Alexander Dubovoy and Katherine Whatley present their unique piano/koto collaboration, one that combines their shared passions for jazz, free improvisation, Japanese music, found sounds, sound art, and more. Join us for music that combines powerful, spontaneous energy with a deeply-embedded sense of restraint.
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Alexander Dubovoy is a Berlin-based pianist, singer, and composer. He graduated from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut in May 2016, where he wrote an award-winning thesis on the history of jazz in the Soviet Union. He also founded a successful student initiative to start a jazz program and built connections to New Haven’s thriving creative music scene. Since graduating, he has performed at storied international venues, including the Cornelia Street Cafe in NYC, Vortex in London, Donau115 in Berlin, the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Connecticut, Rakuya Label in Tokyo, etc. His solo album, Portraits Drawn Without You, was released in the summer of 2016 and was recorded by 11-time Grammy-winning recording engineer Jack Renner. It has since garnered nearly 5 million streams on Spotify. His work has been featured by the New York Times, NPR, the Boston Globe, and YaleNews.
Katherine Whatley is a Bay Area-based writer and koto performer. She grew up in Tokyo and now makes her life in both the US and Japan. Her musical interests include free jazz and improvised music, improvised music in the context of non-Western and folk music, Japanese jazz, field recordings, noise music and sound art. Currently she’s a graduate student at Stanford studying premodern Japanese literature and music.
Tickets are $15 general admission; $10 for students with ID and low-income individuals. Children under 12 are free. Advance tickets are available at the link below, or you may purchase your tickets at the door the night of the show. Doors open one half hour before show time. We accept cash only at the door (ATMs are nearby).
The Back Room is an all-ages, BYOB (for those 21+) space, dedicated to (mostly) acoustic music of all kinds. You are welcome to bring your own adult beverage with no additional corkage fee. If you need more information or have any questions, please call us: #510-654-3808. Thank you for your support!
Cost: 15 / 10 reduced price