Billy Bang Quintet at 11th Other Minds Music Festival
Jazz violinist Billy Bang premieres selections from his Vietnam trilogy at 11th Other Minds Music Festival
International contemporary music festival presents visionary composers in concert
Saturday, February 26, 2005 at 8 p.m. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA — Composer, violinist, and Vietnam veteran Billy Bang and his New York-based quintet will present the world premiere of new selections from Bang’s ongoing Vietnam trilogy, an intensely direct and heart-rending portrayal of war from the perspective of a soldier on the ground, at the 11th Other Minds Music Festival. The festival draws together cutting-edge composers and illustrious guest performers from around the world for premiere performances and artist talks, February 24–26, 2005, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The Billy Bang Quintet will close the festival with a world premiere performance on Saturday, February 26, at 8 p.m. Featuring Bang on violin, the Billy Bang Quintet also includes Ted Daniel on trumpet and horns, Andrew Bemkey on piano, Todd Nicholson on bass, and Michael Carvin on drums.
In addition to Billy Bang Quintet, festival participants include: John Luther Adams, Maria de Alvear, Fred Frith, Phill Niblock, Michael Nyman, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Evan Ziporyn, and Charles Amirkhanian. Also appearing are pianist Sarah Cahill; Indian Dhrupad vocalist Amelia Cuni; DJ Scientific; cellist Joan Jeanrenaud; guitarist Seth Josel; soprano Cheryl Keller; Sudhu Tewari on homemade instruments; vocalists John Duykers, Eric A. Gordon, and Amy X Neuburg; Del Sol String Quartet; So Percussion with Dan Kennedy and Robert Esler.
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Billy Bang moved to New York’s Harlem while still an infant. In junior high school he took up the violin, but switched to percussion when he became captivated by Afro-Cuban rhythms. Drafted into the army after high school, Bang was sent to Vietnam, an experience that profoundly affected his life, often quite painfully. Coming home radicalized, he was inspired by the liberating energy of the free-jazz movement and returned to the violin, becoming a key member of the New York avant-garde scene. Forming his own group, The Survival Ensemble, and working with artists like David Murray, Frank Lowe, William Parker, and Sam Rivers, Bang began to reach an international audience in 1977 with the String Trio. Since then, in addition to his own releases, Bang has collaborated on over two dozen albums in a variety of genres, from the blistering funk of Bootsy Collins to the intergalactic uproar of Sun Ra.
Thirty years after returning home from Vietnam, Bang was finally able to confront his experiences through the Vietnam trilogy. The first installment, Vietnam: The Aftermath was released by Justin Time Records in 2002. Billboard magazine called it “a work of historical significance that has taken on unexpected new meaning in light of recent world events,
International contemporary music festival presents visionary composers in concert
Saturday, February 26, 2005 at 8 p.m. Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA — Composer, violinist, and Vietnam veteran Billy Bang and his New York-based quintet will present the world premiere of new selections from Bang’s ongoing Vietnam trilogy, an intensely direct and heart-rending portrayal of war from the perspective of a soldier on the ground, at the 11th Other Minds Music Festival. The festival draws together cutting-edge composers and illustrious guest performers from around the world for premiere performances and artist talks, February 24–26, 2005, at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. The Billy Bang Quintet will close the festival with a world premiere performance on Saturday, February 26, at 8 p.m. Featuring Bang on violin, the Billy Bang Quintet also includes Ted Daniel on trumpet and horns, Andrew Bemkey on piano, Todd Nicholson on bass, and Michael Carvin on drums.
In addition to Billy Bang Quintet, festival participants include: John Luther Adams, Maria de Alvear, Fred Frith, Phill Niblock, Michael Nyman, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Evan Ziporyn, and Charles Amirkhanian. Also appearing are pianist Sarah Cahill; Indian Dhrupad vocalist Amelia Cuni; DJ Scientific; cellist Joan Jeanrenaud; guitarist Seth Josel; soprano Cheryl Keller; Sudhu Tewari on homemade instruments; vocalists John Duykers, Eric A. Gordon, and Amy X Neuburg; Del Sol String Quartet; So Percussion with Dan Kennedy and Robert Esler.
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Billy Bang moved to New York’s Harlem while still an infant. In junior high school he took up the violin, but switched to percussion when he became captivated by Afro-Cuban rhythms. Drafted into the army after high school, Bang was sent to Vietnam, an experience that profoundly affected his life, often quite painfully. Coming home radicalized, he was inspired by the liberating energy of the free-jazz movement and returned to the violin, becoming a key member of the New York avant-garde scene. Forming his own group, The Survival Ensemble, and working with artists like David Murray, Frank Lowe, William Parker, and Sam Rivers, Bang began to reach an international audience in 1977 with the String Trio. Since then, in addition to his own releases, Bang has collaborated on over two dozen albums in a variety of genres, from the blistering funk of Bootsy Collins to the intergalactic uproar of Sun Ra.
Thirty years after returning home from Vietnam, Bang was finally able to confront his experiences through the Vietnam trilogy. The first installment, Vietnam: The Aftermath was released by Justin Time Records in 2002. Billboard magazine called it “a work of historical significance that has taken on unexpected new meaning in light of recent world events,
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