Results for "Avant-garde"

Musician

Rent Romus

Born: January 6, 1968

Rent Romus is a saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, music producer, and community leader hailed by Downbeat as having "...a bold sound, unmistakable sincerity and conviction". A third generation Finnish American born in Hancock Michigan of the Upper Peninsula and growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Romus' work on the saxophone has been dubbed “ferocious” by the San Francisco Weekly and “central to the creative music world of the West Coast” by writer jazz critic Frank Rubolino. From his very beginnings as a student of jazz while being exposed to the twilight tutelage of Stan Getz he found himself drawn to the outer realms of Sun Ra and Albert Ayler, as well as Arthur Blythe, Derek Bailey and Merzbow.

He runs the Lords of Outland a free jazz unit since 1994, the Life’s Blood Ensemble a contemporary original ensemble, and works with pianist Thollem McDonas in the Bloom Project, composer bandleader Heikki "Mike" Koskinen, the collective improvisation group The Ruminations and other various projects.

Rent Romus has recorded music exploring improvisation and composition in a wide variety of musical settings both as a leader and sideman which have included Chico Freeman, John Tchicai, Vinny Golia, Thollem McDonas, Heikki "Mike" Koskinen, Stefan Pasborg, James Zitro, Kash Killion, and Jon Bridsong to name a few.

He is the founder of Edgetone Records with over 30 years of independent music production, and performance experience as well as the founder and Executive Director of the non-profit Outsound Presents under which curates the bi-weekly music series known as SIMM at the Musicians Union Hall, the weekly Luggage Store Gallery Creative Music Series, as well as annual Outsound New Music Summit, the Bay Area's creative music festival held every summer in San Francisco.

Musician

Clemens Kuratle

Born: March 26, 1991

Born in 1991 in Bern, Switzerland, Clemens started playing the drums at the early age of 6 and by the age of 10 he made his first experiences as a drummer in the band of the reformed church in Meikirch/Berne were his father still preaches. He started taking piano lessons two years later. It was in highschool where he discovered his love for jazz and improvised music. After High School he studied at the Hochschule Luzern - Musik Jazz Departement. His teachers and mentors included Pierre Favre, Gerry Hemingway, Norbert Pfammatter, Lauren Newton, Christoph Baumann, Ed Partyka, Roberto Domeniconi, Hans Feigenwinter and others. His studies with Gerry Hemingway led to an increasing interest in the music of the world, which led to a growing collection and knowledge of so called world-music, a development that cannot be underestimated. Clemens had the privilege to play with greats like Vijay Iyer, Pierre Favre, Flavio Ambrosetti, Samuel Blaser, Nat Su, Hans Feigenwinter, Nils Wogram, Alex Sipiagin, Heiri Känzig and many more. In 2014 he founded his quintet „Murmullo“ with John Voirol on tenor saxophone, Flo Weiss on trombone, Franz Hellmüller on guitar and Rafael Jerjen on Bass

Musician

Sabana Blanca

Musician

Phillip Haynes

Born: June 15, 1961

A veteran artist based in New York for 25 years, Phil Haynes is featured on more than 85 LP, CD, and DVD releases by numerous American and European record labels. Haynes’ debut, The Paul Smoker Trio’s QB with Anthony Braxton, was named the #1 recording of 1985 by esteemed critic Kevin Whitehead. The international media have compared his drumming to masters Jack DeJohnette, Roy Haynes and Elvin Jones, and his compositions to Duke Ellington, Charles Ives, Charles Mingus and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. His performances were recently noted to be “The perfect middle between tradition and avant-garde, between power and sophistication, between accessibility and adventure. . . standards with a new sense of drama, dynamics, and true moments of fun.”

Musician

Elinor Speirs

Born: September 7

There is something amazing that happens when cultures converge. There is surprise and enchantment, chaos and dispute, but in the end, there is always something new. That is where violinist Elinor Speirs likes to set up residence - at the cusp of the conversation. The progeny of a Viking and a celt, raised at the southern tip of Africa with Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, it was almost inevitable that Elinor would flee the constraints of the orchestra and join the fire and dance of improvised music. Versatility and flair for style have ensured her place in musical genres across the board. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and jazz and free music trained at New York University and New England Conservatory, Elinor is an experienced orchestral and chamber music performer with a burgeoning career in jazz, world music fusion, free music, new music and interdisciplinary arts

Musician

Payton MacDonald

Born: December 16, 1974

As a composer numerous ensembles have performed his music around the world, including Alarm Will Sound, Medeski, Martin, and Wood, Los Angeles Philharmonic, JACK Quartet, New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, So Percussion, To Hit Duo, Young Voices of Colorado, Quintet Mont Royal, Classical Jam, guitarists Mak Grgic and Eliot Fisk, Composers Concordance Ensemble, tabla soloist Shawn Mativetsky, accordionist Bill Schimmel, french hornist John Clark, and many others. He has received grants and awards from ASCAP, Meet the Composer, American Music Center, American Institute of Indian Studies, as well as fellowships from Yaddo and Ragdale

Musician

Kuba Wójcik

Kuba Wójcik – guitarist & composer. He’s always looking for new forms of expression. Founder and leader of Minim feat. Sainkho, Kuba Wójcik’s Threak (feat. Bruun and Davidsen), and Mad Ship. He played at festivals and clubs in Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic and Poland. He was a member of the international program "You Me - Young Musicians play Europe". Graduated from Jazz Department in Music Academy in Gdańsk, and completed a scholarship at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He collaborated with such artist like: Rolf Kuhn, Peter Bruun, Nils Davidsen, and many others.

Musician

Billie Davies

Born: December 10, 1955

“Billie Davies is an accomplished free-jazz drummer. There is a vitality and fluidity in the way that she plays the drum kit and this is what I mean by the idea that her stories explain her drumming; she speaks through the drums to the other players, asking questions of them and replying with the fusion of styles that she has built up over her travels” —Chris Baber, Jazz Views (Jun 30, 2016)

By 1977 Billie was working in the Private Night Club sector as a DJ in Cologne, Germany. That set the stage for a successful DJ career in Belgium a few years later, she remembers "Les Cinq Anneaux" where she packed the house every weekend. She became one of the top DJs in demand in Private Night Clubs, Disco Clubs and Bars.

Aged 25 Davies started the transition to become a professional musician.

She played and performed all over Europe, in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece for the next 7 years.

At a crossroads in her musical career, in 1984, while living and performing in the South of France (Montpellier, Toulouse, Biarritz, La Rochelle), Billie ended up receiving a grant from Max Roach to come study at Berklee College of Music, this was after he heard one of her tapes she laid down with a bass player in Montpellier, France. Billie was however having too much fun in the south of France, living the life of a gypsy jazz musician and therefore decided not to take the offer. In his words: "Hearing from your tape, you could learn more fundamental drumming techniques, but I also hear the natural drummer, so my advice is for you not to worry too much about your technical skill, you will develop your own, I can definitely hear that, but just in case that you might want to study in a good program, please accept my invitation in the form of a talent grant to come study at the Berklee College of Music, all you need to worry about is finding a place to live and some money to survive".

A move to the United States at 32 gave her an opportunity to play all over the west coast. In 1987 in Oregon, she met and played a few times with Leroy Vinegar, and then later in early 1988 she moved to California, San Francisco where she was mostly active in North Beach and in the Lower-Haight district, where she met and ended up playing a few times with John Handy and played frequently with local jazz notables at their unforgiving jams, in her words: the best learning school she ever had.

In the mid-nineties she recorded "Cobra Basemento", that included "The Man From Tollund", and "Dreams", the infamous boombox recordings, in the Bay Area. They were never commercially released but preserved for the future.

In 2009, she moved to Hollywood, California and released "all about Love." with Tom Bone Ralls and Oliver Steinberg and "12 VOLT" with Daniel Coffeng and Adam Levy and was awarded best Jazz Artist in 2013 by LAMA.

In March of 2014 she moved to New Orleans where she has released "Hand In Hand In The Hand Of The Moon", with Evan Oberla, Alex Blaine, Branden Lewis and Ed Strohsahl, "On Hollywood Boulevard" with Evan Oberla, Oliver Watkinson and Iris P and "PERSPECTIVES II" with Evan Oberla, Oliver Watkinson, Ari Kohn, Iris P and Allie Porter and was nominated "Best Contemporary Jazz Artist" by 2017 Best Of The Beat Awards and OffBeat Magazine and "Best Drummer" by 2019 Best Of The Beat Awards.

Highlights

Billie Davies is an American, self-taught, natural, drummer and composer best known for her free, instinctively avant-garde compositions since the mid nineties, and her improvisational drumming techniques she has performed in Europe and in the US. All of her music is improvisational ... a conversation between musicians and musical instruments, a joint emotional expression inspired by a certain feeling, thought or perspective that is being communicated to an audience, a listener, a community. Billie Davies hails originally from Brugge, Belgium. She played and performed all over Europe until immigrating to the United States at 32, where she has been active as a musician ever since.

While living and playing in the South of France in the early 1980's, Billie received a talent grant from Max Roach to study at Berklee College of Music.

Her 2012 release of “all about Love” solidified her position as a professional jazz musician. This recording of standards and original music, charted #1 in CMJ Jazz College Radio Charts for ‘top jazz add’ in new albums and went on to stay in the top 20 for 4 weeks. Also well received in Canada, the album ended up in the Top 10 on three different !Earshot Jazz charts.

In October, 2013 Billie released “12 VOLT” which garnered national and international attention. CJ Bond, JAZZ MUSIC, wrote, “12 VOLT” features exclusively original compositions of Billie Davies, and adds the crucial tyne of 'composer/arranger' to her sterling artistic fork, augmenting fearless innovation. Jan Hocek of His Voice in Prague wrote:”Without hesitation - HIGH VOLTAGE avant-garde JAZZ - one of the most remarkable trio albums of the year!"

In 2013 Billie Davies received the "Jazz Artist of the Year" Award by the 23rd Annual Los Angeles Music Awards.

In March of 2014 she moved to New Orleans where she has graced stages ever since and recorded 3 albums.

She received more attention due to a player feature in Downbeat Magazine May 2016 edition, "BILLIE DAVIES '20 Years Stronger'".

"On Hollywood Boulevard", her CD released in 12/10/2016 became a January 2017 Editor's Pick on DownBeat.com.

December 2017 Billie Davies was nominated for "Best Contemporary Jazz Artist" in New Orleans by 2017 Best Of The Beat Awards.

September 2018 She released "PERSPECTIVES II" by BILLIE DAVIES trio Featuring Ari Kohn, woodwinds, Iris P, vocals and Allie Porter, vocals.

December 2019 Billie Davies was nominated "Best Drummer" in New Orleans by 2019 Best Of The Beat Awards.

Late 2019 she started contributing with Damani Butler, an electronic artist and Maude Caillat a woodwind player, and they ended up recording "Whadeva" live at Dangerous Art Studios in New Orleans on Feb 13, 2020.

Musician

Sarah Bernstein

SARAH BERNSTEIN is a New York-based composer and violinist whose work incorporates vocals, electronics, improvisation and original text. She is known for her fiery multidisciplinary performances, and has garnered international acclaim for her distinctive recordings. She has released ten albums to date as a leader/coleader. She leads the Sarah Bernstein Quartet and VEER Quartet, and performs solo as Exolinger. Collaborations include her duo with drummer Kid Millions, synth-pop group Day So Far, and a range of projects in new jazz, chamber music, experimental pop and noise. She has placed in the DownBeat Critics Poll annually since 2015, winning “Rising Star Violinist” in 2020

Musician

Han-earl Park

Improviser, guitarist and constructor Han-earl Park (박한얼) has been crossing borders and performing fuzzily idiomatic, on occasion experimental, always traditional, open improvised musics for twenty years. He has performed in clubs, theaters, art galleries, concert halls, and (ad-hoc) alternative spaces across Europe and the USA.

Ensembles include Eris 136199 with Nick Didkovsky and Catherine Sikora, Sirene 1009 with Dominic Lash, Mark Sanders and Caroline Pugh, Mathilde 253 with Charles Hayward and Ian Smith, and Numbers with Richard Barrett. Park is the constructor of the machine improviser io 0.0.1 beta++, and instigator of Metis 9, a playbook of improvisative tactics