Acoustic guitarist and folk icon Country Joe McDonald will present a night of free jazz, folk and experimental music on Saturday April 18, 2009 at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, located 1924 Cedar Street in Berkeley.
Featuring three sets of music with the Deconstruction of What You Know Trio (guitarist
Henry Kaiser, percussionist William Winant and saxophonist Josh Allen) performing at 7:30 PM; an acoustic set with Country Joe McDonald at 8:30 PM and the Three Mohammeds (with guitarist and political activist Tarik Kazaleh, percussionist Timothy Orr; and Josh Allen) at 9:30 PM. The night’s music will touch upon many styles of spontaneous music, ranging from electric and acoustic soundscapes, dense post-modern free jazz and 20th century classical and contemporary improvisations.
Presented by Country Joe McDonald at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, the show is part of a new music series that makes a return of improvised music to the location Last month at the Fellowship Hall Joe performed his new tribute to Florence Nightingale and Nursing, and once a month he has an open mic at the site.
"Fans of the far-out won't want to miss "An Evening of Free Jazz, Folk, and Experimental Music,"says Joe.
Suggested donations are $15; doors open at 7:00. Please see below for more information about the artists.
The Deconstruction of What You Know Trio
William Winant (drums) is "one of the best avant-garde percussionists working today" and has performed with John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, Keith Jarrett, Anthony Braxton, Cecil Taylor, George Lewis, Steve Reich, Oingo Boingo, the Kronos String Quartet, and many more. He is principal percussionist with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and the John Zorn Chamber Ensemble, and has appeared on over 130 recordings. As one of the "first generation" of American free improvisers,
Henry Kaiser (guitar) has helped unfetter the guitar from the conventions of genre-bound techniques. Widely recognized as one of the most creative and innovative guitarists, Kaiser has appeared on more than 140 albums. He was recently nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Werner Hertzog’s Encounters at the end of the World.
Josh Allen (tenor saxophone) has worked with various musicians such as Dennis Chambers, Eddie Palmieri, Marco Eneidi Glen Spearmann, Matthew Goodheart, Damon Smith, Weasel Walter, and Cecil Taylor. Mr. Allen has created his own personal language with the tenor saxophone, extending the range and sonic ability of the instrument.
Country Joe McDonald (acoustic guitar, harmonica) became internationally famous in the 1960s with his Bay Area rock and roll band Country Joe and The Fish. He has always composed instrumentals for the acoustic guitar and often with the harmonica, in the style of Eric Satie and John Fahey. His landmark instrumental Section 43, performed by Country Joe and The Fish is considered a touchstone of 60s and 70s instrumental pop music. Using open tunings and drawing upon his semi-classical and pop history, he will perform a set of instrumental music for the first time, drawing upon 35 years of composition.
The Three Mohammeds
Tarik Kazaleh (oud, tabla, guitar) is a Palestinian-American producer, composer and MC from San Francisco. Starting on guitar and Arabic tabla, he has also produced Hip-Hop in the Bay Area and Detroit. Studying Oud and Arabic Maqam, he eventually met Josh Allen, which led to the formation of The 3 Mohammeds, a free jazz project that provided music for the film The Tale of the 3 Mohammads with Timothy Orr on drums and percussion, Josh Allen on tenor saxophone and Tarik on oud, tabla and electric guitar. Timothy Orr (drums) has studied with Edward Blackwell, Royal Hartigan, Jay Hoggard and Andrew Cyrille. Tim has performed in a wide variety of genres on the East and West Coasts, from avant-garde to zydeco. He has performed with Josh Roseman, Paul Austerlitz, Jen Baker, Shoko Hitage, Damon Smith, Marco Eneidi, Richard Hell, Scott Looney, Tony Malaby, Joris Teepe, Andre Thierry, Danny Poullard, and many others.
Music can be heard on their websites, williamwinant.com henrykaiser.net and myspace.com/orrallenduo
Cost: $15