--Rex Butters, All About Jazz
“If you want a taste of the future of west coast jazz, do yourself a favor, get this disc."
--Troy Collins, JunkMedia Magazine
“What a fine young quartet this is... they follow many different musical paths, all the while maintaining a pretty stimulating group voice."
--Jason Bivins, Cadence Magazine
“The MTKJ Quartet's music is the shit..."
--Gene Armstrong, Tucson Weekly
The EMPTY CAGE QUARTET
(formerly the MTKJ Quartet)
Jason Mears woodwinds
Kris Tiner trumpets
Paul Kikuchi drums
Ivan Johnson contrabass
The EMPTY CAGE (MTKJ) QUARTET is a Los Angeles-based creative jazz/new music ensemble whose sound has been described as “an example of well-stoked spontaneous combustion" (Tucson Weekly) and a “dynamic cauldron of creativity" (All About Jazz). The group's original compositions explore a diverse mix of musical influences within a unique modular system of organizing notated and improvised elements. Having toured extensively in the Western United States and Canada, and with two CDs released on LA's legendary Nine Winds label, the Empty Cage Quartet has developed a music that is being praised as a substantial and original contribution to jazz on the left coast. Members of the group, all alumni of the California Institute of the Arts, have worked with luminaries of creative music such as Wadada Leo Smith, Vinny Golia, Milford Graves, Leroy Jenkins, Charles Gayle, Charlie Haden, Phillip Greenlief, Gerry Hemingway, Jack Wright, Michael Vlatkovich, Frank Gratkowski, Steuart Liebig, Brad Dutz, John Bergamo, and Jeff Kaiser, and all four are individually active as solo performers, composers, and teachers.
Music and complete information is available at www.mtkjquartet.com
2005 CD Release Tour: Day of the Race on Nine Winds Records
Wednesday, December 28, 8pm
Trummerflora presents Other Ideas at Voz Alta
1544 Broadway (at 16th)
San Diego, CA
$5, all ages
www.trummerflora.com
www.vozalta.org
With the Nathan Hubbard Trio
Thursday, December 29, 2-5pm
KFJC 89.7 FM
Los Altos Hills, CA
On-Air Performance (stream it on iTunes)
www.kfjc.org
Thursday, December 29, 8pm
Luggage Store Gallery New Music Series
1007 Market St. @ 6th
San Francisco, CA
With Bruce Tovsky (electronics) & Dominic Cramp (laptop/electronics)
Friday, December 30, 8pm
Caf Metropol
923 East 3rd St. in the Downtown Artist District
Los Angeles, CA 90013
www.cafemetropol.com
www.roccoinla.com
Featuring film by Allen Glass, visual art by Kio Griffith and Misato Nagare
Saturday, December 31, 1pm
New Year's Music Festival at The Empty Space
706 Oak Street
Bakersfield, CA 93304
$10 general / $5 students
www.esonline.org
With The Had and Been, Jamo, Stacey Ericsson and more
For more information contact All About Jazz.
