Past Events

Saturday, November 7, 2015, Concert 8:00 PM, Doors 7:00 PM
at The Pulitzer Arts Foundation, 3716 Washington Blvd, 63108
Charlemagne Palestine — piano, electronics, voice

And special church organ concert…

Charlemagne Palestine may not be a considered a household name in all circles, but his moniker is one you would be unlikely to forget. Now at the age of 70, Palestine has made a name for himself as a musician unlike any other, his signature style being comprised of long evolving drones and sustained notes, often involving installations of stuffed animals that envelope the performance space. He is frequently associated with minimalist composition, since he was a contemporary in the 1970s of composers such as Terry Riley and Steve Reich, yet he states “I never wanted to be an anything”, a proclamation which might explain his wildly eclectic oeuvre, extending into film and art installations (His works have shown at MOMA and the 2014 Whitney Biennial.). His instruments include piano, church organ, church bells and synthesizers (Early in his career he worked with Morton Subotnick.), and with these tools in hand, Palestine composes sounds that exhibit spectral effects when either pushed beyond their bounds, left alone, or both. Palestine’s “strumming” technique can be explained as repeating sounds, ultimately invoking sonorities into existence.

Now based in Brussels, he was born in Brooklyn to Eastern European immigrant Jewish parents and draws much of his inspiration from the traditional sacred musics he encountered as a youth. Palestine got his early start singing in synagogues, where he learned the art of delivering long pieces. Then as a teenager he attended a special arts school in Manhattan and soon thereafter grew to fame as a carillioner, or bell-ringer, at a church across the street from the Museum of Modern Art. It was there that his musical style began its alteration between what Palestine refers to as “cataclysms” and at other times “sonorities”. Examples of these approaches can be heard in his many recordings, often in collaboration with artists such as Tony Conrad, Pan Sonic, and Rhys Chatham.

TWO free artist talks / Q+A’s with Charlemagne Palestine. Both are FREE and open to the public.

Friday, November 6
10am – 11am
Kemp Auditorium (in Givens Hall). First floor. Room #116
(parking available on Skinker Blvd.)
Hosted and led by Heather Bennett (Sam Fox School Lecturer)

Friday, November 6
12pm – 1pm
Free and open to the public
Sverdrup Complex, 8300 Big Bend Boulevard, Room 123
(Street parking available on Big Bend or parking garage on Garden Ave.)
Hosted and led by Marie Heilich (curator, writer, and the Assistant Director of White Flag Projects)

Friday, October 2, 2015, concert 8:00 PM, doors 7:00 PM
Joe’s Cafe, 6014 Kingsbury Ave., 63122 (map)
Evan Parker — saxophones, Peter Evans — trumpet

From the late 1960s onward, Evan Parker has remained a crucial figure in the development of European free jazz and free improvisation and has pioneered or substantially expanded an array of extended techniques for wind instruments. Critic Ron Wynn describes Parker as “among Europe’s most innovative and intriguing saxophonists … his solo sax work isn’t for the squeamish.” In Evan Parker’s music, thought process and breath control are continuous, each being the instrument and measure of the other.

Though Parker has worked extensively in both large and small ensembles, he is perhaps best known for his solo soprano saxophone music, a singular body of work that in recent years has centered around his continuing exploration of techniques such as circular breathing and multi-phonics. Alone, these are mere technical devices, such that Parker’s use of them is, he says, less analytical than intuitive. He has likened his solo performances to entering a quasi trance-like state. The resulting affect is a hypnotic, uninterrupted flow of snaky, densely textured sound, and many listeners have found it hard to perceive that one man could create such intricate, complex music in real time.

Now at the age of 71, Evan Parker’s list of associations is prolific and includes collaborations with such vanguard improvisers as Anthony Braxton and Milford Graves, yet also with avant-rock names like Spiritualized and Scott Walker, and he continues to perform with emerging improvisers such as Okkyung Lee, Chris Corsano, and John Wiese.

Peter Evans is a trumpet player, improviser and composer based in New York City. Since 2013, Evans has participated in New York City’s broad, hybridized scene of musical experimentation, thus his work cuts across a wide range of modern musical practices and traditions. He is committed to the simultaneously self-reflective yet collaborative nature of musical improvisation as a compositional tool, and his capabilities in improvised concert settings are already legendary. Says regular collaborator, Okkyung Lee, “Peter can do anything!”, and when leading his own groups, Peter Evans Quintet and Zebulon Trio, he juxtaposes the cerebral and the playful in a truly unique manner.

Born in 1981, Evans has been a member of New York City’s musical community since 2003, when he moved there after graduating from the Oberlin Conservatory with a degree in classical trumpet performance. He currently works in a wide range of settings, including solo performance, chamber orchestra, performance art, free improvisation, electro-acoustic and composition. Regular collaborations include work with Mary Halvorson, Zach Hill, Claire Chase, Brandon Seabrook and Nate Wooley.

Special Engagement:
Evan Parker and Peter Evans will participate in a collaborative performance and artist talk at FOAM (3359 S. Jefferson Ave.) on Saturday, October 3rd at 11am. This event is FREE and open to the public. Local musicians will collaborate in short sets with each artist. Foam will have coffee and pastries available. Please see our website for updated information. RSVP on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/events/1642020816065882/

Presented by New Music Circle and KDHX

Friday, May 8, 2015 Concert 7:30 PM Doors 7:00 PM	The Stage at KDHX – welcomed by KDHX 3524 Washington Ave. 63103 (map)
Tim Berne — saxophone Oscar Noriega — clarinets Matt Mitchell — piano Ches Smith — percussion
New York-based alto saxophonist Tim Berne has long been regarded as one of the Downtown scene’s most forward thinking bandleaders. Active in New York since 1974, Berne has fostered the creative talent of subsequent generations.Since learning music at the elbow of St. Louis master Julius Hemphill in the ’70s, Berne has built an expansive discography, and The New York Times described Berne’s signature sound as one consisting of “wide intervals, athletic tone, tiny grooves worked into the music’s pivots and hesitations”.Within the project, Snakeoil, Berne writes highly investigative and intricate jazz, bringing together the talents of Oscar Noriega (clarinet, bass clarinet), Matt Mitchell (piano), and Ches Smith (drums, percussion). The group has released three highly acclaimed albums for ECM.For an interview with Tim Berne published in Sunday’s Post Dispatch, click here. For more information and links to video clips, go to our facebook page. Buy tickets for Snakeoil Special thanks to Piano Distributors and Jackson Pianos