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Gerald Cleaver’s Black Host

Presented by NMC and KDHX

Saturday, April 25, 2015
concert 7:30 PM, doors 7:00PM		 The Stage at KDHX
3524 Washington Ave. 63103 (map)
  • Gerald Cleaver – Drums, Sound Design
  • Cooper-Moore – Piano, Electronics
  • Darius Jones – Saxophones
  • Pascal Niggenkemper – Upright Bass
  • Brandon Seabrook – Electric Guitar
 BlackHost
Black Host is a Brooklyn-based quintet led by in-demand drummer Gerald Cleaver. For close to 20 years Cleaver has lent his drum skills to many ongoing collaborations with experimental-jazz figureheads as Roscoe Mitchell, Craig Taborn, and William Parker. In his Black Host project,  Cleaver is joined by pianist Cooper-Moore, alto saxophonist Darius Jones, bassist Pascal Niggenkemper and guitarist Brandon Seabrook.  As Black Host, they bring forth original compositions that blend modern jazz, free music, psych, post-punk and electrified noise with painstaking detail and heady abandon. For references, one might find comparisons to  Albert Ayler (especially the groups with pianist Bobby Few and guitarist Henry Vestine), the early ‘70s music of Norwegians Jan Garbarek and Terje Rypdal, or even Sonic Youth. Their 2014 release on Northern Spy, Life in the Sugar Candle Mines, is the group’s first record – hopefully one among several – a reverb-drenched and incisive stew of rhapsodic piano, searing alto and fractured guitar over rhythms that are alternately chunky and airy, rendered with a tremendous live energy.
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On Fillmore (Glenn Kotche, Darin Gray)

Presented by New Music Circle and KDHX

Friday, April 3, 2015
(note date change)
Concert 7:30 PM
Doors 7:00 PM		 The Stage at KDHX – welcomed by KDHX
3524 Washington Ave. 63103 (map)
  • Glenn Kotche — percussion
  • Darin Gray — bass
Once dubbed “the rhythm section’s revenge” by Jim O’Rourke, On Fillmore is the multi-instrumental duo of bassist Darin Gray (St. Louis) and percussionist Glenn Kotche (Chicago). Kotche and Gray first came in contact with one another at recording sessions in 1999 during which the On Fillmore project was conceptualized. Over a decade later the band is still stretching the very definition of the term “rhythm section” by their use of upright bass, exotic percussion, vibraphone, various small instruments and the superimposition of field recordings.Kotche and Gray both have long and impressive musical résumés. Well known for his tenure with Wilco, Kotche is a respected composer whose 2006 solo album, Mobile, was released on Nonesuch. Darin Gray’s output of recordings began in the ’90s, when he was a member of various experimental rock bands. Since then, Gray has been consistently active as a world class performer and improviser, releasing solo recordings as well as numerous collaborative works with musicians Loren Mazzacane Connors, Akira Sakata, Chris Corsano (as Chikamorachi), among many others. The past two years have seen Gray active in tours with NPR’s Radiolab series and Jeff Tweedy.
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Matthew Shipp and Michael Bisio Duo

Presented by New Music Circle and KDHX

Saturday, March 28, 2015
Concert 7:30 PM
Doors 7:00 PM		 The Stage at KDHX – welcomed by KDHX
3524 Washington Ave. 63103 (map)
  • Matthew Shipp — piano
  • Michael Bisio — bass
In his unique and recognizable style, NYC pianist Matthew Shipp has recorded and performed vigorously from the late 1980s onward, creating music in which free jazz and modern classical intertwine. His approach to the piano reflects a concentrated blend of Thelonious Monk’s phrasing and the improvised explorations of Cecil Taylor.Shipp first became well known in the early 1990s as the pianist in the David S. Ware Quartet and Roscoe Mitchell’s Note Factory group. Soon he began leading his own dates, most often including Ware and bassist William Parker. Through his range of live and recorded performances and persistent individual development, Shipp has come to be regarded as a prolific and respected voice in avant-garde music and progressive jazz.

Michael Bisio has been the defacto bassist for the Matthew Shipp Trio since 2009. Renowned for the quality of his bass tone and the intensity of his very personal musical language, he has received continuous accolades from Downbeat, Jazz Times, and The New York Times.
Get tickets for Matthew Shipp and Michael Bisio here.
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Lotte Anker / Okkyung Lee (solo sets and collaborative duo)

Get tickets for Okkyung Lee and Lotte Anker

Saturday, February 21, 2015
Concert 7:30 PM
Doors 7:00 PM		 Joe’s Cafe
6014 Kingsbury Ave., 63122 (map)
  • Okkyung Lee — cello
  • Lotte Anker — saxophones
Okkyung Lee has been developing her own approach to cello performance for over a decade. Unbound by any specific genre or style, her visceral yet communicative sound draws from her background in extended instrumental techniques, Korean traditional musics and contemporary “noise” aesthetics. Born in Korea but based in New York City since 2000, she has released several albums on labels such as Tzadik, Ideologic Organ, and Ecstatic Peace. A list of her musical partnerships is long and diverse and include such maverick sound-experimentalists as Christian Marclay, Thurston Moore, Laurie Anderson, Ikue Mori, Jim O’Rourke and C. Spencer Yeh, as well as master instrumentalists like John Zorn, Chris Corsano, Leo Wadada Smith, Vijay Iyer and John Edwards. Okkyung’s forays include collaborations with visual artists and choreographers to develop multi-disciplinary performances, many of these ultimately presented at Dance Theater Workshop, Issue Project Room and The Kitchen.In an unforgettable 2011 performance in St. Louis, Danish saxophonist, Lotte Anker, left a lasting impression on all those who witnessed and an eager anticipation for a return visit. Informed by the rich improvised music scene of Copenhagen during the late ‘80’s, Anker has honed a dramatic sense of pacing and tone, juxtaposing brisk sounds against long stretches of extended melody, creating an effect that is both moody and responsive…. and occasionally sounding as if Evan Parker were to sit in with Sun Ship-era Coltrane. Anker has maintained her long-running engagement with the trio of Gerald Cleaver and Craig Taborn, as well as a trio with Ikue Mori and Sylvie Courvosier. Other regular collaborators include Fred Frith, Paal-Nilsen Love, and Fred Lonberg-Holm.
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An Appeal from New Music Circle

Holiday greetings to all New Music Circle’s friends and fellow music lovers. We bring an outstanding 2014 to a close and look forward to more excitement in the year to come.

We began this year by welcoming Joshua Abram’s Natural Information Society to a full house at Joe’s Café. This concert was followed by renowned flutist Claire Chase leading members of The International Contemporary Ensemble in a thrilling concert at The Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts. Our 55th season came to a resounding close at the annual NMC Showcase, featuring a variety of musical innovators working in genres ranging from improvisational jazz to electronic music. (For a full recap of our shows, click here.)

This season we continue to provide Saint Louis with fresh creative music. From guitarist Mary Halvorson’s trio at Joe’s Café to saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell and pianist Craig Taborn at The Stage at KDHX, New Music Circle persists as one of the most adventurous presenting organizations in the Midwest. At the same time, we are proving that we can attract a large and diverse audience.

No less important for us is our work in community outreach. Many of the artists we feature will also present one or more workshops.  These interactions with smaller groups provide an opportunity for people to meet and learn from the artists in a more intimate setting.

The top-notch concerts and workshops we provide are costly—far more money than we take in from ticket sales and modest agency support. We rely on the financial support of people who love creative music to make possible all that we offer.

To those of you who have responded to our mail solicitation we extend our heartfelt gratitude. To all others, please consider what New Music Circle means to you and your community, and support it as generously as you can. Donations of $100 or more are invaluable, but whatever you can afford will be truly appreciated and put to good and frugal use.

Simply click Donate or mail your check to:

New Music Circle
PO Box 9337
St. Louis, MO 63117

With sincere thanks,
Dave Day 
New Music Circle President

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