It's been an excellent time for Tim Berne fans at Ars Nova Workshop this season! In mid-December of last year we had two back-to-back nights of Tim Berne projects and works as part of our Composer Portrait Series. On December 11, Berne performed with the Collide Saxophone Quartet, and then led his Big Satan trio of Marc Ducet and Tom Rainey through an amazingly raucous set. The following night, after a pre-concert discussion with
New York Times music writer Nate Chinen and Screwgun Records (the label Berne founded in 1996) artist Steve Byrum, Philly-based pianist Matt Mitchell started the music off with a newly commissioned solo piano composition written by Berne. The evening was concluded with a spell-binding performance by Berne's new all-star large ensemble, Adobe Probe, which featured Mitchell, Chris Speed, Shane Endsley, Marc Ducet, Michael Formanek, and Dan Weiss. Then, on April 13 of this year, Berne was back in Philly again for the fantastic debut performance by Matt Mitchell's Central Chain with Oscar Noriega, Mary Halvorson, John Herbert, and Tomas Fujiwara.
Well, it's not over.
On Thursday, June 24 Tim Berne's Los Totopos, a new touring quartet, will be taking the stage at the Philadelphia Art Alliance. Always selecting the best and brightest musicians for his ensembles, this time Berne is working with Matt Mitchell, Oscar Noriega, and Ches Smith (who performed with ANW last as Congs for Brums when he opened for the Peter Brtzman-Hamid Drake Duo). Like all things Bern-related, and as recent reports from Los Totopos' currently underway Invasion Of Privacy Tour suggest, this performance is not to be missed. Please join us for one of the last shows of the current season and what is sure to be one of the best!
Thursday, June 24, 8pm
TIM BERNE'S LOS TOTOPOS
Tim Berne, saxophones; Oscar Noriega, woodwinds; Matt Mitchell, piano; and Ches Smith, drums
Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street
$12 General Admission
