Jhababa + Eric Lanzillotta

Presented by Nonsequitur. Jhababa (James R. Cobb) is a former rock drummer who comes from a lineage of Texas musicians that include Bloodrock, Lost Gonzo Band, 13th Floor Elevators, Don Henley, and Armadillo World HQ. These days he is a composer of ambient art songs, with an affinity for simple motifs extended through various methods of spectral synthesis, silence, improvisation, percussion, field recordings, murmuring and poetics.

Eric Lanzillotta has been involved in sound in various aspects over the last two decades. He has collaborated with Ralf Wehowsky, Andrew Chalk, John Hudak, Hands To, Bernhard Gunter, Aube, and others. For several years now he has been performing live with the Moog analog synthesizer.

Wally Shoup Trio: From a Whisper to a Scream

Presented by The City of Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs. Forging an incendiary blend of jazz noir, ecstatic free jazz, and free improvisation, the Wally Shoup Trio (Shoup, alto sax; Gust Burns, piano; Bob Rees, vibes & drums) pushes improvisational music to new heights. Intense and fleet, these three virtuosi take traditional music elements – rhythm, melody and harmony – and mold them into shape-shifting ingots of sound. Unrestricted by genre or style, their music moves effortlessly through a wide range of colors, emotions, and forms.

Jesse Canterbury & William O. Smith

Seattle clarinet explorers William O. Smith and Jesse Canterbury in celebrate the release of collage/décollage, their new recording on the Present Sounds label. You'll hear music from the disc, plus improvising with special guests Stuart Dempster (trombone), Tom Baker (guitar), and Francois Houle (clarinet). Featuring compositions by Smith, Tom Baker, Francois Houle, and Eric Dolphy, this disc promises to intrigue and challenge listeners of jazz, classical, and avant-garde music.

Sunship

Sunship joins former Stinkhorn members Brian Heaney (guitar) and Michael Monhart (sax) with David Revelli (drums), from the Grassy Knoll, and from the San Francisco music scene, Andrew Luthringer (bass). Stuart Dempster (trombone, didjeridu, conch, etc.) joined in 2005 and fills out this swinging "intergalectric" ensemble. Sunship derives its sound from jazz innovators such as Sun Ra and John Coltrane and from new modernists James Blood Ulmer and Nels Cline. Stuart brings his eclectic background of modern classical and improvisation to the mix.

WCF Transport Series: Osborn & Sinibaldi

Presented by Washington Composers Forum. The Transport series of performances by international and local artists continues with clarinetist Sean Osborn, who will premiere Chaconne by Seattle composer Keith Eisenbrey, Clarinet Sonata by English composer Michael Finnissy, and Dante Dances (Danzi d'Inferno) by University of Texas composer Dan Welcher. Rhonda Kline will accompany on piano. Greg Sinibaldi will premiere works for saxophone and electronics, including Cracked Across the Brow by Kevin Patton, and 101-46 by York University composer Renée Walrafen. The evening includes recorded music chosen from a call for scores and accompanied by video created by Northwest filmmakers ForeignAmerican Pictures, as part of the Interval series.

Paul Rucker: Project 12 Finale

Presented by Nonsequitur. Wrapping up a year-long effort, Seattle composer, cellist/bassist, and visual artist Paul Rucker celebrates the completion of Project 12, in which he set out to create a year of monthly visual art exhibits. The evening features two sets of music: solo cello, and a quintet with Isaac Marshal (flute, mbira), Neil Gitkind (trombone), Bill Horist (guitar), and Erik Anderson (drums, percussion). Also on view will be his interactive video works Catalyst and Eleven Conversations, along with his latest video work, Busker.

Impressions of Romania

Pianist Oana Rusu Tomai, a native of Romania, presents music from her native country featuring chamber music by Enescu, Donceanu, Ciortea, Barberis, Basacopol and Soutzo. This is an evening exploring the rich character of unusual compositions from Moldavia and Transylvania. Other performers include violinist Adrianna Hulscher, soprano Natalie Lerch, and cellist Paige Stockley Lerner.

Katsura Yamauchi + Arrington de Dionyso

Presented by Nonsequitur. Katsura Yamauchi has been active in the free jazz scene in Japan for nearly three decades. Playing every member of the saxophone family, he is known for his intimate explorations of music in nature, playing while almost completely submerged in rivers. For many years a businessman for an important Japanese company, he chose to retire early with very little security to pursue music exclusively without any regard for compromise. A short interview can be found here. Old Time Relijun frontman Arrington de Dionyso returns to his love of free improvisation with the bass clarinet and multiphonic throat singing.

Butcher/Müller/van der Schyff Trio

Polestar & Earshot Jazz present English soprano and tenor saxophonist John Butcher, whose circular breathing, multiple trills, multiphonics, and other astonishing techniques create the impression of a multitude of voices and minds at work. Joining him are two great musicians from Vancouver, BC: German bassist Torsten Mueller has radically departed from the sometimes limiting traditional sound of, and approach to, the double bass with an array of extended techniques that continually push the music in new directions. Percussionist extraordinaire Dylan van der Schyff brings masterful chops and scintillating sensitivity to a wide range of musics, from small-group jazz to big band extravaganzas to free improvisation.

Subtext: Alison Knowles

Presented by Nonsequitur & Subtext Reading Series. Listen to an interview with Alison by Jen Graves of the Stranger.

Alison Knowles makes performances, books, poems, and visual artworks. Since the 1960s she has been a key participant in Fluxus, an international group of artists working in/across various disciplines. For her first appearance in Seattle, she will present North Water Song, originally composed as a tribute to John Cage on his 75th birthday and realized as a sound work commissioned by West German Radio. This performance will include three simultaneous realizations of the score, with spoken text by Knowles, movement by her daughter Jessica Higgins, and sound by Joshua Selman. The text is published in her book Spoken Text.

Shulamit Kleinerman & friends

presented by Jack Straw Productions.

Shulamit Kleinerman specializes in the music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance played on historical stringed instruments, specifically the vielle (medieval fiddle). She will be joined by joined by Michael Connolly (fiddle, harp, and pipes) and Ruthie Dornfeld (vielle). Upon graduating from UC Berkeley in 1999, Shula won a Hertz Fellowship to study historical violin technique in London with leading early-music violinists including Monica Huggett. She moved to Seattle in 2000 and has performed as a chamber musician in several concerts sponsored by the Early Music Guild at Town Hall and other venues. In her residency at Jack Straw she is recording a CD of English country dance music of the 17th century.