THE SKY IS A SUITCASE
Jakob Pek + Raffi Garabedian


THE SKY IS A SUITCASE is a melodic free jazz group formed in 2014 in Seattle, Wa by Mike Gebhart, Ray Larsen, Carmen Quill and Levi Gillis. They have released 2 records The Sky Is A Suitcase (2016), and Rain Rhythm (2018). El Jardin, their newest record, out this July, blends studio recordings with choice live tracks for an immersive album experience. While clearly influenced by a large amount of the Jazz pantheon (Ornette Coleman, Paul Motian, Keith Jarrett Quartet… to name a few) they have developed a unique sound of their own, favoring collective improvisation/expression over soloistic statements, and clear melody over flashy pyrotechnics. They are a band that invites listeners to slow down and tune in. Tonight they are playing as a trio: MIKE GEBHART, drums; LEVI GILLIS, saxophones; and CARMEN QUILL, bass.


Jakob Pek is a guitarist, composer, improviser, and educator whose work explores the intersections of sound, perception, and spontaneous creation. Drawing from a wide range of musical and contemplative traditions, he creates performances rooted in deep listening, expressive freedom, and a spirit of discovery. Each performance unfolds as a unique encounter with the possibilities of the present moment.

Raffi Garabedian is a tenor saxophonist and composer living in Oakland, California. A dedicated improvisationalist, Garabedian centers spontaneous composition as the foundation to explore new rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic cycles.
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(FF) (SHARKIFACE + AVA KOOHBOR)
KIMIA KOOCHAKZADEH-YAZDI
CHRIS EVERINGHAM

(ff) is a new duo formed by SHARKIFACE and AVA KOOHBOR. SHARKIFACE, aka Angela Edwards, is an Oakland-based performer blending synths, custom instruments, and voice to craft visceral, noise-influenced electronic works. San Francisco based poet, visual and sound artist AVA KOOHBOR works with sound as a tactile material. Her performances are sensory fields where vibration becomes texture, risk, breath, and presence in space.


Iranian composer and performer KIMIA KOOCHAKZADEH-YAZDI presents In Between Spaces, a live electronic set that moves through memories, spaces, and feelings. The piece lives in the coexistence of extremes and between shifting thresholds. Its sound world is built from synthesized and sampled Iranian instruments, field recordings, processed material from previous works, and transformed vocal sounds. It comes from sorrow, anger, and grief, but also from hope, love, and resilience. Sonically and narratively, the piece moves between edge and immersion, water and space, noise and delicacy, flow and rigidity.


Santa Cruz based composer, CHRIS EVERINGHAM presents Searching, a work that uses a just intonation sound space synthesized in MAX/MSP. The performer “searches” for JI harmonies within the sound space. Throughout Searching, the fundamental pitch of the harmonies slowly descends, creating new resonances with each change. In this piece Everingham seeks to combine his interests in just intonation with influences from the music of Morton Feldman, the drone-metal band Sunn O))), and controlled improvisation. Searching is an evolving piece of music that changes with each new performance.
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