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to concert schedule Tuesday, May 18, 2010 @ Vox Populi Gallery: Vox Populi Gallery, 319 N. 11th St., 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA, $5-10, 8:00pm. (map) Toshimaru Nakamura (Tokyo) no-input mixing board solo and with: Gene Coleman in duo (Philadelphia) bass clarinet and with: Tim Albro, Ian Fraser, and Jesse Kudler in quartet (Philadelphia) guitar, electronics // laptop // guitar, electronics, radio, tapes Toshimaru Nakamura is one of our favorite improvisers in the world, a pioneer of the "no-input mixing board" (an audio mixing board routed back into itself to create feedback, along with some electronics and pedals) and the world of "onkyo" (a kind of quiet, texture-based improvisation developed in Tokyo) who has managed to maintain his signature sound while slotting into a shocking variety of contexts. From solo efforts that embrace gentle pulses and rhythms, to works with acoustic musicians like Axel Dorner and Tetuzi Akiyama, to regular work with similar electronics players Otomo Yoshihide and Sachiko M, to landmark records with Keith Rowe, to his regular work in Repeat with Jason Kahn, Nakamura has described a wide arc of work that always pushes boundaries and manages to surprise just as he seems to be settling into a groove. Of late, he has even been collaborating with musicians on the edges of jazz, which you can witness for yourself at an upcoming concert sponsored by our friends at Ars Nova Workshop. We are extraordinarily honored to present Nakamura in a suite of performances that should illuminate several facets of his musical personality: solo, with longtime partner Gene Coleman, and joining Philadelphia locals Tim Albro, Ian Fraser, and Jesse Kudler -three frequent collaborators (as a trio and in duos)- for an electro-acoustic quartet. This performance will also serve as a send-off for Philadelphia stalwart Albro, who will be moving away soon. Come see him off in style. Toshimaru Nakamura (jump to bio) http://www.japanimprov.com/tnakamura/index.html Gene Coleman (jump to bio)  http://www.soundfield.org/genecoleman.html Tim Albro (jump to bio)  www.myspace.com/timalbro Albro/Fraser/Kudler - live at the Rotunda, 11/20/09 (excerpt) Albro/Fraser/Kudler - "7" excerpt Ian Fraser (jump to bio)  http://ianmfraser.wordpress.com/ Albro/Fraser/Kudler - live at the Rotunda, 11/20/09 (excerpt) Albro/Fraser/Kudler - "7" excerpt Jesse Kudler (jump to bio)  http://www.jessekudler.com Albro/Fraser/Kudler - live at the Rotunda, 11/20/09 (excerpt) Albro/Fraser/Kudler - "7" excerpt Biographies: Toshimaru Nakamura has been producing electronic music on self-named "no-input mixing board," after long unhappy years with the electric guitar. The name describes the method of his music. "No" external sound source is connected to "inputs" of the "mixing board." Mostly an improviser, occasionally a composer for dancers, an instrumentalist for compositions. Gene Coleman is a composer, musician and artistic director. He has created over 40 works for various instrumentation, often-using complex notations and improvisation in the same score. Radical use of the instrument's sound producing possibilities makes Coleman, both as a composer and as a performer, a musician who seeks a greater synthesis between what is called sound (or noise) and what is called music. Since 2001 his work has focused on globalization and music’s relationship with architecture and video. Gene Coleman studied painting, music and filmmaking at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1979 to 1984. His principle teachers were Barbara Rossi (painting), Robert Snyder (music), Stan Brakhage and Ernie Gehr (filmmaking). He also studied music composition privately with Ross Feller. Coleman has an extensive record working internationally. He will be composer in residence at the Taipei Artists Village in November and December 2006. In July 2005, he was a recipient of grants from Meet the Composer and the US State Department for a composer’s residency in Beirut, Lebanon. In 2001, he received a fellowship from the NEA/Japan-US Friendship Commission and lived in Japan. He was a guest composer at the Takefu International Music Festival (June 2002). He has been composer in residence at Spritzen Haus (Hamburg, November 1995), ASAP (Maine, August 2000 and 2001), The House of World Cultures (Berlin, 2003/2004) and the University of Lubeck (Germany, Feb. 2005). In the area of composition, he has four times received a fellowship from the Illinois Arts Council, as well as grants from the NEA, Arts Midwest, Meet the Composer, the American Music Center, The American Composers Forum, The Asian Cultural Council and others. He has received commissions from Winifred Huan Dance Company, Trio Accanto, Klangforum Wien, The Renaissance Society, The International House of Japan, Trio AYA, Chicago Cultural Center, The Takefu Festival, HKW Berlin, Konzerthaus Wien, the Lucerne Festival and the Ernst Von Siemens Foundation. Coleman also has been a guest lecturer at many universities, and was a visiting artist at the University of Wisconsin (October 1992). His paintings, short films and musical scores have been widely exhibited, including shows at the Art Institute of Chicago (1984) and The MCA Chicago (2000). Among his ongoing projects are concerts with musicians from many parts of the globe. New projects such as “Kyoto In_Ex” and “KKL” explore music’s relationship with video and architecture. With musicians from the Tokyo experimental music scene and traditional Japanese musicians he has created the group “Ensemble N_JP”. These and other projects have brought Coleman and his music to many audiences in Europe, Asia and North America. In the area of improvised music, he has played in concert with many important musicians, including Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Roscoe Mitchell, William Parker, Taku Sugimoto, Kevin Drumm, Yuji Takahashi, Theo Bleckmann and many others. He has recorded with Jim O'Rourke and Mats Gustaffson for the Okka Disc label (1995), music by Anthony Braxton and Gulliermo Gregorio for the Hat Art label (1998) and three CDs for Leo Records with John Wolf Brennan (1999, 2000 and 2005). Coleman has also recorded and performed with the experimental rock group Gastr del Sol (1995/96), as well as several projects with Jim O'Rourke and the minimalist composer Tony Conrad. In 2004 the CD "Storobo Imp." was released -- a collection of improvisations with guitarist Uchihashi Kazuhisa on the False Walls label. He is currently working on CDs of his compositions for the German label GROB, which also released “Concert in St. Louis” (with Coleman, Otomo Yoshihide, Sachiko M. and Franz Hautzinger) in October 2004. Gene Coleman is also known for his work as a curator and artistic director of new music programs and festivals. He founded the new and experimental music festival "Sound Field" in Chicago in 2000 and is the artistic director. He was artistic director and guest composer for “Transonic”, an innovative festival about globalization and new music at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin in 2003 and 2004. In 1997 he organized a festival in Chicago of music by the German composer Helmut Lachenmann in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut. Gene Coleman is the artistic director of "Ensemble Noamnesia", a new music group he founded in 1987. Under his direction, the group has worked with many well known composers, including Salvatore Sciarrino, George Crumb, Chao-Ming Tung, Luc Ferrari, Helmut Lachenmann, Roscoe Mitchell, Vinko Globokar, Yuji Takahashi, Otomo Yoshihide, Malcolm Goldstein, Burkhard Stangl, Karlheinz Essl, Gulliermo Gregorio, Gerhard Staebler, Kunsu Shim, Mathias Spahlinger and many others. Born in Worcester, MA in 1980, currently based in Philadelphia, Tim Albro received a BA in English at Wesleyan University. Since Wesleyan, he has done ethnographic work on gospel music in West Philadelphia, composed music for a dance ensemble, as well as participate in the vibrant improvised/creative music community growing in Philadelphia. This work as an improvising/creative musician includes performing on the 12-string electric guitar /w electronics, on the prepared guitar/electronics/radio in the duo HZL, and recent solo work with home built radio transmitters. Current research interests include: the life of milarepa, green anarchism, and good advice. Ian M. Fraser (b.1980) is a musician based in Philadelphia, PA. He uses field recordings, electro-acoustic devices, and computer processing to compose his work. Strong attention is paid to the volume, duration, timbre, and spatialization. As an improvisor he plays semi-regularly with Tim Albro and Jesse Kudler; and not-so-regularly with Reed Rosenberg, Chandan Narayan, and Matt Mitchell. He has played in a large ensemble with Pauline Oliveros, once with Phil Niblock (on guitar) and on multiple occasions with the electro-acoustic quintet Benito Cereno (with Tim Albro, Jesse Kudler, Chandan Narayan, and Dustin Hurt). Jesse Kudler, born 1979, creates concrete music on the computer, composes low-tech multi-channel sound works, and improvises on cheap consumer devices: a no-name electric guitar, hand-held cassette recorders, radios and transmitters, various small junk, and pedals/electronics. Kudler attended public school until Wesleyan University, where he studied music with Ron Kuivila, Alvin Lucier, and a little bit with Anthony Braxton, among others. He eventually became active as an organizer and performer in improvised, experimental, and electronic music, forming a regular duo with fellow student Jonathan Zorn and leading the large electronic improvising ensemble Phil Collins. Kudler has also worked as a recording engineer for various projects. In his various travels, Kudler has performed with Matt Bauder, Kyle Bruckmann, Chris Cogburn, James Coleman, Tim Feeney, Marcos Fernandes, Brent Gutzeit, Horse Sinister, Bonnie Jones, Jason Kahn, Mazen Kerbaj, Pauline Oliveros, Bhob Rainey, Vic Rawlings, Christine Sehnaoui, Mike Shiflet, Jason Soliday, Howard Stelzer, Christian Weber, Matt Weston, Jack Wright, Jason Zeh, and many others. He has toured the United States several times. Jesse Kudler lives in Philadelphia. Current and recent projects include: HZL, an environmental electronics duo with Tim Albro; a duo with Ian Fraser; Tweeter, a treble-intensive noise trio with Alex Nagle and Eli Litwin; Benito Cereno (with Dustin Hurt, Chandan Narayan, Tim Albro, and Ian Fraser); duos with Chris Cogburn and Christian Weber; solo performance and recording; and various ad hoc groupings. NB: His last name rhymes with “muddler.” |