book of compositions, an unconventional chamber ensemble, and an aesthetic philosophy entangling the methodologies of contemporary jazz and classical modernism. The debut record on Red Toucan (2003) demonstrated an "ability to combine turned-up flame with clear-headed attention to texture and space" (Dusted Magazine). The follow-up album on 482 Music, Intents & Purposes (2006), was recognized as “music made by artists unafraid of genre constraints” (All About Jazz) and "dazzling proof that intricately arranged, angular modern jazz can be accessible and enjoyable" (Wire).
“With this project, I am excited by and grateful for the opportunity to bring together beloved musicians from multiple chapters of my life. I can cite a 1993 Rova performance I witnessed while an undergraduate conservatory student in Houston as a seminal experience, instrumental in launching me onto the creative path I’ve pursued ever since. It will be a joy and a great honor to work with them now as colleagues.” -KB
These concerts are made possible in part thanks to the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music’s Musical Grant Program, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, the W & F Hewlett Foundation, and Subito, the quick advancement grant program of the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of the the American Composers Forum.
$12; $8 student/senior
Luggage Store New Music Series
1007 Market St.
@ 6th Street
SFThursday, Oct 7 2010 8:00 PM
Outsound Presents
8pm Slumgum Jon Armstrong tenor sax
David Tranchina Bass, Rory Cowal piano (Los Angeles)
9pm Walsh Set trio Brian Walsh clarinet and bass clarinet
Trevor Anderies drums Colin Burgess bass (Los Angeles)
Slumgum is a perpetually inventive quartet of adventurous modern musicians. Their blend of grit and finesse has been celebrated in reviews that contain both caution: “try to hold on for the ride” (Gabe Meline, North Bay Bohemian) and praise: “their soloing is masterful, their veneer metropolitan and their technical prowess top-notch” (Jonathon Lopez, Good Times Santa Cruz).
Walsh Set Trio is dedicated to exploring improvisation through contemporary classical music, jazz, and noise making. The group draws inspiration from the music of Bobby Bradford and Thelonious Monk, just to name a few.
Tuesdays at Tom's Place
3111 Deakin Street
BerkeleyMonday, Oct 18 2010 7:30 PM
Eugene Chadbourne (gtr, banjo, etc), en duet avec Bruce Ackley (sax)
CDs on which Bruce Ackley appears:
