jimzeen productions, Outsound, and Flux 53 present
OUTFLUX 3
How's this for multifariousness: thirteen musicians performing at a CD release party that is also the bandleader's 75th birthday party AND his art opening in the Flux gallery! Doors will open at 5pm to allow ample time to mingle, nosh, and peruse our exhibition of
Jim Ryan's own watercolors and monotypes.
THE
Spirit MOVES US is a trio of veteran improvisers flowing to the East Bay from the Midwest (Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, & St. Paul) through R&B, jazz, and avant-experimental groups. "Eastbania" has been home to them for many years now, and they have worked together frequently in various configurations.
Spirit (percussion) is recognized by local and national aficionados as an original master of free-form jazz.
BOB MARSH (cello) infuses his instrument with an awesome freshness and versatility.
Jim Ryan (flute, saxophones, kalimba, spoken word) performs regularly throughout the country and locally with his Forward Energy bands (www.myspace.com/forwardenergy).
THE LEFT COAST IMPROV GROUP is a San Francisco Bay Area free improv ensemble formed by
Jim Ryan in 2001. The philosophy of LCIG is all improv ... no scores, no conductors, no composers (except all the musicians in REAL time). A Deleuzian rhizomatic music ensemble. (So okay, Jim isn't the "leader".)
THESE ARE THE LEFT COAST PLAYERS:
Doug Carroll (cello) - Seasoned improviser with a strong academic background in music; attended Morton Feldman seminars in Germany; plays in RTD3 Trio with
Ron Heglin and
Tom Nunn.
Michael Cooke (bassoon, sheng) - Music degree from the University of North Texas; performed with many Texas symphony orchestras; now with San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra (and on its Board of Directors), exploring paths in improvised and composed music.
Ron Heglin (trombone) - S.F. native currently living in Berkeley; many years on the Bay Area improv scene and in the graphic arts; plays in RTD3 Trio with
Doug Carroll and
Tom Nunn.
JEFF HOBBS (reeds, brass, strings, what have you) - Instrument repair technician by day, sought-after multi-instrumentalist by night.
Darren Johnston (trumpet) - Since migrating from Canada in 1997, has engaged in everything from avant-garde excursions with Myra Melford and the Rova Saxophone Quartet to straight-ahead jazz outings with Marcus Shelby.
Scott R. Looney (piano, electronics, sound engineering) - MFA in music from Cal Arts; teaches sound design at the Academy of Art University. Co-creator (with Leif Shackleford) of Studio 1510, a West Oakland recording and performance space. A Bay Area fixture since the mid-'90s, with enormous piano and electronic performance chops.
BOB MARSH (cello, most other instruments) - Cello master with an extensive background in experimental music, from Detroit to Chicago to the East Bay.
Tom Nunn (hand-built percussion instruments) - Noted instrument craftsman; plays in RTD3 Trio with
Doug Carroll and
Ron Heglin. Literally wrote the book on free improvisation (see below).
Jim Ryan (flute, French horn, small percussion) - Long-term jazz workshops with Steve Lacy and Eddie Gale; now immersed in free jazz/improv, fronting his Forward Energy groups and several trios for many years before founding LCIG.
LEIF SHACKLEFORD (viola) - Graduated from Idyllwild Arts Academy with a focus in viola performance; Technology in Music and Related Arts degree from the Oberlin Conservatory; now teaches at the Expression Center in Emeryville. Co-creator (with
Scott R. Looney) of Studio 1510. Has done programming for experimental media artists Troika Ranch and engineering for hip-hop legend Wyclef Jean.
Karen Stackpole (gongs, percussion) - Recording engineer and master percussionist, sponsored by Paiste Cymbals. Teaches at the Expression Center and writes on music technology for Electronic Musician magazine.
ANDREW VOIGT (winds) - Studied with John Adams and John Handy at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, with Roscoe Mitchell of the Art Ensemble of Chicago in Lansing, Michigan, and with the Japanese Imperial Gagaku Ensemble in Tokyo, Japan. The man who put the 'V' in the Rova Saxophone Quartet.
CDs by the above players (including “LCIG April/May 2002”) are available from Edgetone Records at www.edgetonerecords.com
Tom Nunn’s 1998 book ”The Wisdom of the Impulse” (an analysis of free improvisation) can be downloaded gratis at www20.brinkster.com/improarchive/tn_wisdom_part1.pdf and
www20.brinkster.com/improarchive/tn_wisdom_part2.pdf
FLUX 53 THEATER
Bus: 40 or 840 to Vicksburg, walk two blocks
Car: 880 to High or 580 to Seminary, right on Foothill
$10 (no one turned away)
Cost: $10(nta)
Videos featuring musicians playing at this event
Green Alembic at Berkeley Arts 5-17-14
Invented Instruments , at the High Zero festival September 22nd 2012 , Baltimore Maryland
Scott R. Looney, Lisa Mezzacapa, and Donald Robinson at Berkeley Arts Fest space - May 31, 2014
Open Ended by Michael Cooke is a very versatile work that is composed live before your eyes and ears. Based on Rova‘s Radar techniques, Open Ended is less of a composition and more of a color or tool palette. It is an ever-growing collection of rules and games for the performers that are triggered by hand signals by the conductor/composer. The conductor/composer then composes the piece live using these hand signals to guide the performers. The ability to compose with what happens in the moment, in real time, is what is required to produce this piece. This similar to the “Soundpainting” language was created by Walter Thompson in Woodstock, New York in 1974. Open Ended has no set instrumentation and can be played by any number of performers. It also has no set length; the piece could last 5 minutes or 24 hours.