Jon Arkin +
Ben GoldbergSongs for Clarinet, Drums, and Laptop
As a duo,
Jon Arkin and
Ben Goldberg bring an unprecedented diversity of organic and synthetic elements together, forming a truly unique musical amalgam. Arkin’s self-designed hybrid electro-acoustic setup acts as both a support and foil to Goldberg’s singular improvisational voice, within the contexts of traditional composition, spontaneous composition, and algorithmic indeterminacy.
Jon Arkin - drums & live synthesis/processing
Ben Goldberg - clarinet
Jon Arkin is a versatile drummer/percussionist who is known for his performances & recorded work in a wide variety of musical contexts. In addition to leading his own groups, he has performed with jazz greats such as Lee Konitz, Gene Perla, and Ira Sullivan, with singer-songwriters including Stew and Meklit Hadero, Afrobeat bands Albino and Soji Odukogbe, a multitude of experimental/new music collaborators including
Ben Goldberg and Nathan Clevenger, and countless other artists. He plays drums/laptop in the Schimscheimer Family Trio (with Kasey Knudsen, Michael Coleman, and special guest
Ben Goldberg), which has received wide acclaim for their most recent album of original experimental-yet-tuneful songs entitled “Broken Home”.
Clarinetist and composer
Ben Goldberg grew up in Denver, Colorado. He was a pupil of the eminent clarinetist Rosario Mazzeo and studied with Steve Lacy and Joe Lovano. Since 1992, when his group New Klezmer Trio "kicked open the door for radical experiments with Ashkenazi roots music" (SF Chronicle), Ben has shaped a career through curiosity and experimentation across many genres and styles. The New York Times has noted that Ben’s music “conveys a feeling of joyous research into the basics of polyphony and collective improvising, the constant usefulness of musicians intuitively coming together and pulling apart.” He has twice been named Rising Star Clarinetist by Downbeat Magazine.
Ben has released over thirty records of his own compositions. His groups include: Invisible Guy; Orphic Machine; Unfold Ordinary Mind; The Cool Philosophy of
Ben Goldberg; DIALOGUE, a duo with pianist / composer Myra Melford; the
Ben Goldberg Trio with Greg Cohen and Kenny Wollesen;
Ben Goldberg School; and
Ben Goldberg’s Brainchild, an eleven piece ensemble performing Ben’s on-the-spot compositions. Ben plays in Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom and is on the Music faculty at the University of California, Berkeley. He also runs BAG Production Records.
www.jonarkin.net
www.bengoldberg.net
Cost: 20