Warning: Declaration of Suffusion_MM_Walker::start_el(&$output, $item, $depth, $args) should be compatible with Walker_Nav_Menu::start_el(&$output, $item, $depth = 0, $args = Array, $id = 0) in /home/theatr23/public_html/wp-content/themes/suffusion/library/suffusion-walkers.php on line 39
Apr 282013
 

Peter-Evans-Travis-Laplante
Here’s Theatre Intangible podcast 93: Evans/Laplante/Schenker/Sevits, starring Peter Evans, Travis Laplante, Craig Schenker, and Jamison Sevits.

New York free improvisation artists Peter Evans and Travis Laplante performed a show at Noa Noa on May 15th, 2012 organized by Nashville’s Craig Schenker. See excerpts of their solo sets in the videos below. After the show, we recorded this incendiary improv, featuring Peter Evans on trumpet, Travis LaPlante on saxophone, Craig Schenker on saxophone, Jamison Sevits on trumpet, and all four on various woodwinds. I did the recording, live mixing, editing, and mastering.

Travis LaPlante plays in the band Little Women, as a solo saxophonist, and with the tenor saxophone quartet Battle Trance. His solo album Heart Protector released to rave reviews in 2011, and Little Women’s brand new album Lung is available now at aumfidelity.com.

Peter Evans plays with the Peter Evans Quartet, International Contemporary Ensemble, Alarm Will Sound, Continuum, and Ensemble 21, as a solo saxophonist, and with many jazz luminaries, including Peter Brotzmann, Evan Parker, Mary Halvorson Fred Frith, and Weasel Walter. He just released the debut recording of his “Zebulon” trio with John Hébert and Kassa Overall, recorded at and named after the now defunct Brooklyn club. It’s available on MoreIsMoreRecords.com.

Apr 102013
 
Dane Khan and Lakha Khan.

Dane Khan and Lakha Khan.

So many great shows have been happening in Nashville lately that I haven’t been able to keep up with them all. Concurrence’s Greg Bryant had a hand in bringing the legendary organist Dr. Lonnie Smith to town. (By the way, check out Greg’s excellent new podcast JazzWatch.) Chris Davis organized a show with Carter Thornton, Malocchio, and Grandpa Egg. And Sunday brought Michael Holland’s magnum opus in art curating: VORTEX and the BAD BOY!

If you missed any of those shows, don’t fret. The rest of April is loaded to the gills with rare opportunities!

On Friday, April 12th, there’s the legendary jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter at Schermerhorn. Ben Ratliff of The New York Times called Shorter “jazz’s greatest living composer.”

Chris Davis organized at least three amazing lineups in the coming weeks, including Saturday at Betty’s Bar & Grill: The Wrest Trio (Jack Wright/Evan Lipson/Ben Bennett) and Craig Schenker/Tommy Stangroom.

Jack Wright is the legendary underground experimental saxophonist whom Davey Williams called “the Johnny Appleseed of Free Improvisation.” (Yes, I’ve used the word “legendary” three times so far. It’s the right word in all cases.) To see a force of nature like Jack Wright engulf the tiny room at Betty’s, well that’s just an experience you can’t afford to miss. The saxophone/percussion duo of Craig Schenker and Tommy Stangroom open the show.

The very next night, catch, yes I’ll say it, the fourth legend this month:  Ustad Lakha Khan at the Downtown Presbyterian Church. Lakha Khan plays the sindhi sarangi, a bowed North Indian folk instrument with a tone similar to the human voice.

Lakha Khan, 63 is a sarangi player and vocalist, and perhaps the greatest exponent of the sindhi sarangi. He was born in the village of Raneri in Jodhpur district, Rajasthan, India into a family of traditional musicians from the Manganiyar community. He was trained at an early age by his father Tharu Khan and later, by his uncle Mohammad Khan, in rendering the compositions of the Multan school of Manganiyars. His first public performances were in the late 60’s and 70’s under the guidance of the late Komal Kothari, a highly regarded Indian historian and ethnomusicologist. Today, Lakha Khan is one of the last remaining Manganiyars to have mastered this complex instrument and to carry forward the centuries-old musical tradition of Rajasthani folk and Sufi music. He has performed extensively across Rajasthan and India, and internationally in the U.S. and Europe. — Amarrass Records

Nashville’s Kirby Shelstad opens the show on tabla and vocal. Chris Davis organized.

On Tuesday, April 23rd, DJ’s Pub & Grill welcomes Chris Corsano, Leslie Keffer, and The Cherry Blossoms. Percussionist Chris Corsano is a member of Drag City’s Rangda and plays in a duo with saxophonist Paul Flaherty. He was a touring musician with Bjork and was featured on her album Volta. He also recorded with Evan Parker, Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Jim O’Rourke, Jandek, and C. Spencer Yeh.

Leslie Keffer is an internationally-known noise artist who currently calls Nashville home. The Cherry Blossoms describe themselves as “Middle Tennessee’s finest anarchic post neo-skiffle collective specializing in kazoo-exotica.” Keffer and Chris Davis organized this show.

In addition to all of that, we at Noa Noa are hosting an Electro-Dance party featuring Nudity, Scale Model, and The Prime Ordeal on Friday, April 19th. Nashville Film Festival pass-holders get in free. This show isn’t experimental per-se, but it does feature three great acts incorporating electronics into their sound. This will be the first public performance by The Prime Ordeal, an electronic duo comprised of Robert Amsbary and Shawn Jenkins who “explore exotic and subconscious soundscapes through an improvised medium of rhythmic sample looping, steeped in elektronische musik and pseudo-musique concrète.” For those of you in Huntsville, Alabama, catch rising stars Nudity the very next day at Happenin Fest 2013 at Lowe Mill.

Mar 282013
 

reprocess

Noa Noa house is back from a long winter break with our first spring show, Saturday, March 30th at 8:30pm.

We’re kicking off a new experimental series featuring three innovative acts: Lyrebird (Jeremy Bennett & Craig Schenker), Brady Sharp, and Age (Josh Gumiela & Luke Rainey).

All three artists use live sampling and computer processing to continually evolve an improvisational set, never being completely sure where the ping pong between acoustic instrument and electronic modification will take them.

All have appeared on Theatre Intangible at one point or another. Check out Lyrebird’s improv set recorded at Theatre Intangible / Noa Noa headquarterers, Brady Sharp’s work in this T.I. “all guitars” episode, and the Josh Gumiela / Luke Rainey improv featured in the video below. Josh and Luke’s partnership is especially interesting because they start with a single sample and toss it back and forth throughout the set, further manipulating and transforming it, having no idea where it will lead.

All this is happening in the Noa Noa basement. Park in the front yard and surrounding business lots. More info on the Facebook event page. Stay in touch with all the Noa Noa happenings by “liking” our Noa Noa Facebook page.

 

 

re: Process
An evening of improvisation and live sampling/processing featuring…
Lyrebird (Jeremy Bennett & Craig Schenker)
Brady Sharp
Age (Josh Gumiela & Luke Rainey)

Doors at 8:30pm, show at 9pm sharp
Suggested donation $3-$5, split between bands.
BYOB. Park in front yard and surrounding business lots.

We want Noa Noa to be a safe and comfortable environment for everyone. You don’t have to know the Noa Noa house owners to attend. If you feel harassed or threatened in any way, let one of the house owners know (Tony Youngblood and Tommy Stangroom) and we will take care of the situation.

Noa Noa (house)
620 Hamilton Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203

_____________________________

Lyrebird
is a new project by electronic artist Jeremy Bennett (SAURuS, Santa’s Workshop) and saxophonist Craig Schenker (Square People Jazz Maturity, Arclyte, Cenobium). Jeremy live samples Craig’s saxophone playing and intermixes field recordings, electronics and samples while Craig improvises new sounds in response to Jeremy’s processing.

_____________________________

Brady Sharp
discovered improvised music in the mid-90s, and has had the fortune of playing with the reputable likes of Peter Kowald, Chris Cutler, LaDonna Smith, Gino Robair, Susan Alcorn, Tatsuya Nakatani and many others. He plays prepared electric guitar using extended techniques with various found objects. This will be the debut of him incorporating PureData live audio processing software into his setup.

_____________________________

Age
is a horizontal sound composition process by Josh Gumiela and Luke Rainey, based in Nashville, TN. They begin each session with the same palette of samples. One player samples the arrangement and adds new flourishes to the mix. The original player samples him, and continues the shaping process. The process remains constant, but the resulting compositions are always very different.

May 112012
 

Photo triptych of Peter Evans taken and created by C. Neil Scott.

Here at Noa Noa house, we never host shows on weekdays. Neighbors and stuff. So why are we hosting one this Tuesday?

Two reasons: PETER EVANS and TRAVIS LAPLANTE!!!

If you know anything about contemporary free jazz, you know the names Evans and LaPlante, two of the most important innovators in the New York jazz scene.

Here’s what Bowerbird says of Peter Evans:

Trumpeter Peter Evans is known for his super virtuosic cavalcade of furious blowing, madcap bebopping and nonstop circular breathing. He has an amazing list of collaborators, including: Mary Halvorson, Steve Beresford, Okkyung Lee, Keiji Haino, Jim Black, Evan Parker, Tyshawn Sorey, Peter Brotzmann, and many more. Peter also performs contemporary new music as a member of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE).

And here’s what PopMatters had to say of Travis LaPlante’s 2011 album Heart Protector:

Solo saxophone albums aren’t as plentiful as, say, solo piano or guitar albums. As such, they are special. Yet no amount of listening to Anthony Braxton’s For Alto, Ken Vandermark’s Furniture Music or any of David S. Ware’s recent solo excursions could prepare me for the unaccompanied debut of Little Women member Travis Laplante. Heart Protector is a masterpiece that stands out in an already selective field, one that celebrates the creepy noises and spaces between the notes on a saxophone and creates a texture that owes more to Eno than Ewart.

SQUARE PEOPLE saxophonist CRAIG SCHENKER will also perform. Music starts at 8pm on the back porch of Noa Noa. We’re asking for an $8 to $10 donation to the touring musicians. If you consider yourself a fan of the cutting edge, DO NOT MISS THIS!

More details on the Facebook event page. Check out a video of Peter Evans with EVAN PARKER and FURT below. Incredible stuff.

An evening of solo improvisation.
Peter Evans, Travis LaPlante, Craig Schenker
Tuesday, May 15th, 8pm sharp
Noa Noa (house)
620 Hamilton Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203