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Saturday at Brick Factory: Jason Lescalleet, Todd Gerber, Ephemeral Throne 2012-08-25

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Aug 242012
 


I’m fascinated by tape loops. We experimented with really long tape loops on T.I. episodes Stone in Stream and Attrition. I even attempted to make a slot car tape loop. (Needs refinement.)

So it’s no surprise that I’m excited about tape loop master Jason Lescalleet coming to Brick Factory Nashville, Saturday, August 25th. As Chris Davis writes on the Facebook event page:

Jason Lescalleet is a high level musique concrete artist performing his music on reel-to-reel tape machines. His live performances are a fascinating journey down a rabbithole of sound…one of Lescalleet’s most striking talents is his ability to extract and build upon singular aspects of a sound…a microtonal universe of exploded details. Lescalleet is also an imaginative collaborator, having worked with some of the greatest contemporary sound artists–Aaron Dilloway, Joe Colley, John Hudak, Graham Lambkin, Greg Kelley and Bhob Rainey of nmperign and with Ron Lessard as a member of Due Process.

Watch a video of Jason performing live in Paris at the end of this post.

Also on the bill are lo-fi looper Todd Gerber and Ephemeral Throne, the new project by Aether Jag’s Bridget Venuti and local noisemaker Reid Campbell.

Todd makes ambient loops generated by the legendary Casio SK-1 keyboard. I interviewed him and his brother Tony Gerber on T.I. episode 90. Todd tells me that he won’t be breaking out the SK-1s for this show, but he will be bringing some of his current battery-operated favorites.

Bridget Venuti is a brilliant circuit bender and instrument designer. Check her out on T.I. episode 79.

Jason Lescalleet, Todd Gerber, Ephemeral Throne
Saturday, August 25th, 9pm
$7-$10 suggested donation to touring band

Brick Factory Nashville (inside Cummins Station)
Suite 126
209 10th Ave South
Nashville, TN 37203

Enter street level, walk to center of building
Take Elevator B to lower level
Turn right, you’re there.

Friday at Downtown Prez: Trevor Watts & Veryan Weston, Tim Barnes & William Tyler

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Jul 122012
 


If you were lucky enough to attend last month’s John Butcher / Thomas Lehn show at the Downtown Presbyterian Church, you know how magical (dare I say holy?) a performance in the historic church’s chapel can be. On Friday, July 13th, prepare for another such experience.

Growing together as masters of the British free jazz scene in the ’70s, this duo disclosed the perfect emotional and performance synchronization of two masters who do not even need the hint of a glimpse to know where they are headed.” — Sara Villa on Trevor Watts and Veryan Weston’s performance at the 2011 Guelph Jazz Festival. ALL ABOUT JAZZ magazine, Oct 2011.

Rare are the moments when you get to hear true legends in a setting as intimate as the DPC chapel. Saxophonist Trevor Watts is co-founder of the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, a loosely-knit group of free improvisers whose influence in the avant garde and free improv communities cannot be overstated. Saxophonist Evan Parker once said co-founder John Stevens had two rules:

(1) If you can’t hear another musician, you’re playing too loud

(2) if the music you’re producing doesn’t regularly relate to what you’re hearing others create, why be in the group?

Those simple instructions have trickled down the years of free improvisation and guided many hands. There are plenty of Theatre Intangible improvs where such ground rules would have improved the product.

In addition to his work in the SME, Trevor formed the groups Amalgam and Moiré Music ensemble and has performed with jazz greats such as Steve Lacy, Don Cherry, and Archie Shepp.

Pianist Veryan Weston performed with Trevor Watts in Moiré Music and on the duet album 6 Dialogues. He’s also played with the Eddie Prévost Quartet, Lol Coxhill, Phil Minton, and John Butcher. Seeing these two masters together on this side of the water is a-once-in-a lifetime opportunity. In short, don’t miss this!

Louisville-by-way-of-New-York drummer  Tim Barnes and Nashville guitarist William Tyler will open the evening. Jesse Jarnow at AllMusic writes,

The drummer Tim Barnes was important in three ways: as an expansive experimental percussionist (and producer/engineer on the side) who had one foot in the downtown New York avant-jazz community while contributing to more traditional indie rock projects; as the owner of the Quakebasket label, distributors of limited-edition and broader releases of work by contemporary experimenters as well as careful reissues; and, finally, via his day job, where he helped bridge the worlds of indie rock and music licensing for advertising.

Barnes emerged in the late 1990s, contributing to indie rock staples like the Silver Jews and the Elephant 6-affiliated Essex Green, as well as pop-fancying avant-garde mainstay Jim O’Rourke. . . He hovered on the edge of Sonic Youth‘s world, as well, joining the band for their deeply psychedelic Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui release and serving as occasional member in Lee Ranaldo’s Text of Light.

William Tyler is the founder of the excellent local record label Sebastian Speaks , member of Lambchop and the Silver Jews, and a session guitarist for Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, Tim Chad and Sherry, Laura Cantrell, Charlie Louvin, Hiss Golden Messenger and others. I can’t wait to hear what the two talented players will do together.

This show is organized by Chris Davis, drummer for the Cherry Blossoms and promoter of countless amazing Nashville shows.

More details on the Facebook event page.

Trevor Watts & Veryan Weston
Tim Barnes & William Tyler
Friday, July 13th, 8:30 doors, 9 pm start, $15-$20 sliding scale

Downtown Presbyterian Church
154 Fifth Avenue, North
Nashville, TN 37219
http://www.dpchurch.com/

May 1st @ VFW Post 1970: BOMBINO, CHERRY BLOSSOMS, WILLIAM TYLER!

 Concerts  2 Responses »
Apr 292012
 

Photo by Chris Decato

World music superstar guitarist BOMBINO from Agadez, Niger will perform in Nashville on Tuesday, May 1st at the VFW Post 1970! I really have to hand it to CHRIS DAVIS for continuing to organize amazing nights of music in Nashville. Also performing are THE CHERRY BLOSSOMS, and WILLIAM TYLER.

From the Facebook event page:

Bombino’s electrifying jams capture the spirit of resistance and rebellion while echoing with guitar riffs reminiscent of fellow Africans Tinariwen and Ali Farka Touré not to mention rock and blues icons such as Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker and Jimmy Page.

From Bombino’s Wikipedia page:

Bombino was born in Tidene, Niger, a Tuareg encampment outside of Agadez. Following the outbreak of the Tuareg Rebellion in 1990, Bombino, along with his father and grandmother, were forced to flee to neighboring Algeria for safety. By 1997, Bombino had returned to Agadez and began life as a professional musician.

Filmmaker Hisham Mayet managed to track down and record Bombino and his electric band in 2007 during a wedding performance. Those recordings, along with several acoustic performances in the ‘dry guitar’ style, can be heard on the Sublime Frequencies’ 2009 release, “Group Bombino – Guitars from Agadez, vol. 2.” Later in 2007, tensions grew again in Niger and ultimately erupted into another Tuareg Rebellion. The government, hoping to thwart the rebellion in all its forms, banned guitars for the Tuareg, as the instrument was seen as a symbol of rebellion. Additionally, two of Bombino’s fellow musicians were executed, thus forcing him into exile.

In January 2010 Bombino was able to return to his home in Agadez. So as to celebrate the end of the conflict, a large concert was organized at the base of the Grand Mosque in Agadez, having received the blessing of the Sultan. Bombino and his band played to over a thousand people at the concert, all dancing and celebrating the end of their struggle.

While Bombino lived in exile in Burkina Faso, filmmaker Ron Wyman, having heard cassette recordings of his music, decided to track him down. Wyman encouraged Bombino to properly record his music. Bombino agreed, and the two of them produced an album together in Agadez. The recordings culminated in his album Agadez, released in April, 2011 which debuted at the top of the iTunes World Chart.

Tuesday, May 1st, 8pm
$10
VFW Post 1970
7220 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, Tennessee

8 pm Cherry Blossoms
9 pm William Tyler
10 pm Bombino

Friday at DPC: Solo Percussion by TATSUYA NAKATANI & KIRBY SHELSTAD

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Apr 182012
 


Experimental percussionist TATSUYA NAKATANI is performing at the Downtown Presbyterian Church this Friday at 8pm. I saw Tatsuya perform at Zeitgeist Gallery last year, and he took my breath away. (Check out my recording of that performance on T.I. podcast 43: Pulse.) A Nakatani concert is a transformative experience, which can only be augmented by the DPR’s amazing acoustics.

This show is part of a series of DPC concerts organized by Brady Sharp, David Maddox, and Chris Davis. Of Nakatani, the Facebook event page says,

He has created his own instrumentation, effectively inventing many instruments and extended techniques. He utilizes drumset, bowed gongs, cymbals, singing bowls, metal objects, bells, and various sticks and bows to create an intense, organic music that defies category or genre. His music is based in improvised/ experimental music, jazz, free jazz, rock, and noise, yet retains the sense of space and beauty found in traditional Japanese folk music.

Also performing is Nashville’s KIRBY SHELSTAD — percussionist, electronic music pioneer, and studio player who has worked with Leon Russell, Bela Fleck, Charley Rich, and more.

Concert starts at 8pm. There is a $6-$10 suggested donation for the performers. No one wishing to see the performance will be turned away for lack of funds.

This is also a great time to introduce Voight-Kampff Music, Brady Sharp’s new experimental music blog, which features a killer concert calendar. Check out the Voight-Kampff write-up of the Nakatani show here.

 

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