Category: Blogcast

Passin' Thru Music Festival: 10^32K // Trio 3

What: The inaugural Passin’ Thru Music Festival features a series of performances curated by saxophonist and composer Oliver Lake.
When: Monday, October 17, 2016, 8pm
W: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20/15 Online $25/20 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: General Admission $20, Members/Students/Seniors $15, $25/20 Tickets at the door

Brooklyn, NY – Passin’ Thru Records presents the inaugural Passin’ Thru Music Festival, a series of performances curated by saxophonist and composer Oliver Lake, including both composed and improvised music by Oliver Lake’s Big Band and The Josh Evans Quintet on Sunday, October 16 followed by 10^32K and Trio 3 on Monday, October 17.

Avant jazz trio 10^32K combines cerebral flamboyance of Frank Lacy’s trombone with Andrew Drury’s kaleidoscopic percussion, complimented the big broad bass sound of Kevin Ray. Rather than focusing upon the more traditional masters, the trio selects from a compelling repertoire from some of the less-often played, but powerfully innovative composers and players of modern Jazz (Sam Rivers, Albert Ayler, Roswell Rudd, Henry Threadgill, et al) in addition to their own compositions.

Trio 3 offers an unconventional collaboration of internationally-recognized jazz masters Oliver Lake on alto sax, Reggie Workman on bass, and Andrew Cyrille on drums. Formed to centralize the members’ creative energies, the group promotes the governing principle of organized Improvisation. Open to the infinite possibilities, Trio 3 mixes and explores different colors within the jazz vocabulary.

Saxophonist and composer Oliver Lake‘s artistic vision remains daring, unique and uncompromising, maintaining his place as one of the preeminent saxophonists in the progressive jazz scene. Known for his work with his Organ and Big Band groups, Lake has collaborated with luminaries such as Myra Melford, Roscoe Mitchell, Vijay Iyer, Geri Allen, and others. Lake is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award at the Kennedy Center, and Doris Duke Artist Award, and has received commissions from the Library of Congress.

Passin' Thru Music Festival: Josh Evans Quintet // The Oliver Lake Big Band

What: The inaugural Passin’ Thru Music Festival features a series of performances curated by saxophonist and composer Oliver Lake.
When: Sunday, October 16, 2016, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20/15 Online $25/20 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: General Admission $20, Members/Students/Seniors $15, $25/20 Tickets at the door

The Josh Evans Quintet is a straight-ahead yet adventurous group including a tight rotating cast of some of the world’s best musicians. For the past decade, Oliver Lake’s Big Band has served as one of Lake’s greatest achievements and most sophisticated compositional outlets. The band’s most recent recorded release, entitled Wheels, has been met with widespread critical acclaim.

Curated by Meredith Monk: David Behrman's Reinventions

What: David Behrman calls upon the talents of guitarist John King and fiddler Cleek Schrey to present Reinventions, a program of updated works.
When: Thursday, October 13, 2016, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20/15 Online $25/20 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: General Admission $20, Members/Students/Seniors $15, $25/20 Tickets at the door

Brooklyn, NY – David Behrman calls upon the talents of guitarist John King and fiddler Cleek Schrey to present Reinventions, a program of updated works. The inaugural event in Meredith Monk’s performance series at Roulette, Curated by Meredith Monk features performers selected by Monk who are following his or her own path, asking questions, finding places that fall between the cracks of genres or categories. There is an inclusiveness and a weaving together of elements that lead to the discovery of new worlds. There is no discrepancy or polarization of high art/low art, electronic/acoustic music, ritual/dance, jazz/classical, abstract/personal. Anything is possible; nothing is taken for granted. Freedom of the imagination, authenticity and liveliness are part and parcel of each artist’s work.

David Behrman has been active as a composer and artist since the 1960s. He has made sound and multimedia installations for gallery spaces as well as compositions for performance. Sound and multimedia installations include: Cloud Music (1979), a collaboration with Robert Watts and Bob Diamond, recently acquired into the collection of the Smithsonian; Pen Light (2002); and View Finder (2005). Together with Robert Ashley, Alvin Lucier, and Gordon Mumma, Behrman was a founding member of Sonic Arts Union. He had a long association with the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio as composer and performer.

John King is a composer, guitarist and violist. His string quartets have been performed by the Eclipse Quartet (LA) and the Mondriaan Quartet (Amsterdam), in addition to the Secret Quartet, which has premiered many of his compositions at The Stone, The Kitchen, Lincoln Center Festival, and Roulette.

Cleek Schrey is fiddler, improviser, and composer from Virginia and currently based in NYC. Recent engagements include a residency with David Behrman and Anton Lukoszevieze at Café OTO in London, the Beckett in London Festival with Gare St. Lazare, and a solo appearance at the Kilkenny Arts Festival. Schrey has studied composition with David Behrman, Paul Caputo, Bunita Marcus, and Walter Zimmermann. The journal Sound Post has noted that Cleek “possesses a rare combination of traits: deep respect for traditional music and the people who make it, and an unbounded curiosity about new directions for sound.” Schrey is currently pursuing a Masters in Music Composition at Wesleyan University.

Glenn Branca: The Third Ascension and The World Premiere of The Light (for David)

The Glenn Branca Ensemble, led by Glenn Branca, makes its Roulette debut on October 8, 2016

Featuring the world premiere of The Light (for David), written for David Bowie, and a revised version of The Third Ascension

“If art music and rock music sat at either end of a scale, Glenn Branca would be standing on the fulcrum, smashing each side with as many guitars as possible.”

– Vice, May 2016

Roulette is pleased to present legendary avant-garde composer-guitarist Glenn Branca and his sextet, The Glenn Branca Ensemble, in a program featuring instrumental works for four guitars, bass and drums in three different tunings. From his formative No Wave band Theoretical Girls to his epic 100-electric-guitar symphonies, Branca has been a trailblazer, acclaimed for his massive swirls of sound, and original use of repetition, droning, and the harmonic series. For this Roulette appearance, he will premiere The Light (for David), and revisit The Third Ascension – two works, Branca notes, which are “intensely powerful and not for the faint of heart.”

WHEN: Saturday, October 8, 2016 at 8 p.m.

WHERE: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn

TICKET: General Admission: $30; Members/Students/Seniors: $25; $35/$30 at the door (Door opens at 7 p.m.). roulette.org or call 917-267-0363.

The performance will run one hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.

The Light (for David) is Glenn Branca’s tribute to David Bowie. Although their approach to experimental rock took different paths, Branca and Bowie have long admired each other’s work. They once collaborated in a Tony Oursler audio-video installation created for Das Kunstprojekt Der Expo 2000 in Germany, when Branca was invited to compose music for a text written by Oursler and read by Bowie. Branca writes in an exclusive interview for Roulette's fall program: “David Bowie was our hero. Intelligent, talented and with the desire to create a really new different rock…When he died, I was shocked like everybody else….I hadn’t realized how much he meant to me throughout most of my life. I think somehow knowing he was here, was like having a muse.”

The program also features a revised version of The Third Ascension, which received its U.S. premiere at The Kitchen (NYC) to sold out houses last February. The work is a follow-up to Branca’s 1981 The Ascension – “a landmark work, that fused the rigorous minimalism of Philip Glass and Steve Reich to clanging, noxious harmonies and thundering rock volumes, [encapsulating] the fury, pathos, and raw energy of New York at the beginning of the 80s” (Pitchfork). With The Third Ascension, Branca furthers his experimentation with resonances generated by alternate tunings for multiple electric guitars.

The Vinny Golia Quartet with Tim Berne, Ken Filiano, and Michael TA Thompson

What: The Vinny Golia Quartet brings together a vast array of music, sound and experience as one entity.
When: Tuesday, October 4, 2016, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20/15 Online $25/20 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: General Admission $20, Members/Students/Seniors $15, $25/20 Tickets at the door

Brooklyn, NY – The Vinny Golia Quartet (members Tim Berne, Ken Filiano, Michael TA Thompson, Vinny Golia) use composition as a structure to create musical forms. Having played together in various configurations since 1978, the quartet brings together a vast array of music, sound and experience as one entity.

As a composer, Vinny Golia fuses the rich heritage of jazz, contemporary classical, and world music into his own unique compositions. As a bandleader, Golia has presented his music to concert audiences all over the world. In 1982, he created the ongoing 50-piece Vinny Golia Large Ensemble to perform his compositions for chamber orchestra and jazz ensembles. Golia is the 2006 recipient of The Jazz Journalists Association's Lifetime Achievement Award.

Saxophonist and composer Tim Berne has composed and performed prolifically since the 1980s. Known for his complex, multi-section compositions, Berne has performed and collaborated with Bill Frisell, John Zorn, Craig Taborn, and as a member of the cooperative trio Miniature. He is one-third of the group BBC (Berne / Black / Cline) along with drummer Jim Black and Nels Cline of Wilco.

Active since the early '80s, bassist Ken Filiano has since contributed to dozens of albums, most of them pertaining to creative jazz, from post-bop to free improvisation. Since the 1970s, Filiano has played or recorded with Anthony Braxton, Fred Ho, Nels Cline, Bill Dixon, Fay Victor, and many others. As an educator, Filiano teaches at the New School, School of Visual Arts, and Hunter College.

Vinny Golia – Woodwinds
Tim Berne – Alto Saxophone
Ken Filiano – Bass
Michael TA Thompson – Drums

Kris Davis + Craig Taborn

What: Star pianists Kris Davis and Craig Taborn perform together in an evening of original compositions and improvisations.
When: Sunday, October 2, 2016, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20/15 Online $25/20 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: General Admission $20, Members/Students/Seniors $15, $25/20 Tickets at the door

Brooklyn, NY – Roulette is thrilled to present an evening of original compositions and improvisations from two of jazz’s most celebrated contemporary pianists, Kris Davis and Craig Taborn.

Pianist-composer Kris Davis has blossomed as one of the singular talents on the New York jazz scene, a deeply thoughtful, resolutely individual artist who offers “uncommon creative adventure,” according to JazzTimes. Reviewing one of the series of albums that Davis has released over the past decade, the Chicago Sun-Times lauded the “sense of kaleidoscopic possibilities” in her playing and compositions. Davis’ newest album as a leader is the quintet set Capricorn Climber (Clean Feed, 2013). She made her debut on record as a leader with Lifespan (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2003), followed by more for the Fresh Sound label: the quartet discs The Slightest Shift (2006) and Rye Eclipse (2008), and the trio set Good Citizen (2010). Her 2011 solo piano album on Clean Feed, Aeriol Piano, appeared on Best of the Year lists in The New York Times, JazzTimes and Artforum. Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Piano from the University of Toronto and a master’s degree in Classical Composition from the City College of New York. She currently teaches at the School for Improvised Music. Regarding her art, JazzTimes declared: “Davis draws you in so effortlessly that the brilliance of what she’s doing doesn’t hit you until the piece has slipped past.”

Craig Taborn is an American pianist, keyboardist and composer who also dabbles in organ and Moog synthesizer. Taborn began playing piano and Moog synthesizer as an adolescent and was influenced at an early stage by the freedom expressed in the recordings of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, Sun Ra, and Cecil Taylor. While still at university, Taborn toured and recorded with saxophonist James Carter. He went on to play with numerous other musicians in electronic and acoustic settings, while also building a reputation as a solo pianist. Taborn had released five albums under his own name and appeared on more than 70 as a sideman.

Kris Davis – piano
Craig Taborn – piano

Kamikaze Ground Crew

What: Kamikaze Ground Crew draws from over 30 years of repertoire with the addition of new compositions and arrangements.
When: Thursday, September 29, 2016, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20/15 Online $25/20 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: General Admission $20, Members/Students/Seniors $15, $25/20 Tickets at the door

Brooklyn, NY – Kamikaze Ground Crew began in 1983 as a backup band for the Flying Karamazov Brothers, filtering its music through the eclectic new-music ethos of the 1980s. The group developed through larger theatrical productions and emerged with a life of its own, becoming a vehicle for new compositions and arrangements as an abstract circus band. The ensemble is horn driven, utilizing three woodwinds, brass and drums, along with the occasional keyboard, ukulele, or electric guitar, as well as voice. Originally based in California, the group has maintained its current configuration since relocating to New York in the late 1990s. The performance will draw from over 30 years of repertoire with the addition of some new compositions and arrangements.

Co-leader, composer, and arranger Gina Leishman is recognized as a composer, multi-instrumentalist and singer, splitting her time between writing and performing, both with her various ensembles and in the theater. As a composer, she has written for opera, theater, dance, TV and film, and has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards. Collaborations include directors Karin Coonrod, Robert Woodruff, Lisa Peterson and Joseph Chaikin; writers Ellen McLaughlin, Tony Kushner and Naomi Wallace; choreographers David Gordon, Bebe Miller and Deborah Slater; and performance artists Rinde Eckert and John Kelly. She has released numerous recordings as co-leader of Kamikaze Ground Crew, as well as her solo projects which feature her compositions and songs.

Doug Wieselman has played with a variety of artists in different fields including John Lurie, Antony and the Johnsons, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, CocoRosie, Martha Wainwright, Anthony Coleman, Jerome Robbins and Robert Wilson. He has co-led Kamikaze Ground Crew for over 30 years and has released a solo clarinet record based on melodies from bodies of water.

Gina Leishman – piano, accordion, alto and bari sax, voice co-leader, composer/arranger
Doug Wieselman – clarinets, tenor and bari sax, co-leader, composer/arranger
Steven Bernstein – trumpet, slide trumpet, composer/arranger
Peter Apfelbaum – tenor sax, clarinet
Art Baron – trombone
Marcus Rojas – tuba
Kenny Wollesen – drums

[DANCEROULETTE] Patti Bradshaw: Three Short Portraits

What: Roulette presents an evening of Patti Bradshaw’s recent works, featuring two works for solo dancer and one trio piece.
When: Wednesday, September 28, 2016, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20/15 Online $25/20 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: General Admission $20, Members/Students/Seniors $15, $25/20 Tickets at the door

Brooklyn, NY – Patti Bradshaw makes new theater works of imagined lives of poets, shifting episodic images taken from nature, and the subject of a legendary photograph among other inspirations. Her shows employ puppets, elaborate costume, dance, original text, film and performing objects in collaboration with skilled performers of all disciplines. Visual charm, emotional impact, and metaphysical oddity combine to capture the humor, loneliness and piquancy of human circumstance.

Patti Bradshaw is a director, puppet artist, and choreographer. Bradshaw creates original dance theater projects using puppets, performing objects and elaborate costumes in a folk-like style. Her work has been supported by The Jim Henson Foundation and the Harkness Dance Festival at 92nd Street Y. She has been artist-in-residence at Sarah Lawrence College and at Brooklyn Studios for Dance. She was a multi-year member of St. Ann’s Warehouse and founding member of PEPATIAN, a performing and visual arts organization along with dancer/choreographer Merian Soto and visual artist Pepon Osorio. Bradshaw has collaborated on several projects with Roulette artistic director and producer Jim Staley at the original West Broadway location. She currently teaches at Sarah Lawrence College.

The ongoing [DANCEROULETTE] series reflects Roulette’s commitment to presenting experimental dance held since the organization’s founding in 1978, particularly the collaborative efforts of composers and choreographers exploring the relationship between sound and movement, choreography and composition.

Marie-Helene Brabant – dancer
Jimmy Brenner – dancer
Pepper Fajans – dancer
Jane Stiles O’Hara – dancer
Valerie Striar – dancer
Cory Antiel – video
Patrick Gallagher – TBA

[DANCEROULETTE] Elke Rindfleisch: Horsepower

What: Elke Rindfleisch presents Horsepower, a solo piece that culminates in a community of all-female performers.
When: Tuesday, September 27, 2016, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20/15 Online $25/20 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: General Admission $20, Members/Students/Seniors $15, $25/20 Tickets at the door

Brooklyn, NY – Horsepower is a self performed solo by acclaimed choreographer Elke Rindfleisch. Beginning as a solo and culminating in a community of all-female performers, the soloist moves between the roles of narrator and performer, revealing an abstract narrative through movement, text, sound, and a shifting scenery of 20 toy horses. The narrative is intermittently supported by projections of vast landscapes and short original storylines. Using choreography that is both set and partially improvised, the dance score revolves around birth and rebirth, and engages with what motivates the self and the “herd,” and the power dynamics that evolve from those differing motivations.

Active since 1999, Elke Rindfleisch has created a rigorous, critically acclaimed body of solo and group works characterized by raw, highly physical and emotional performances—provoking fresh reactions to personal, physical, and spatial relationships—exploring the diverse aspects of human nature and social psychology. She often works with original music composed by her longtime collaborator Chris Woltmann. She has most recently performed at the Currents New Mexico/Multimedia Festival in collaboration with filmmaker Martha Williams, at Roulette in 2014 and 2015, and in collaboration with choreographer/dancer Sarah Weber Gallo.

Matt Lavelle and the 12 Houses Orchestra

What: Matt Lavelle and the 12 Houses Orchestra draw upon the talents of rapper A.R.B.R.A.F. and trombonist Art Baron to present a Duke Ellington-inspired performance.
When: Sunday, September 25, 2016, 8pm
Where: Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, 2/3/4/5/A/C/G/D/M/N/R/B/Q trains & the LIRR
Cost: $20/15 Online $25/20 Doors
Info: www.roulette.org / (917) 267-0368
Tickets: General Admission $20, Members/Students/Seniors $15, $25/20 Tickets at the door

Brooklyn, NY – Roulette presents the first major concert hall performance from Matt Lavelle and the 12 Houses Orchestra. Deeply influenced by Duke Ellington, Lavelle’s spiritual compositions bring out the best in the individual members of the band. Taking a cue from Charles Mingus and John Coltrane‘s musical protests, the 12 Houses Orchestra aims to confront today’s reality through music. Drawing upon the talents of rap artist A.R.B.R.A.F. (Akustyx Rhythm Beats Rhymes and Flows), the 12 Houses Orchestra uses voice as an instrument unto itself. The ensemble will be joined by special guest and Duke Ellington alumni trombone master Art Baron.

Based in New York City and lead by Matt Lavelle, The 12 Houses is a multicultural and multigenerational large music ensemble. Described by Lavelle as “Ornette Coleman meets William Parker at Duke Ellington’s house,” the female-centric ensemble originated from an assignment given to Lavelle by Ornette Coleman. Credited by new breakthroughs within the spheres of jazz, The 12 Houses released their debut record, Solidarity, on Unseen Rain Records.

Lineup:

Matt Lavelle – Trumpet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet
Leader, Composer, and Arranger

Art Baron – Trombone
Ar Braf-Brafmatic – Rap

Nicole Davis – Trumpet
Anders Nilsson – Guitar
Tom Cabrera – Drums (1st set)
Alex Hamburger – Baritone sax
Stephanie Griffin – Viola
Jeremy Carlstedt – Drums (2nd set)
Ras Moshe – Tenor sax, flute
Gil Selinger – Cello
Jack DeSalvo – Guitar, Banjo
Charles Waters – Alto sax, clarinet
Francois Grillot – Bass
Sweet Lee Odom – Soprano sax, clarinet
Chris Forbes – Piano
Mary Cherney – Flutes
Julie Lyon – Voice