J.D. Parran’s Protestation and Prayer for Peace and Survival
J.D. Parran saxophone, alto and contrabass clarinet, mbira, marimbula, percussion
Nels Cline guitar
Andrew Drury drums, percussion
Hilliard Greene double bass

The Interpretations Series, now in its 36th season, is a New York-based concert series focusing on the relationship between contemporary composers and their interpreters. Sometimes the interpreters are the composers themselves; more often, the series features performers who specialize in the interpretation of new music. Since its inception in 1989, Interpretations has featured leading figures in contemporary music and multimedia, including Muhal Richard Abrams, Robert Ashley, Anthony Braxton, Thomas Buckner, FLUX Quartet, Joseph Kubera, Annea Lockwood, and Alvin Lucier, Roscoe Mitchell, Phill Niblock, Pauline Oliveros, Ursula Oppens, and Morton Subotnick.

J.D. Parran is a multi-instrumentalist and composer who has mastered a wide variety of woodwind instruments (from the familiar tenor saxophone to the rarely heard alto clarinet, E-flat contrabass clarinet, bass saxophone, and bamboo flute). He has appeared on more than 50 recordings over the last three decades, including collaborations with The Band, Anthony Braxton, Don Byron, Anthony Davis, Julius Hemphill, New Winds, Yoko Ono, Alan Silva, and Stevie Wonder, among many others. His latest two releases include, J.D. Parran & Spirit Stage featuring the poetry of Shirley LeFlore and Omegathorp: Living City (co-led with Mark Deutsch), are both available on Y’All Recordings. J.D. is also a veteran educator who lectures at City University of New York (CUNY) and teaches clarinet and saxophone at Harlem School for the Arts. In addition to his teaching and performing careers, he has been commissioned as a composer by organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Meet the Composer, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Jerome Foundation and the Helen W. Buckner Foundation.

Nels Cline is a genre-defying guitarist widely celebrated as a longtime member of seminal rock band Wilco, and for his expansive solo career spanning jazz, rock, and experimental music. As a band leader he’s released three critically acclaimed albums on Blue Note Records, from the lush orchestration of Lovers to the electrified improvisations of Share the Wealth. His latest project Consentrik Quartet showcases his deep roots in the avant-garde improvised-music scene, further cementing his reputation as one of today’s most adventurous and versatile guitarists.

Andrew Drury is a drummer, improviser, composer, and bandleader as well as a presenter, producer, educator, and a pioneer of extended techniques for percussion. Rooted in a fascination for Jazz and African-diasporic creativity that began in childhood, and further inspired by a nearly decade-long mentorship with the drummer Ed Blackwell, Drury’s work is in the tradition of those who inspired him in that it doesn’t conform to fixed limitations and always explores the infinite. Originally from Seattle, he lives in Brooklyn, New York. Drury performs as a soloist, leads the quartet Content Provider, leads large ensembles, produces audio and video work, and collaborates with adventurous musicians and artists in many contexts. Over the years he has had the pleasure of playing with great artists, well-known and obscure, including Christine Abdelnour, Kris Davis, Michel Doneda, Mark Dresser, Peter Evans, Satoko Fujii, Charles Gayle, Craig Harris, Wayne Horvitz, Earl Howard, Myra Melford, Butch Morris, Aruán Ortiz, Jay Rodriguez, Tomeka Reid, Elliott Sharp, Wally Shoup, Wadada Leo Smith, Steve Swell, John Tchicai, Reggie Watts, Nate Wooley, and Jack Wright, to name a few.

Hilliard Greene has been studying music for more than 50 years and has been playing professionally over thirty-five. His emphasis is in classical, jazz, rock, blues, R&B, Tango as well as the music of other continents and US regions, and solo performances. Greene performed and recorded with Jimmy Scott for 20+ years, serving as his Musical Director from 1995 to 2013 and was Cecil Taylor’s Concert Master for his group “Phtongos.” Greene works / worked with a long list of legends including the likes of Rashied Ali, Barry Altschul, Lucian Ban, Billy Bang, Kenny Barron, David Berger, Karl Berger, Cindy Blackman-Santana, T.K. Blue, Karen Borca, Dougie Bowen, Joanne Brackeen, Oscar Brown Jr., Adam Rudolph, Marc Ribot, and many more.

Juraj Kojš is an artphibian exploring the fields of music, sound art, theater, poetry, mixed media, multimedia, bioacoustics and technologies as a maker and performer. In Miami, Juraj grows music & orchids spritzed with love & whimsy. Proud friend of eight cats, opossum Gloria, and raccoon Clotilde, he keeps attempting to penetrate the heart of sensorial expressions. Rarely found alone, he curates an ever-expanding network of collaborators on the fringe.

Margaret Lancaster (flutist/performance artist/actor/dancer/amateur furniture designer) has built a large repertoire of cross-disciplinary solo works that employ electronics and mixed media. Margaret’s quirks include enduring small metal enclosures and sheer red fabric. She has a uniquely unfulfilled relationship with documentation, passionately enjoys cellophane, and really likes to laugh.

Alex Lough is an electronicist; a creative sound designer; a modular synthesizer enthusiast; a very poor dancer; someone who likes to listen to insects and animals and occasionally attempt to communicate with them; a performance artist; a person who possesses several pieces of paper with various academic credentials; a builder of circuits, software, and swimming pools; a fan of performing in unusual spaces and places, particularly those that are unfriendly to electronic devices such as moats, lakes, forests, beaches, cages, and silos; a person involved in an ongoing and deeply passionate affair with sine tones.