Improvisations for Guitar & Tabla with overtones of Indian Classical Music
Link to home page : http://www.rosshammond.com
Biography:
The Ni Project
An Indian-influenced project of improvised music with guitarist Ross Hammond and Tabla player/percussionist Alex Jenkins. Together they weave Indian song forms with free improvisation and electronics to create their sound.
Visit www.sactodrummer.com or www.rosshammond.com for more information.
Woodwinds, Composer, Educator
Link to home page : http://www.evandermusic.com
Biography:
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SHORT BIO (for press kits, programs, etc.)
phillip greenlief (b. 1959, los angeles)
Since his emergence on the west coast in the late 1970s, Evander Music founder and saxophonist Phillip Greenlief has achieved international critical acclaim for his recordings and performances with musicians and composers in the post-jazz continuum as well as new music innovators and virtuosic improvisers. He has performed and recorded with Fred Frith, Meredith Monk, Nels Cline, and They Might Be Giants; albums include THAT OVERT DESIRE OF OBJECT with Joelle Leandre, and ALL AT ONCE with FPR (Frank Gratkowski, Jon Raskin, Phillip Greenlief). Recent residencies have included Headlands Center for the Arts and from 2012 to 2014 he was the curator at Berkeley Arts, a home for progressive music. He is the recipient of a San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie Award.
“The Bay Area’s do-it-yourself ethos has produced a bevy of dazzlingly creative musicians, but few have put the philosophy to work as effectively as Phillip Greenlief.” – Andrew Gilbert, San Francisco Chronicle (www.evandermusic.com)
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COMPLETE BIO:
phillip greenlief (b. 1959, los angeles)
“Phillip Greenlief is a reedman versatile enough to achieve anything except peace in Palestine” – Greg Burke, LA WEEKLY
Saxophonist and composer Phillip Greenlief is the founder of Evander Music; an independent record label presenting original composition, improvised music and jazz. Since 1986, his recordings and performances have received critical acclaim in Down Beat, All About Jazz, Jazz Times, Cadence, Modern Saxophone, InfraTunes (France), Altrisuoni (Italy), Wire (London), Colossus (Finland), St. Petersburg Times (Russia), Cuademos de Jazz (Spain), New Jazz Improv (Portugal), Los Angeles Times, etc. His duo recordings of improvised music with bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Scott Amendola received 5 stars in the Music Hound Jazz Essential Album Guide. Recordings with the Lost Trio and his compositions on Russian Notebooks (w/PG & Covered Pages) were listed on the Critics’ Top 10 Recording List of 2000 & 2001 (SF Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, East Bay Express, and Downtown Music Guide (NYC). MONKWORK, the most recent release by The Lost Trio, was featured on NPR’s Top 10 jazz recordings of 2015. He is a recipient of the San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie Award and was recently nominated for a 2013 artist residency at the Marin Headlands Center for the Arts.
Greenlief began playing guitar and trumpet in elementary school and explored various instruments before discovering the saxophone in the mid-1970’s. His ever-evolving relationship with the instrument continues to unfold with an expansive sound vocabulary, extreme dynamic range, a deep regard for melody and form, and a rollicking humor and wit that echoes the Native American Coyote tales. As a free improviser, he has performed internationally and appears on over 20 recordings on assorted labels (Relative Pitch, Creative Sources, Eminem, Evander Music). As a composer, he has created over 400 works for practically every conceivable ensemble, including numerous pieces for solo saxophone, jazz ensembles, chamber groups, electro-acoustic improvisers, film soundtracks, live theater, dance companies, works for large ensemble and orchestra with choir. He is composer in residence with Rough and Tumble and teaches music at San Francisco Waldorf High School and the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts. As an organizer, he has produced concerts for local musicians and internationally touring artists under the auspices of Evander Music Presents since 1997.
In addition to solo performance, Greenlief is active in duo with saxophonist David Boyce, writer Claudia La Rocco, guitar genius Fred Frith, virtuoso French bassist Joelle Leandre, electronic music wizard Thomas Dimuzio, and Choreographer Michelle Ellsworth. He works in an electro-acoustic trio with John Bischoff and Karen Stackpole, a New York-based improvising unit with bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Andrew Drury, FPR with fellow saxophonists Frank Gratkowski and Jon Raskin; the 2 + 2 Project with Jon Raskin and an ever-revolving pair of like instruments; the rock/thrash/metal extravaganza PG13, with John Shiurba and Thomas Scandura; the large ensemble Orchestra Nostalgico, specializing in film music of Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, Bernard Herman and others; and OrcheSperry, a large ensemble dedicated to performing works by PG and other local SF Bay Area composers. Greenlief is a mainstay in the bay area improvised music scene, working frequently with a host of local and international ad hoc ensembles. Along with bassist Dan Seamans and drummer Tom Hassett he is a member of The Lost Trio, now celebrating 22 years of redefining the term jazz standard.
Greenlief has performed internationally in a variety of settings since 1982. In addition to club dates and concert tours across North America and Europe, he has performed at the 1st Annual John Coltrane Festival in Los Angeles, Seattle Improvised Music Festival; Freiburg Zelt Muzik Festival in Germany; Big Sur Sound Shift; Olympia Experimental Music Festival; Du Maurier Jazz Festival; the WIM in Zurich; the Ulrichsburg Festival and the Konfrontation Festival in Nickelsdorf, Austria; the Isole Che Parlano Festival in Sardinia, the 2003 Biennale in Venice Italy; and the International Festival of Arts in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 1998 he lived in St. Petersburg (Russia) where in addition to playing solo he performed and recorded with several jazz groups, singer-songwriter Yelena Kolokolnikova, and the Russian folk ensemble Dubinushka.
Phillip Greenlief has performed or recorded with Bruce Ackley, Ashley Adams, Steve Adams, Susan Alcorn, Lee Alexander, Liz Allbee, Scott Amendola, Ara Anderson, Paolo Angeli, Jen Baker, Barnacled, Bonnie Barnett, Claire Elizabeth Barratt, Max Bennett, Will Bernard, Emily Bezar, Tom Bickley, Big Lou’s Polka Casserole, John Bischoff, Joe Bjornson, Myles Boisen, David Boyce, Anthony Braxton Creative Music Orchestra, Kenny Brooks, Broun Fellinis, Chris Brown, Sheldon Brown, Kyle Bruckmann, Jerome Breyerton, Hermann Buhler, Dennis Burke, Gust Burns, bush assassin, Taylor Ho Bynum, Cactus Truck, JP Carter, Eugene Chadbourne, Bill Clarke, Alex Cline, Nels Cline, Clubfoot Orchestra, George Coates Theater Works, Keller Coker, India Cooke, James Cornish, Keith Compton, George Cremaschi, Crushing Spiral Ensemble, Francesco Cusa, Beth Custer, Matt Davignon, Evelyn Davis, Richard Davis, Les DeMerle, Stuart Dempster, Robert Dick, Dieb13, Frank Difficult, Jorrit Dijkstra, Thomas Dimuzio, Tom Djll, Sasha Dobson, Smith Dobson III, Michel Doneda, Bill Douglass, Mark Dresser, Andrew Drury, Trevor Dunn, Tim DuRoche, Dominic DuVal, Harris Eisenstadt’s Ahimsa Orchestra, Lisle Ellis, Alessandra Eramo, Dina Emerson, Marco Eneidi’s American Jungle Orchestra, Korhan Erel, Katie Faulkner, James Fei, Ken Filiano, Karen Fox, Dirk Freymuth, Erik Friedlander, Fred Frith, Wolfgang Fuchs, Philip Gelb, Hannes Giger, Ben Goldberg, Vinny Golia, Lance Grabmiller, Georg Graeve, Frank Gratkowski, Michael Griener, Henry Grimes, Nora Hajos, Mary Halvorson, Paul Hartsaw, Tootie Heath, Ron Heglin, Mark Helias, Shoko Hikage, Tyrone Hill’s Deep Space Posse (featuring Marshall Allen), Devin Ray Hoff, Motoko Honda, Nathan Hubbard, Carl Ludwig Hubsch, Charlie Hunter, Matt Ingalls, Aurora Josephson, Henry Kaiser, Achim Kaufmann, Elliot Humberto Kavee, Kaleidoscopic Sextet, David Kendall, Mike Khoury, Carla Kihlstedt, Kyoko Kitamura, Steve Kirk Pop, Benjamin Kreith, Oliver Lake, Adam Lane, Claudia La Rocco, Joelle Leandre, Adam Levy, Steuart Liebig, Steve Lockwood Ensemble, Cheryl Leonard, The Lost Trio, Maya Magdas, Toshi Makihara, Tony Malaby, Michael Manring, Bob Marsh, Eddie Marshall, Andrea Martignoni, Miya Masaoka, Thollem McDonas, Dave McNab, Sean Meehan, Ava Mendoza, Lisa Mezzacappa, Mills College Contemporary Performance Ensemble, Roberto Miranda, Billy Mintz, Ed Mock, Hafez Modirzadeh, Meredith Monk, Eddie Moore, Gregg Moore, Michael Moore, Tony Moreno, Joe Morris, Manuel Mota, Jesse Yusef Murphy, Simon Nabotov, Tatsuya Nakitani, Maggie Nichols, Kanoko Nishi, Oakland Active Orchestra, Oakland Bandemonium, John O’Keefe, Pauline Oliveros’ Sounding the Margins Orchestra, OrcheSperry, Orchestra Nostalgico, Matthew Ostrowski, Tom Osuna, William Parker, Andrea Parkins, Zeena Parkins, Dan Peck, Bruno Pelletier-Bacquaert, Tim Perkis, Barre Phillips, Noah Phillips, Ricardo Pittau, Dan Plonsey, Alexander Popov, Garth Powell, Bhob Rainey, Tom Rainey, Sly Randolf, Jon Raskin, Dana Reason, Alec Redfearn & the Eyesores, Amy Reed, Ted Reichman, Gino Robair, Donald Robinson, Ernesto Rodriguez, Scott Rosenberg, Ken Rosser, David Rothbaum, Rough & Tumble, ROVA Saxophone Quartet, Ray Russell, Angelica Sanchez, Richard Saunders, Davia Schendel, Ignaz Schick, Sue Schlotte, Sara Schoenbeck, Amanda Schoofs, John Schott, Monica Scott, Jonathan Segal, sfSound Group, Aram Shelton, John Shiurba, Damon Short, shudder, Todd Sickafoose, Fausto Sirakowski, Waddada Leo Smith, Ches Smith, Damon Smith, Jimmy Smith, Glenn Spearman, Spirit, Karen Stackpole, Moe! Staiano, GE Stinson, Carl Stone, Joe Strummer, Tom Swafford, Agnes Szelag, Horace Tapscott, Natsuki Tamura, Tango #9, Carl Testa, Sonship Theus, Eric Thielmans, They Might Be Giants, Iluyemi Thomas, Suzanne Thorpe, Lauren Tietz, Tiger Lillies, Astrid Thiersch, Tri-Axium West Orchestra (performing music of Anthony Braxton), Trio Putanesca, Bertram Turetsky, Michael Vatcher, Biggi Vinkeloe, Nadezhda Voskaboynik, Michael Vlatkovich, Andrew Voigt, Weasel Walter, Jane Wang, Trevor Ware, Christian Weber, Marty Wehner, Ellen Weller, Rich West, Tom White, Andreas Willers, Ben Willis, Wobbly, Erling Wold, Kenny Wollesen, Theresa Wong, Nate Wooley, Katrina Wreede, Jack Wright, “Senator” Eugene Wright, William Wynant, Ottomo Yoshihide, and Pamela Z.
PRESSPRAISE:
Saxophonist Phillip Greenlief has long been one of the most aggressively active but subtle-of-profile musicians in the Bay Area’s endlessly burgeoning jazz scene. His literate, deconstructionist playing has graced the music of everyone from Anthony Braxton to They Might Be Giants, and his own projects have ranged from theater and dance scores to solo saxophone tours of Russia. For the last few years Greenlief and his Evander Music label have been at the forefront of defining a new generation of jazz musicians, artists who have truly and fully absorbed the full breadth of the last few decades of experimental and popular genres and are using all of that knowledge to invent the future of the music”.
-SAM MICKENS, Portland Messenger
“From standpoints of imagination, rhythm and technique (including circular breathing), Bay Arean Phillip Greenlief is one of the most astonishing saxists I’ve ever seen/heard.” – Metal Jazz
“A galvanizing force on the Bay Area music scene for almost two decades, (Phillip Greenlief) has been a tireless organizer and grassroots networker with a knack for bringing musicians together in a constantly shifting array of settings, from solo recitals and one-off free improv sessions to ongoing concert series, international collaborations, and long-running ensembles that have honed singular sounds. A thoughtful and passionate improviser perfectly at home in unstructured musical settings, he’s also a prolific composer.” – East Bay Express
“…the under-rated West Coast Saxophonist” – Art Lange, Epulse!
“A local bay area treasure…” – Aquarius Music, SF
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SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY:
Trio Putanesca: Who Ordered the Fish? – w/PG, tenor saxophone; Adam Levy, guitar & Dan Seamans, bass – Evander Music 001
collect my thoughts – duo w/drummer Scott Amendola – Nine Winds Records (NWCD 0185)
Phillip Greenlief Trevor Dunn – duo with bassist Trevor Dunn – Em 002
Ashley Adams Trio: Flowers for Mrs. Dalloway – w/Adams & Michel Dumonceau – Em 003
Trio Putanesca: Live at Yoshi’s – Em 005
Remembrance of Songs Past – Lost Trio, w/Dan Seamans, bass; Tom Hassett, drums – Em 006
Russian Notebooks – PG & Covered Pages – w/ Nels Cline, Vinny Golia, & GE Stinson – Em 007
American Jungle Orchestra – w/ Marco Eneidi, Leo Smith, B. Turetsky, etc. – Botticelli 1012/13
Live at Avalon & The Graves – w/Lost Trio, with special guest, Adam Levy – Em 014
stalking andrei – phillip greenlief solo – Em 024
The Lost Trio – Boxcar Samovar, w/ Phillip Greenlief, Dan Seamans & Tom Hassett – Em 016
Harris Eisenstadt – Ahimsa Orchestra – Nine Winds – NWCD 0237
Seared Circuit Incident – phillip greenlief solo – Em 033
That Overt Desire of Object – duo w/bassist Joelle Leandre – Relative Pitch Records
The Lost Trio – Mysterious Toboggan – Em 054
lines combined – phillip greenlief solo – Em 056
Scott Pinkmountain and the Golden Bolts of Tone – The Full Sun
Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet – Epigraph Records (vinyl only)
FPR – All At Once – with saxophonists Frank Gratkowsi & Jon Raskin – Relative Pitch Records
Orchestra Nostalgico – Plays the Music of Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, Bernard Hermann and more
The Lost Trio – KNOWMONK – Evander Music – (NPR’s Top 10 jazz albums of 2015)
Jorrit Dijkstra – Music for Winds and Electronics – driff records
Henry Kaiser and Ray Russell – The Celestial Squid – Cuneiform Records
Phillip Greenlief, Ernesto Rodrigues, Tom Swafford – Siderejus Nuncius – Creative Sources (Portugal)
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INDEX OF COMPOSITIONS:
For Solo Saxophone:
All Those Trees (1978)
Song for B (1978)
Varushka (1979)
Waul Peeler (1981)
Where’s Harold? (1982)
Kathy’s Lampshades (1983)
Painted Lightly (1992)
St Louis (1995) – dedicated to William S Burroughs
Letter to James Joyce (1996)
Cries or Whispers for Harriet Anderson (2002)
Stalking Andrei (2003)
Empty Room (2005)
The Fourth World (2006)
Whispers (2007)
Seven Graphic Scores (dedicated to Eva Hesse) (2007)
No Stolen Sisters (2015)
Swept and Liquid Along the Pale Roads (Concert Piece) for Thomas Pynchon (2016)
Saxophone Etudes
Four Etudes (2009)
06/22/2011
10/01/2011
10/02/2011
10/17/2011 (alt. version for clarinet)
10/19/2011
10/21/2011
11/20/2011
6/09/2012
10/15/2012
11/09/2012
Etude 15 (8/2013)
12/07/2013
12/08/13
12/26/13
1/2/14
1/18/14
Etude 21 (12/2015)
Etude 22
TIMBRAL STUDIES
Landscape 1
Sicilian Girl Series Etudes (etudes in harmonic minor)
#1 – G# minor
#2 – D minor
#3 – C minor
#4 – G minor
#4b – G minor (II)
#5 – F# minor
#6 – A minor
#7 – F minor
#8 – E minor
#9 – Bb minor
61 Low-end exercises for saxophone (2012)
55 Palm-key exercises for saxophone (2016)
For Theater:
Music for Macbett, by Eugene Ionesco (1994) – with Rough and Tumble
Music for The Trial, by Franz Kafka (1995) – in development with Rough and Tumble
Music for Voltaire’s Candide (2008) – with Rough and Tumble
Music for Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros” (2008)
Music for “The History of Human Stupidity” (2010) – with Rough and Tumble
For Film:
Music for “Dream with the Fishes”, a film by Finn Taylor (1998) – Sony Pictures
Music for “Tango” (1999)
Music for “Experiment” a film by Mike Kuchar (for shudder) 2011
For Dance
Music for Nina Galin Dance Theater (1998)
Music for Cries and Whispers for Harriet Anderson – duo with Katie Faulkner (2000)
sidelines – in duo with Claire Elizabeth Barratt (2008)
Music for Michelle Ellsworth’s CHOREOGRAPHY GENERATOR (2015)
Video
CONCRETE BLONDE – video score for electro-acoustic sextet (shudder plus aurora josephson – voice, tim perkis – electronics, john shiurba – guitar)
Literary “Adaptations”:
Love Songs to the Episodes of James Joyce’s Ulysses (1989 – 1994)
Flowers for Mrs. Dalloway (1995)
Music for The Wasteland (1996)
Music for Rilke’s Duino Elegies (1997 – 1999)
For Saxophone Duo (1 + 1)
Stranglehold for John Cassavettes (2009)
Children in the Fields – for saxophone duo (2014)
Leap Frog for Gena Rowlands (2016)
For Saxophone Trio (FPR)
Butterfly I (2009)
PYNCHON PIECES (2013)
The Yashmeen Wiggle
Traverse the Webs
So Long, Cyprian
For Saxophone Quartet:
Gina’s Garden (1978) (saxophone duo)
The Wake (1987)
Quartet I (1988)
Quartet II (1989)
The Empty Room for Angela Davis (for saxophone trio) (2005)
By the Nose (2007) dedicated to Thomas Pynchon
Arrangement: Silence (Charlie Haden)
Arrantement: Ida Lupino (Carla Bley)
Arrangement: Hungarian Dances (Bartok)
Arrangement: 6 Fugues from Well Tempered Clavier, by JS Bach
Arrangement: Pannonica (Thelonious Monk)
Arrangement: That Song About the Girl from the Ural Mountains (PG)
Arrangement: Crepescule with Nellie (Thelonious Monk)
For Jazz Ensemble:
Entre Amis (1981)
Carrelsel (1981)
Initiation Dance (1981)
26 MLG (1982)
Those Golden Ornate Leaves (1982)
Nancy’s Crayolas (1982)
Lebanon for Lovers (1982)
Verve (for Mike McHam) (1983)
Sun on Bijou (1983)
Feat (1983)
Charleston Awnings (1990)
Miles from Wichita (1990)
The Open Letter (1990)
Beckett, Black and Blue (1991)
With Frau Grubach (1994)
In Fraulein Burstner’s Room (1994)
Tango for Joan Didion (1995)
Angles (for Lutoslawski)
Pavement (1995)
A River in Your Shoes (for Joan Didion) (1995)
Beauty is a Rare Ticket That Exploded (2001)
(concerto for sextet in three movements)
Requiem for a Young Girl (for Adrienne Kelley) (2002)
(commissioned by Western Oregon University)
Cruddy (for Lynda Berry) (2002)
Teeter Totter (2002)
That Song About the Girl from the Ural Mountains (2002)
Zeemoy (for Yelena Kolokolnikova) (2002)
Twistin’ with Susan (2008)
Happiness (for David Boyce)(2008)
Zombie Fresh (2010)
Five – for John Shiurba & Val Esway (2011)
You Are All the Things
Cowgirl – for Lucinda Williams
Eclipse – for Jean-Pierre Melville
Spiders – for David Cronenberg
Egalite – for Kathy Blackburn
Valley of the Dolls
Pancake Circus (2012)
Nineteen Seventy Seven – for Claudia La Rocco (2013)
The Graceful Claud (2014)
Cabriole Second Avenue
Claudia on Grizzly Peak
Lester Leaps Out (2015)
Coruscant
Candyland (2016)
Bluesing
Portraits of Extraordinary Children – for trio (2000)
Portrait of Esma Saeed
Portrait of Arliss Daniels
Portrait of Saushe Young
Portrait of Michael Williams
Portrait of Andrew Kelley
(commissioned by Oakland Cultural Arts Fund)
For Brassiosaurus (brass trio):
The Empty Room (2004) – dedicated to Angela Davis
(commissioned by Brassiosaurus)
Map Series Compositions – solo – (2006 – 2014)
#1 Boulogne for Kristen Miltner (electronics)
#2 St. Denis for Shayna Dunkelman (percussion)
#3 Asnieres for Mary Halvorson (guitar)
#4 New York City I for Jon Raskin (saxophone)
#5 New York City II for Aurora Josephson (voice)
#6 Tokyo for Philip Gelb (shakuhachi)
#7 Florence for Liz Allbee (trumpet)
#8 Antarctica for Phillip Greenlief (clarinet)
#9 Chicago for alto saxophone & dancer (for Roscoe Mitchell)
#10 Maine for Bb Clarinet (dedicated to Claudia LaRocco)
#11 United States for solo tenor saxophone
Map Series Compositions – ensemble – (2007 – 2015)
#1: Paris for 2 + 2 (dedicated to Margaret Louise Greenlief)
#2: Tokyo for duo b (dedicated to Setsuko Hara)
#3: Roma for Citta di Vitti (dedicated to Monica Vitti)
#4: Florence for FPR Trio (dedicated to Dante Alligheri)
#5: Oakland for Any Ensemble (dedicated to Darren & Sarah @21 Grand)
#6: London for shudder (dedicated to Francis Bacon)
#7: Berlin for 2+2 (dedicated to Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
#8: San Francisco for ROVA Saxophone Quartet (dedicated to Lenny Bruce)
#9: QUARTET 2013 South Central Soviet Union, China & Mongolia, Central & Southern Argentina, Eastern Brazil – poetry by Claudia LaRocco
#10: Muir Woods for 2+2 with poets (Claudia LaRocco and Elizabeth Robinson) dedicated to Agnes Varda
Graphic Scores
‘Twas – for any ensemble (or solo) – dedicated to Ella Sevaried – (2009)
BARBEDWIRE – 37 graphic scores for three musicians (2015)
INDEX – for any instrument(s) or performer(s) (2016)
TRIPLICATE – three time-based graphic scores for solo, duo or trio
BARBEDWIRE TOO – 18 graphic scores for two musicians (2016)
Clarinet Duos:
3 Sketches for Brothers K (1996)
Sarah’s Call (2001)
Edna’s Crossing (2001)
Studies I – V (2002)
Chromatic Study (2003)
High Wire Act (2006)
Butterfly (2009)
Music for Citta della Vitti (2006 – 2009):
38 Works for Trio (saxophone, bass, drums) inspired by films of Michelangelo Antonioni, featuring Monica Vitti
Music for PG13 (2009)
The Totally Unbelieable but Absolutely True Adventures of George Cleaver the Cat
3 suites for electric trio (amplified alto saxophone, electric guitar, drums)
For Covered Pages (1998 – 2000):
Portrait of Anna Ahkmatova
34 Plechanova Ulitza, kb 7
Wherewithal (for Dmitri Shostakovich)
Cathedrals of Novgorod
Little Vacationing in Chechnaya
Folk Songs I – V
For Large Ensemble:
The Signal Meditation (for Myles Boisen) (2005)
The Empty Room II (2005)
Compound I for Matthew Sperry (2005)
Compound II for Angela Davis (2006, revised 2009)
02091927 (for Margaret Greenlief) (2007)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Accordion (for Marjane Satrapi) (2008)
In Between (commissioned by Oakland School for the Arts) June 2008
Bellbottom (2009)
Fantasy for Percussion and Orchestra (2009)
Monument for Eva Hesse (Fantasy for Electronics and Orchestra) (2009)
M (for Margaret Greenlief) 2009
Lynched! (for David Lynch) 2009 (revised 2010)
Sonnets for Orpheus (setting of part 1, #3) for orchestra and choir (2010)
The Emily Project – setting of 9 poems by Emily Dickinson for Orchestra and Choir (2012)
Three Trains for Orchestra: I: the morning train II: the afternoon train III: the evening train (2015)
Miscellaneous:
Loss (2000) (version 1 for clarinet duo; version 2 for wind trio of alphaville; version 3 for FPR Trio)
Cries and Whispers for Ingmar Bergman (for soprano saxophone and dancer *Katie Faulkner* (2002)
No Name (for Gyorgi Ligeti) (2006) – graphic score for any three instruments
Something Bad – for saxophone sextet (2006)
Cascando for Santyajit Rey – cello trio (2007)
8 Neo Baroque Duos (for any treble clef instruments) (2010)
Fanfare, Procession, Courante, Menuet 1 & 2, March, Sarabande, Gigue
gracefully – for solo piano (2011)
sixty seconds – 60 1-minute impromptus for any instrument (2012)
Arrangement: 44 Violin Duos (Bela Bartok) – arr. for 2 Bb clarinets
(with Cory Wright) (2000 – 2007)
Arrangement: Pierrot Lunaire (Schoenberg) – for double trio (1996)
Arrangements for Saxophone & Instruments
Hindemith: Oboe Sonata (arr. for soprano saxophone) (1987)
Handel: Oboe Sonata (arr. for soprano saxophone) (1987)
JS Bach: 6 Canons from The Art of Fugue (for soprano saxophone and french horn) (1988)
Charles Ives: Second String Quartet (for saxophone quartet) (2003)
Arrangements for Orchestra Nostalgico (film music)
Suite of themes from NIGHTS OF CABIRIA – a film by Federico Fellini, music by Nino Rota
Title Theme from JULIET OF THE SPIRITS – a film by Federico Fellini, music by Nino Rota
Suite of themes from INTERVISTA, music by Giovanni Fusco
Title Theme from PSYCHO, music by Bernard Hermann
Title Theme from L’AVVENTURA, by Michelangelo Antonioni, music by Giovanni Fusco
Title Theme from L’Eclisse, by Michelangelo Antonioni
Title Theme from LA STRADA, by Nino Rota
Click for Large Photo
Work-In-Progress:
Fall 2016
September
performances:
panel discussion on graphic scores and premiere of SAN FRANCISCO FOR ROVA SAXOPHONE QUARTET @ SF Center for New Music 9/10
PG13 @Starry Plough 9/10
Vinny Golia Large Ensemble 70th birthday celebration @Finnish Hall 9/17
PG solo at 500 Capp Street (David Ireland House) – 9/22
PG solo at Bill Berkson Memorial 9/24
BARBEDWIRE at SF Friends of Chamber Music – Day of Music – @Herbst Hall Greenroom 9/25
duo with Tatsuya Nakitani @Luggage Store Gallery 9/29
recording sessions:
duo with Thomas Dimuzio at fantasy studios
duo with Tatsuya Nakitani at expressions center for new media
Greenlief & Vinny Golia, woodwinds; Nels Cline & GE Stinson, guitars
Biography:
Greenlief & Vinny Golia, woodwinds; Nels Cline & GE Stinson, guitars
Greenlief, saxophones, flute; Dunn, contrabass, prepared contrabass
Biography:
Phillip Greenlief, saxophones, flute
Trevor Dunn, contrabass, prepared contrabass
This duo was formed in 1994, after Trevor had joined the Odyssey Ensemble to play my extended work, “Love Song to the Episodes to James Joyce’s Ulysses”. We worked together as a duo regularly for nearly a year at Trevor’s place before we thought about gigging; we just let it develop slowly. We had a few gigs and did a recording session in my apartment with Jeff Cressman in the next room burning tape. We loved how it came out – so naturally really, so we just had to put it out.
Among the glowing reviews our record received, “untitled” was given the highest rating (equivalent to 5 stars) in the Music Hound 1998 Essential Album Guide.
“…features an exceptional series of improvised duets with bassist Dunn and Greenlief on tenor and soprano saxophones and various flutes. Tunes like “Itchy and Scratchy” and “Billie” demonstrate the pair’s range, from wild up-to-the-minute extraplations on a cartoon within a cartoon to a sensitive, evocative portait of Lady Day”. – Sam Prestiani, Music Hound Essential Album Guide
This disc, which we refused to entitle, was the second CD that Evander Music released, and I think it holds up. It captures the work we were doing in those days, where we would just jump in and start playing an improvisation with the force and intention you would use to dive into a piece of music that you had been playing for years.
Phillip Greenlief
Oakland, CA
March 2005
ARTIST’S BIOS:
TREVOR DUNN b.1968
After completing his BA in music at Humboldt State University in 1990 Trevor Dunn moved to San Francisco where he lived for eight years continuing self-provoked studies of Dumitrescu, Messiaen, Slam Stewart & Peter Thomas among others. During this period Trevor became over-active in the Bay Area music scene and was featured on over 30 recordings working with such noted artists as Graham Connah, Ben Goldberg, John Schott, Bob Ostertag, Miya Masaoka and living legends Hal Stein & Donald “Duck” Bailey.
MORE NAME DROPPING:
• In 1992 the rock group Mr. Bungle was commissioned by the Kronos quartet enabling Trevor to have his music performed at the Theatre Artaud in SF.
• At Mills College in Oakland Trevor performed with William Winant, James Tenney as well as with Terry Riley for the 30-year anniversary performance of “In C”.
• Trevor has also played with the ROVA sax quartet, Tom Waits, Wayne Horvitz, Gerry Hemmingway, Wadada Leo Smith, Henry Kaiser, John Tchicai, Mark Izu, Francis Wong, Eyvind Kang, Omar Sosa and the late Don Cherry.
Junk Genius (anarchist be-bop found on the Knitting Factory label as well as Songlines) is one West Coast group that Trevor toured with in Europe, however, he was also able to work with East Coast musicians, touring with John Zorn’s Masada & Cobra and recording with Marty Erhlich and Ellery Eskelin. In 1996 he spent a month in Turkey with saxophonist Ilhan Ersahin.
For the past 15+ years Trevor has been known primarily as co-founder/composer & bassist of the avant-rock band Mr. Bungle (with 3 disks on the Warner Bros. Label). More recently he has become involved with Fantomas, a so-called super-group led by singer/composer Mike Patton which features the godfather of grunge Buzz Osbourne of the Melvins & the god of death metal drumming Dave Lombardo, formerly of Slayer. Not for the faint of heart this group could be described as Webern through a Marshall stack. Fantomas has just finished their second disc for Ipecac Recordings.
With a background in punk/death metal, the performance and compositional studies of contemporary classical music, and the experience in playing blues, standards and free-jazz, Trevor is now leading his own group Trio-Convulsant. The debut recording Debutantes & Centipedes, released in 1998 by Buzz records, examines a twisted side of the 20th century psyche. Deeply informed by the literary work of French Surrealists and the films of Bunuel, it is music that is characterized by curious juxtapositions, shameless passion, l’amour fou, the inquiry of Breton, the brutality of Lautreamont. Though eclectic, this music is not cut-and-paste; it is an organic reconciliation of the melodic and the non-melodic, the distorted and the clean, the growl of wood and the bite of metal. This CD has been reviewed favorably in Bass Player, Jazziz and Jazz Times Magazine among others.
Trevor relocated to New York City in 2000. In the few months that he has been there he has already recorded twice with John Zorn and performed with Tony Malaby, Anthony Coleman, Joe McPhee and Susie Ibarra.
In February Jon Deak performed Trevor’s piece “depaysement” for solo bass, commissioned by the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center, at Merkin Hall Lincoln Center.
STUDIED BASS WITH: Red Callender, Mark Dresser, Stephen Tramontozzi & Donald Palma
www.trevordunn.n3.net
Work-In-Progress:
Trevor and I play still play together today, although the cross country distance keeps it to no more than a performance or two every few years. It’s always great when it happens, and last year (2004) we did a nice concert with Ches Smith that was recorded. I’ll be reviewing that recording to see if there’s material for a CD. On first listen (a few months ago) it seemed as though there was more than enough material, so keep your eyes open it may emerge in the not too distant future.
PG
Devin Hoff, bass; Ches Smith, drums.
Link to home page : http://www.chessmith.com
Biography:
GOOD FOR COWS
Good for Cows began as a duo in 1999 when Devin Hoff (string bass) and Ches
Smith (drums) would meet regularly to work on musical ideas from a rhythm
section’s perspective. At first the two focused on creative interpretations
of jazz compositions, particularly the music of Thelonious Monk, Ornette
Coleman, and Charles Mingus. It wasn’t long before their shared love of
independent rock (“punk”) bands such as Black Flag, Minutemen, and Minor
Threat began to inform the duo’s sound in their use of timbre, aggressive
energy, and personal voice. Equally important were devices such as
multidirectional rhythm, aural cues, and in-the-moment investigations of
distinctive sound worlds gleaned from study of contemporary
composer/performers Anthony Braxton, Vijay Iyer, Cecil Taylor, and Fred
Frith. Good for Cows have since written numerous compositions and
improvisations, searching for the strengths of the spare bass and drums
instrumentation. They released their self-titled debut CD in 2001 (Evander
Music), and a follow up, “Less Than or Equal to” on (former Deerhoof
guitarist) Rob Fisk’s Free Porcupine Society label in summer 2003. Good for
Cows continues to tour nationally and perform in their native San Francisco
Bay Area.
ARTIST’S BIOS: DEVIN HOFF
Devin Hoff performs internationally and records with the Nels Cline Singers.He leads his own group featuring Carla Kihlstedt and Marika Hughes. He
has recorded with Ben Goldberg, Xiu Xiu, Graham Connah, Will Bernard, and
Carla Bozulich. He has performed with Vijay Iyer, John Tchichai, Harvey
Wainapel, Ron Miles and Steven Bernstein.
CHES SMITH:
Ches Smith composes for Theory of Ruin, the Mitch Marcus Quintet, and the
Graham Connah group. He has toured nationally and internationally with Mr.
Bungle, Ben Goldberg, Carla Bozulich, and Mike Park. He has recorded with
the Abel-Steinberg-Winant Trio, Tom Waits, Xiu Xiu, Ben Goldberg, Secret
Chiefs 3, Will Bernard and Theory of Ruin. He has performed in concert
under the direction of John Zorn, Wadada Leo Smith, and Pauline Oliveros.
He also performs with Trevor Dunn, Annie Gosfield, Nels Cline, John Schott,
Hal Stein, Jim Campilongo, and the Rova Saxophone quartet.
Michael Gold, saxophone; Paul Mindrup, piano, Matt Montgomery, bass; Sean Nelson, drums
Biography:
Michael Gold, saxophone; Paul Mindrup, piano, Matt Montgomery, bass; Sean Nelson, drums
Gianni Gebbia, alto saxophone and flute; Matthew Goodheart, piano and prepared piano; Garth Powell, drums – percussion – musical saw
Biography:
Zen Widow
Gianni Gebbia – Saxophones / Flute
Matthew Goodheart – Piano
Garth Powell – Percussion
The members of Zen Widow have been playing together in various combinations for over ten years. In the spring of 2003 they formed a group, after an invitation to perform at the 2003 Nanjing Jazz Festival. The SARS epidemic, unfortunately, demolished the possibilities of going to China for the year, but they shouldered on, performing throughout the western United States, and recording their first CD Zen Widow for Evander Music.
“The Zen Widow Trio of Gianni Gebbia (saxophones), Matthew Goodheart (piano), and Garth Powell (percussion) is a marvelous construct. Blessed with real character and always just the next moment away from creating more delicious riddles. They marshal an incredible diversity of sounds, both real and implied, into tightly focused gems which are never less than fascinating and strangely perfect. Possessed of a natural fire and remarkable sense of intuition they are a testament to the virtues of deep listening and the practice of instant composition when in the able care of three master improvising musicians.
zen widow. all into one. no dichotomy. no division.
truly of the moment”.
Brad Winter
Cadence Magazine – PCMG 2003
ARTIST’S BIOS: GIANNI GEBBIA
Alto, C-Melody, Sopranino Saxophones – Flutes
Born in Palermo, Italy, where he still resides, Gebbia is perhaps best known for his circular-breathing technique developed through his studies of Sardinian folk music and the Sardinian bagpipe. An extremely versatile musician with a prominent international reputation, he frequently finds himself in a great variety of collaborations including traditional jazz players, free improvisers, DJ’s, Butoh dancers. In addition to touring extensively in Europe, North America, and Asia, he also has an extensive list of CDs to his credit.
A sampling of the international music festivals that have featured Gianni:
Festival Le Mans-France, Jazz e interferenze Schio, Link Bologna, Druga Godba Lubjana-Slovenia, Ring Ring Beograd 98, Butoh Festial London 96, Theater X Tokyo, Contemporary Sicily-The New School New York, The Red RoomBaltimore,TimeFlies-Vancouver-Canada, Brooklyn College N.Y. Beanbender’s Berkeley-California, Fimav 97 Victoriaville Quebéc- Canada, Les Inaccottoumés Paris- Menagerie de verre, International Jazz festival Saalfelden 1999, Controindicazioni 99 Rome, Icebreaker festival Wien 99. Japan tour March 2000, Usa West Coast April 2000 Portland, Munchen 2000, Noci fest. 2000, Womad in Palermo, Rive De Gier October 2000,Groningen Zomer Jazz festival, Butoh festival Palermo 2000, Curva Minore 2000 pa, Akut Mainz 2000, Rive De Gier 2001, Dansem Marseille 2001. Northsea Jazz Festival 2003. Le trois Jours Groningen. Jazz Nomades Paris.
MATTHEW GOODHEART
Piano – Prepared Piano – Percussion
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Goodheart explores a variety of forms and processes as solo performer, collaborative artist, and composer. He has toured extensively in North America and Europe, and was a featured artist at the 2003 International Conference/Festival of Spectral Music in Istanbul.
In addition, the last seven years have seen a great variety of projects from Goodheart. He’s performed at a variety of festivals, including Fire in the Valley, Garden of Memory Festival of New Music, Illuminations New Music & Arts Festival, and the Glenn Spearman Festival. He has toured the US and Canada, recorded several CDs, including projects with Wadada Leo Smith and Dominic Duval, all of which have received high critical praise, including critic’s picks among “the year’s 10 best” in Cadence, Coda, JazzIz, and JazzTimes magazines.
He has also continued performing contemporary piano works, including Maggi Payne’s Minutia, José Maceda’s Music for Four Winds and Two Pianos, Morton Feldman’s Atlantis and For Bunita Marcus, and Glenn Spearman’s Untitled Work for Solo Piano, a massive four movement piece written specifically for Goodheart.
One recent group, the Goodheart-Allen-Powell Trio, has toured the US, played several festivals including the Glenn Spearman Festival, Berkeley Arts Festival and the Olympia Experimental Music Festival, and released their first disc I Can Climb a Tree, I Can Tie a Knot, I Can Have a Conversation. Goodheart also teaches both privately and at a variety of institutions, including Mills College, the University of California at Berkeley, and the East Bay Center for Performing Arts.
“Sonorous. . .clusters of notes, from counterpoint to meticulous detail; strange, complex, enigmatic.” —Nuno Marins, Clube de Jazz, Portugal
GARTH POWELL
Drums – Percussion – Musical Saws
For a Percussionist/Composer, time, rhythm, and pulse are undeniable, non-negotiable components of the craft. Yet, the sonic domain remains for many, a peripheral concern. Timbre is not only of equal importance; it is an integral part of the harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic construct. All four exist in the parallel sub-division of frequencies and waves. This relationship demands understanding, discipline, and mastery. In Powell’s music, these elements are meticulously combined, creating a transcendent force enveloping the listener. Ultimately, we are drawn into the ecstatic, and the inexplicable.
He has performed throughout North America and Europe, and was featured at the Copenhagen Jazz festival, Curva Minore Festival, San Francisco Alternative Music Festival, Olympia Improvised Music festival among others, and is currently a Rastascan, Roadcone, Leo, Evander, and 9 Winds recording artist.
“Powell plays in a deceptively serene manner, establishing an illusion of tranquility that is often shattered by his breakaway tactics. He is a mercurial performer who turns the direction of the performance around with his dynamic execution and just as easily reverts to pensive, pastoral expression. Segments filled with tenderness and compassion often follows his most robust playing.” Frank Rubolino – One Final Note – issue #9 Winter 2002
LA-based large ensemble led by composer/pianist Andrew Durkin
Link to home page : http://uglyrug.blogspot.com/2006/02/go-go-re-drawn.html
Biography:
Formed in the spring of 2000, the IJG is one of the few large (currently 15+ players) independent jazz ensembles on the scene today. It has been a persistent
force in Los Angeles for six years now, and during that time it has also performed throughout California (San Diego, Bakersfield, San Francisco, Berkeley,
Oakland, Truckee, and Petaluma), as well as in Nevada, Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware. It has been supported by the American Composers Forum, the NEA, and the McKnight Foundation, and been heard on NPR and more than a hundred radio stations around the world.
Michael Ryan of the Boston Herald has called IJG composer Andrew Durkin’s music “a compelling mix of genres, odd time signatures and tight improvisation,” while Brandt Reiter of the LA Weekly describes it as both “cerebral and swinging, ambitious and accessible, challengingly complex and unabashedly fun.” The group enjoys the support not only of jazz fans (who appreciate what Brian Morton at The Wire calls Durkin’s “machine-tooled modern jazz compositions of exquisite precision and strong aesthetic appeal”), but also of those who typically prefer other genres. As Tom Bowden of Educational Digest explains, “Durkin writes music that people who think they hate jazz would like.” Write-ups on the group have also appeared in The SF Weekly, The New York Times, The North Bay Bohemian, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and numerous other publications.
Drummer, vibraphonist, composer, bandleader
Biography:
Drummer/Vibraphonist/Saxophonist Smith Dobson V has been performing in the Bay Area for nearly twenty years. Originally from Santa Cruz, Ca., Dobson is a member of an important Jazz family. His father, the late Smith Dobson IV, was a world renown Pianist and director of the Jazz series at the Garden City in San Jose for over twenty years, where he accompanied artists’ like Art Pepper, Stan Getz, Bobby Hutcherson, Harold Land, Chet Baker, Red Norvo, Tal Farlow, and Lee Konitz, to name a few.
Also in the family, Grandfather Smith III is a Jazz Accordionist, Grandmother Norma, Mother Gail, and Sister Sasha are all Jazz Vocalists. The family often performed as a group at the Garden City, and other venues, as well as many local schools and workshops. As a child, Smith V had the opportunity to study with legendary Jazz Drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath, who said of his pupil, “He has the talent, determination and persistence as a musician, combined with the dedication necessary to succeed… improvisational skills totally advanced, excellent sensitivity, both solo and as an accompanist… my most talented student!”
Smith got his first shot on a major stage sitting in with his parents at the Monterey Jazz Festival at age 11, and at age 15, led his own band at the MJF, under the first year of director Tim Jackson, who said, “Not only does Smith have the musical expertise to play the MJF, he has the leadership qualities to make it work. His arrangements are outstanding and uniquely his own.”
Since then, Dobson has been performing with his various groups at many Bay Area venues, such as the San Jose and San Francisco Jazz Festivals, and clubs like The Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Yoshis, Kimballs, Pearls, Bacar, Brunos’, The Make-Out Room, Great American Music Hall, Bottom Of The Hill, Amnesia, The Jazz School, The Stanford Jazz Workshop, and The Intersection of the Arts.
Smith has had the honor of working with some of the great Jazz artists, locally and internationally, such as Bobby Hutcherson, Red Rodney, John Handy, Sheila Jordan, Red Holloway, Pete and Conte Condoli, Phillip Harper, Hal Stein, Noel Jewekes, Ben Goldberg, Graham Connahs’ Sour Note Seven, Darren Johnstone, Will Bernard, and Kenny Brooks. In 2000, Smith was asked by percussionist William Wynant to join him and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players to perform works by composers Charles Mingus and Anthony Davis, (who performed with the group on his own compositions), for a concert at the Yerba Buena Theater. Smith was also a member of the Ska/Punk/Rock band the Square Roots in the mid 90s’.
Dobsons’ discography includes:
Gail Dobson, “Parallel Reflections”, LifeforceJazz Records – 2003
Gail Dobson, “Now And Then”, Open Path Music – 1998
Graham Connahs’ Sour Note Seven, “Because Of Wayne”, Evander Music – 2001
Jettison Slinky, “Dank Side Of The Morn”, Evander Music – 1998
Scott Larsons’ Lucky Seven, “Live At The Make-Out Room”, Bottom Feeder Records – 1998
Sasha Dobson, “Sasha Dobson”, Bottom Feeder Records – 1998
Square Roots, “Snacks”, Pocket Lint Records. 1994
Cory Combs Trio
Biography:
Cory Combs is a bassist, composer and teacher living in San Francisco, California. He has played with many internationally known artists, including Michael Manring, John Hollenbeck, Tony Malaby, Matt Wilson, Andy Narell, Michael Spiro, Joe Henderson, Clark Terry, Benny Golson, John Wubbenhorst, Jim McNeeley, Kenny Werner, Nancy Wilson, Steve Houghton, Joey Baron, Hank Roberts and many others. He can be heard on the CD Postcards from California, his first release as a solo artist.
Along with his performances as a bassist, Combs is an active composer, writing new music for his own ensembles, and by commission. His new trio CD, Valencia, features John Hollenbeck on drums and Dan Willis on woodwinds. With twelve new compositions and five group improvisations, the CD covers a wide range of styles and sounds. The trio was recently featured as the headliners of the Wichita Jazz Festival in Wichita, Kansas.
Combs earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Eastman School of Music. He is currently the music director at Waldorf High School in San Francisco where he focuses on bringing new and original music for the ensembles. In also teaches music technology and music history classes at the Nueva School, in Hillsborough, CA. In the summers Combs directs the jazz program at the American Festival of the Arts in Houston, Texas and is an active guest artist and clinician at universities and high schools.
Work-In-Progress:
UPCOMING RELEASE: Em 029
Valencia
Cory Combs Trio
With John Hollenbeck and Dan Willis
Valencia features twelve new compositions by San Francisco bassist and composer Cory Combs and five improvisations by the trio.
The composed music was written with the other members of the trio in mind. John Hollenbeck’s drumming is world renowned, having performed with a wide variety of artists, from Fred Hersch to Kenny Wheeler. His playing is always inspired and original, full of taste and spontaneity, drawing from a rich background of styles and sounds. His own compositions and ensembles lead the cutting edge of new jazz.
Dan Willis is a bandleader, saxophonist and woodwind doubler in the New York City area. He has played with Michael Brecker’s Quindectet, John Abercrombie, Ben Monder along with many others. He has a forceful, melodic and sensitive approach to any instrument he plays. Capable of a wide range of sounds and styles, his playing always serves the music in surprising and inspiring ways.
Each new composition on the CD covers different musical territories. Two compositions emulate the classic Brazilian bossa nova and choro styles, yet with a modern jazz bent. The choro features Bay Area mandolin legend Mike Marshall as a guest artist.
At other times the CD hints at the masters that inspired Combs, from Thelonious Monk and Ornette Coleman, to Keith Jarrett and Astor Piazzolla.
Along with its conscious tributes to the greats, Combs also wrote music that is less easily relegated to one style. There are hints of tango, carnival music, avant-garde walls of noise, film-music textures and ragtime. There is even a short interlude where Combs accompanies his five-year-old niece as she talks about a dream.
Through this wide range one gets the larger picture to include mood, ambience and emotion. Through harmony, melody and improvisation Combs hoped to create a picture of a surreal inner world: dark, personal and slightly skewered, yet accessible and full of interesting twists and turns.
