Archer Spade Presents Spectrum Ensemble at The Whole Shebang
The second installment of the Spectrum Ensemble took place at the Whole Shebang in South Philadelphia.
In contrast to the Rotunda performance, smaller groups of musicians performed sets of improvised music, occasionally joining forces in bigger groups and making a bigger sound.
The Ensemble features musicians from the core Archer Spade(Dan Blacksberg, Nick Millevoi), Kud (Jesse Kudler), Van Sutra (Julius Masri and George Draguns), Sirius JuJu, Bender / Stein / Tini, and Press / Connor Przybyszewski / Gottlieb-Hollis , thee Eric Carbonara and many many more.
Featuring 24 of Philadelphia’s Outest Musicians, the brainchild of Dan Blacksberg and Nick Millevoi played a series of Sunday Matinee concerts in and around The City Of Brotherly Love.
The ensemble featured musicians from the core Archer Spade(Dan Blacksberg, Nick Millevoi), Kud (Jesse Kudler), Van Sutra (Julius Masri and George Draguns), Sirius JuJu, Bender / Stein / Tini, and Press / Connor Przybyszewski / Gottlieb-Hollis , thee Eric Carbonara and many many more.
Bowerbird Presents Either OR Performing For Philip Guston By Morton Feldman
Bowerbird presented the NYC based ensemble Either / OR in their performance of “For Philip Guston”, Morton Feldman’s late period masterpiece for piano/celesta, flute, and percussion.
Upon hearing this expansive 4+ hour work, noted music critic Alex Ross wrote, “What makes Guston fundamentally and wondrously beautiful is its harmony. Feldman’s whole career was a search for ways to string together lovely chords, and Guston contains some of his most lustrous inventions. He is careful to parcel them out economically, so that they arrive as gratifying shocks after stretches of more neutral sound.These islands of beauty are like suggestions of figuration at the center of an abstract painting.”
This performance took place in the Rotunda’s magnificent domed sanctuary space.
Fire Museum Presents Audrey Chen + Flandrew Fleisenberg + Margaret Rorison
Fire Museum Presents the Audrey Chen, Flandrew Fleisenberg and Margaret Rorison trio.
Audrey Chen has been trying to defy conventions all along first by choosing music as a career in a family of material scientists and then by moving away from classical and conservatory music to start her negotiations with sound & discover a more individually honest aesthetic. Chen uses the cello, voice and analog electronics and creates her own narrative & non-linear stories for her audiences.
Flandrew Fleisenberg plays percussion on an assortment of everyday ephemera and modified drum parts that he has reduced and eroded through a process of “play it and break it”.
A recent migrant from Boston, Fleisenberg is busily planting roots across Philadelphia co-curating the H-O-T improvised music and dance series as well ad hoc events around town. Fleisenberg has been involved in the improvised and creative music community since 2001 performing solo, in ad-hoc improv groupings and in set projects. Ongoing collaborators include: Josh Jefferson (Skinny Vinny), Neil Feather, Bonnie Kane/ Joo Won Park (I’m with Joo Won) and id m theftable.
Margaret Rorison has been making films since 2011. Before she discovered the magic of filmmaking, she spent most of her energy on poetry, painting and photography. Her current work often develops from extensive walks through rural and urban landscapes, combining memories, field recordings and text. She is interested in the potentials of storytelling through the use of live projection and sound.
This performance took place at The First Banana in Fishtown, Philadelphia.
Multi-wind instrumentalist Steve Baczkowski lives in Buffalo, NY where he works as a conduit for creative music of any & every sort. Baczkowski began playing alto saxophone at age eight, switched to baritone by the time he was twelve, and has since developed a wide array of woodwind styles & formidable breathing techniques.
In addition to organizing the Buffalo Improvisers Orchestra, and the Buffalo Suicide Prevention Unit, Baczkowski performs solo and at frequent collaborations with like-souled folks from around the world.
Bill Nace is one of the premiere avant-garde guitarists active today. He has one of the most personal and unique pallets of sound ever to be culled from an electric guitar. Nace creates a distinct, mind-bending cacophony and focuses his textures with intense precision and control.
Numbers on the Side release show at Pageant: Soloveev Gallery in Philadelphia
In April 2014, Nick Millevoi released his latest [and greatest] album: Numbers on the Side.
Numbers on the Side is Nick’s fourth solo guitar recording, picking up where 2012’s In White Sky (The Flenser) left off, using the 12-string electric guitar to delve more deeply into feedback, drone, and noise.
Recorded in July 2013 at West Philadelphia’s Rotunda by engineer Eric Carbonara, the sound of this album relies heavily on the 103-year-old building’s high ceilings and 80-ft dome to help create the sonic space for this intense music.
Local legend Dan Blacksberg is rapidly emerging as a new leading voice on the trombone.
With musical activity that spans avant-garde jazz, modern classical music, improvised music and klezmer, Dan brings a burly, rough-edged sound intended to push at the technical and textural extremes of his instrument.
Based in Philadelphia, Dan leads a variety of groups, such as the Dan Blacksberg Trio and Electric Simcha, and co-leads groups such as Archer Spade, the New York/Philadelphia avant-jazz quartet Bird Fly Yellow, and the terror-improv group Psychotic Quartet.
In addition, Dan has also performed with Joe Morris, Joe Maneri, Danilo Perez, Gene Coleman, and is a founding member of Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Orchestra.
Thollem/Chase is the powerhouse, free-wheeling duo of the perpetually-traveling pianist Thollem McDonas and drummer Brian Chase of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and downtown NY improv scene. Their upcoming album: Dub Narcotic Session will hit the stores in May. Please check the homepage of New Atlantis Records for details.
Chase is a drummer and composer living in Brooklyn, NY. Growing up on Long Island, he started taking private music lessons at a young age, leading to a BM from the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio. Though he works in a variety of contexts, Brian is probably best known as a member of the group Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a band that has toured extensively throughout the world and has been nominated for three Grammys.Brian is also very active in the experimental music scene.
McDonas grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area rigorously studying the standard classical repertoire, then quit it all in his early 20s dedicating himself for many years to grassroots political activism (particularly anti-war efforts, deforestation issues and ecological restoration work). He’s now been touring for 7 years perpetually, and has released 33 albums of his own and in collaboration with others on 15 different labels in 5 different countries.
