7:30 pm
Phillip Greenlief - tenor saxophone performs THE FIFTY STATES FOR TENOR SAXOPHONE
8:30 pm KREation Ensemble
presenting a sonic meditation based on a labyrinth of sound worlds
Feona Lee Jones - Piano, Kevin Robinson - Woodwinds, Lee Hodel - Bass, and Tony Gennaro - Percussion
Steeped in the study of the powers of vibration, KREation is lead by Baltimore native saxophonist/composer Kevin Robinson. Formed in 2003. The group performs in a variety of instrumentation and configurations- from a 12 piece band to a quartet, trios, duets to solo etc. The group has performed at various festivals, jazz clubs, concert venues and art galleries throughout the US.
Since his emergence on the west coast in the late 1970s, Evander Music founder and saxophonist
Phillip Greenlief has achieved international critical acclaim for his recordings and performances with musicians and composers in the post-jazz continuum as well as new music innovators and virtuosic improvisers. He has performed and recorded with Wadada Leo Smith, Meredith Monk, Nels Cline, Rashaun Mitchell and They Might Be Giants; albums include THAT OVERT DESIRE OF OBJECT with Joelle Leandre, and ALL AT ONCE with FPR (Frank Gratkowski, Jon Raskin,
Phillip Greenlief). Upcoming releases include a trio date with Fred Frith and Evelyn Davis (Clean Feed). Recent residencies have included Headlands Center for the Arts and from 2012 to 2014 he was the curator at Berkeley Arts, a home for progressive music. He is the recipient of a San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie Award. His critical writing has been published in ARTFORUM and Signal to Noise.
"In January 2014, due to extreme weather and flight cancellations on the east coast, I hopped on a Greyhound bus in order to get back to the bay area in time for a recording session with Henry Kaiser and a gig at Duende with The Lost Trio. Despite the relative lack of comfort when one sits on a bus for 93 hour straight, the trip offered an amazing view of the country and some of its citizenry. While I was crossing the country and posting updates on social media, my friend Charles Smith commented, "you've got to make a MAP SCORE inspired by this".
The thought both amused and inspired, and I let the idea sit for a few years. In the wake of the last presidential election, I was thinking a lot about our country and wanted to find ways to express my thoughts and feelings. While hanging out in Maine for our annual winter holiday, I created THE FIFTY STATES FOR TENOR SAXOPHONE. I am happy to have the opportunity to premiere this piece at the SIMM Series, and I'm also happy to continue the tradition of playing solo during the week of my birthday - I'll be turning 60 this year and it seems like the right time to be making work that explores the country of my birth, the land of my ancestors." - PG
Cost: sliding scale $10-20