free jazz
Either/Orchestra "The Collected Unconscious"
Co-sponsored by the Arts Department at Rensselaer, part of iEAR presents!
Join us in welcoming the Either/Orchestra back to Troy. They were one of the first bands to play at The Sanctuary for Independent Media, a sold-out show that was one of our all-time highlights!
Buy tickets for Either/Orchestra
This concert is part of a four date mini-tour to premiere The Collected Unconscious, a new suite composed by band founder Gershon and based in the pentatonic modes of and triple rhythms of Ethiopian music. The language of the suite goes far beyond those parameters, recalling Ellington, Mingus, Tito Puente and others in its broad scope. Based on a sneak preview in Cambridge MA, audiences will find it moving and nostalgic as well as hot, exciting and challenging.
Weasel Walter Trio, Song 1
www.JazzSanctuary.org "Song One," by the Weasel Walter Trio with Weasel Walter (percussion), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Peter Evans (trumpet), recorded live on September 20, 2008 at The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY.This production is part of "Free Jazz at the Sanctuary," a 13-part series of jazz performance videos featuring some of the world's most talented improvisers performing a wide spectrum of music in the genre broadly known as free jazz.
William Hooker, Part 3 - The Symbol of the Unconquered
www.JazzSanctuary.org"Part 3," by William hooker (drums), recorded live on February 14, 2009 at The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY. Percussionist William Hooker improvises to pioneering African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux’s 1920 silent classic, “The Symbol of the Unconquered.” Originally advertised as a chance to come see “the annihila¬tion of the Ku Klux Klan,” the film is part of the emergence of a radical black voice in the mass media. William Hooker’s work is frequently grounded in a narrative context. Whether set against a silent film or anchored by a poetic theme, Hooker brings dramatic tension and human warmth to avant-garde jazz. His ability to find fertile ground for moving music in a variety of settings that obliterate genre distinctions offers a much-needed statement of social optimism in the arts. This production is part of "Free Jazz at the Sanctuary," a 13-part series of jazz performance videos featuring some of the world's most talented improvisers performing a wide spectrum of music in the genre broadly known as free jazz.
From Between Trio, Song 3
www.JazzSanctuary.org"Song 3," by From Between Trio with Michel Doneda (soprano saxophone), Tatsuya Nakatani (percussion), and Jack Wright (saxophone), recorded live on September 15, 2007 at The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, NY. From Between Trio, a collaboration of musicians from three continents, creates their own sounds using many different instruments and unique techniques, culminating in an intense sound that defies musical categories. Their improvised, experimental music combines jazz, free jazz, rock, and noise, but also keeps the beauty of Japanese folk music. The music creates itself and many questions are raised about its direction: the answers are unknown, opening doors to anyone who wants to look in. This production is part of "Free Jazz at the Sanctuary," a 13-part series of jazz performance videos featuring some of the world's most talented improvisers performing a wide spectrum of music in the genre broadly known as free jazz.
Matthew Shipp Trio
PLEASE NOTE: This collaborative event with the RPI Arts Department takes place in downtown Troy, not at The Sanctuary for Independent Media!
The celebrated NYC-based Matthew Shipp Trio (featuring Matthew Shipp, piano; Michael Bisio, bass; Whit Dickey, drums) will perform live at the opening of a new gallery show at The Arts Center of the Capital Region, 265 River Street in downtown Troy NY. The exhibition, which features locally-produced videos and still photos of internationally-known musicians, is called "Freedom Through Collective Improvisation: iEAR Presents! Free Jazz from the Sanctuary" and runs from April 1 through April 30. There will be an opening reception with light refreshments at 6 PM on April 1, and a closing reception during Troy Night Out on April 30. Admission to the receptions and gallery show is free of charge; admission to the concert is by donation ($10 suggested, $5 student/low income). Call (518) 273-0552, email info@artscenteronline.org or visit www.artscenteronline.org for gallery hours, more information and directions.
The Thirteenth Assembly
This show is available online here (click on individual tracks at right) and on DVD directly from Downtown Music Gallery.
The Thirteenth Assembly is a touring collective made up of four musicians and four different and musically distinct small ensembles. Styled somewhere between the classic r&b/soul revues of the 60’s and a post-modern traveling circus, the Thirteenth Assembly presents a selection of some of the fastest-emerging young artists and bands in New York’s creative music scene in one package.
Over the course of the evening of Saturday, December 1, 2007, each group performed a short thirty-minute set, offering a glimpse of the vibrant and varied stylistic diversity and creativity of this particular musical community. Especially for this Thirteenth Assembly Tour, these four close friends and frequent collaborators formed a new quartet, with each member contributing original compositions.
THE BANDS
Taylor Ho Bynum/Tomas Fujiwara Duo
Somebody Blew Up America w/ Amiri Baraka and Rob Brown
The poet icon and political activist Amiri Baraka performs with Rob Brown, one of the New York City downtown music scene’s most in-demand saxophonists, in a reading of his new book Somebody Blew Up America & Other Poems.
Admission: $10.
This event in the “Free Jazz from the Sanctuary” series is co-sponsored by
the Arts Department at RPI and the Albany Sonic Arts Collective, with support
from the NY State Council on the Arts and the NY State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Our press release:
The Symbol of the Unconquered w/ William Hooker
Percussionist William Hooker, the genre-bending free jazz legend, will improvise a live soundtrack to pioneering African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux’s 1920 silent film classic The Symbol of the Unconquered, originally advertised as a chance to come see “the annihilation of the Ku Klux Klan.”
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