Click to make donation 12:00PM-6:00PM WORKSHOPS
8PM PERFORMANCE
12:00pm-2:30pm
IMPROVISATIONAL STRETCHING: Expanding Possibilities
What makes an improvisation successful to us? What makes one improvisation "better" than another? In this workshop, different approaches to improvising - both as a soloist and in group interplay - will be discussed, exploring different ways of navigating existing harmonic and rhythmic structures (or initiating new ones), rhythmic placement, use of space, etc. Additionally, we'll look at how the criteria differs from one improvisational aesthetic to another; for example, "reactive" improvising (where the players "respond" to each other) in contrast to "opposition" (where the musicians improvise more or less independently from one another.) We will also look at ways to create harmonic and rhythmic variety, with the goal of expanding both one's personal expression and one's ability to contribute to a group performance. We will then build a collective piece using ideas from all of the participants, with the aim of creating structures to improvise within and challenge ourselves creatively in different ways.
Peter Apfelbaum (born 1960) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist, tenor saxophonist, drummer and composer born in Berkeley, California. He first emerged on the jazz scene in the late 1970s, performing with Carla Bley from 1978–1982 and touring with Warren Smith and Karl Berger. Around this time Apfelbaum also studied and worked with musicians involved with the Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, New York. He graduated from Berkeley High School in 1978 in a class that included jazz pianist Benny Green. Apfelbaum has made an impact on the avant-garde jazz and world music scene since the late 1970s and 1980s. He is a well known multi-instrumentalist and composer. His three main instruments are tenor saxophone, piano, and drums, but he has recorded and performed with a diverse array of percussion, wind, and other instruments. He has composed suites for various artists (including Don Cherry) as well as his 17-piece group The Hieroglyphics Ensemble. In 1990 Apfelbaum toured and recorded with Cherry in the group Multikulti, playing both piano and saxophone. In the early 1990s, Apfelbaum opened shows for The Grateful Dead with The Hieroglyphics Ensemble. Apfelbaum formed The Hieroglyphics Ensemble with jazz musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area, including Jeff Cressman, Will Bernard, Norbert Stachel, Jessica Jones, Tony Jones, Peck Almond, Dezon Claiborne, Josh Jones, Jai Uttal, and many others. In 1991 his album “Signs Of Life,” recorded with The Hieroglyphics Ensemble, went to No. 14 on Billboard (magazine)’s “top contemporary jazz albums.[1] The latest incarnation of this group, The New York Hieroglyphics, released “It Is Written” in 2005, featuring members from the original group and New York-based musicians such as Patrice Blanchard, Dafnis Prieto, Josh Roseman, and Abdoulaye Diabate as well as Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio, for whom Peter was music director. His compositions and performances have influenced many artists active in the contemporary jazz fusion scene. His work recombines and synthesizes varieties of world music (i.e. various non-Western diasporic musical traditions) with experimental jazz idioms.[2] Of how his music came into being, Apfelbaum writes: “My vocabulary reflects the fact that I started life as a drummer, was trained in jazz theory, blues and gospel music as a pre-teenager, became absorbed in African and Latin music as a teenager, listened to a lot of contemporary classical music, worked in R&B, reggae, blues, Latin, African, jazz, funk, Middle Eastern and Indian bands and, for as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by how sounds can be fitted together.”
www.peterapfelbaum.com/
RASHIDI OMARI
3:30pm-6:00pm
Born and raised in Oakland, CA, the Town’s social and political make up made him. Rashidi Omari, Shidi O, The Bandit King. He has learned the art of alchemy, mixing the elements around him to create something different. Every action made has multiple levels of communication and interpretation.
Rashidi Omari has been rocking the mic since 1993 performing both nationally and internationally. He honed his skills performing with Bay Area based groups Loco Bloco, Unsmokables, Bodirock Emcees, and the trailblazing trio Company of Prophets, which Jeff Chang called, “One of the hottest, most versatile crews in the Bay—bold hip-hop that sets your soul afire.” A captivating performer and lyricist, Rashidi Omari’s new solo album, Auditory Philosophy, is the hip-hop you've been yearning for.
As a dancer and choreographer, Rashidi Omari is known for his magnetic mashups of traditional dance styles. Hip Hop, B-Boying, Popping, Locking, Dancehall, Lindy, House, modern, and jazz are integral parts of his extensive repertoire. Performing professionally since 1998, he has danced with DREAM, Avatar Flux, Adia Whittaker Dance Company, Liberation Dance Theater, Joanna Haigood, and Kiandanda Dance Theater among others.
Rashidi Omari is the head choreographer and co-director of the Oakland-based Destiny Arts Youth Performance Company. A gifted educator with over 14 years teaching experience, he offers classes and workshops nationally and internationally.
Be prepared for a ride that will push you past the boundaries of your comfort zone while enjoying it the whole way. Welcome.
https://www.rashidiomari.com/
Cost: Sliding scale/NOTAFLOF