Soja
2406 Webster, Oakland, between 24th & 25th streets (Near 19th St. BART, and one block from 21Grand)

Soja Martial Arts presents an evening with reknowned U.K. saxophonist JOHN BUTCHER perfoming solo and in ensemble with the Jon Raskin Quartet - feat. Jon Raskin (saxophones), Liz Allbee (trumpet), John Shuirba (guitar), and Gino Robair (percussion).

"In the hands of London improvisor John Butcher, the saxophone can sound like anything, from a peice of hollowed out brass baubled with pads and valves to a hermetically sealed feedback system, a minature sound enviroment teeming with ever-evolving note forms, or a huge echo chamber inflicting dub scale damage on every breath. .................."
- "Mining Echoes" by David Keenan - focusing on the new Cavern with Nightlife CD.

John Butcher was born in Brighton, England and has lived in London since the late 1970s. One of the premier saxophonists currently performing, his music ranges through free improvisation, various structurings, his own compositions, multitracked saxophone pieces and work with live electronics, amplification and feedback. He has toured and broadcast in Europe, Japan, Australia and North America, and was featured, playing solo, in the BBC TV programme Date with an Artist. Compositions include pieces for Chris Burn’s Ensemble, the Austrian group Polwechsel, the Australian ensemble Elision, the American Rova Saxophone Quartet, and "somethingtobesaid" for the 8-piece John Butcher Group.

Highlights of Rova founding member Jon Raskin's early career include his '70s participation in new music ensembles directed by John Adams (San Francisco Conservatory of Music) and Dr. Barney Childs (University of Redlands). Before Rova, Raskin served as music director of the Tumbleweed Dance Company (1974-77), was a founding member of the Blue Dolphin Alternative Music Space and participated in the creation of the Farm- an art project that included a city farm, a community garden, Ecology Center, Dance and Theater companies and organized the creation of a city park. Highlights as a member of Rova include composing a collaborative work for SF Taiko Dojo/Rova, working with Howard Martin on the installation work Occupancy, composing music for Mr. Bungle/ Rova, organizing the 30 year Anniversary Concert of John Coltrane's Ascension, performing the music of Miles Davis at the Fillmore with Yo Miles! He also performs with the Jon Raskin quartet featuring Liz Albee on trumpet John Shiurba on bass and Gino Robair and in a duo with Kanoko Nishi on Koto.

Soja Martial Arts is a community-oriented Martial Arts and Yoga studio in Uptown Oakland which provides a friendly and challenging environment to promote healthy minds and bodies, and invites the community to engage in a wide-range of activities, including our current series of New Music Concerts.

www.sojamartialarts.com
www.johnbutcher.org.uk
www.jonraskin.com

Cost: $6-$10 sliding scale donation

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