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This Week: Jen Shyu at The Kranzberg & Special Workshop Event….

“Jen Shyu represents a new kind of improviser-composer-ethnomusicologist hybrid; this is the result of her own fieldwork (in East Timor, Indonesia, Taiwan and South Korea), pushed through an extraordinary voice and a circle of high-level improvisers.” – Ben Ratliff, NY Times
 
Solo Concert:
Friday, November 11. 2016
The Kranzberg Arts Center
501 N Grand Blvd. 63103
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+ Just Announced: Special Artist Talk /Workshop with Jen Shyu
Thursday, November 10th
Lewis Center (721 Kingsland Ave. 63130.
Talk will take place in the conference room on 1st floor) 
6pm – 7pm. Free and open to the public. 
Please join NMC and WUSTL/Sam Fox School as Jen Shyu leads a special artist talk and performance. This event will last roughly one hour, and begins at 6pm. This event is open to the public, no rsvp is needed. 
This event is presented by New Music Circle and The Sam Fox School at WUSTL
please reach #314-477-3146 for questions
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Solo Rites: Seven Breaths, performed by Jen Shyu, is a musical drama and portrait of a woman living simultaneously in multiple cultures and “projecting her ancestry” through contemporary monologue — revealing a personal journey of loss and redemption made universal through the exploration of losses and complications of the modern world: loss of tradition, habitat, and public spaces. Sonic, visual, and visceral rites and reflections are discovered by pilgrimage through Taiwan, East Timor, Indonesia, Vietnam, and South Korea.

About Jen Shyu: Born in Illinois from immigrant parents of Taiwan and East Timor, 2014 Doris Duke Impact Award recipient Jen Shyu is an experimental jazz vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, and educator, having performed internationally as a solo artist, bandleader, and collaborator. Shyu recently spent nearly two years on a Fulbright scholarship in Indonesia studying Sindhenan (traditional Javanese improvisational singing) as well as the simultaneous song and dance form, Ledhekan. She is also a former Asian Cultural Council and Jerome Foundation grantee.

 

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58th Season Upcoming Events

NMC and KDHX present
Thomas Fujiwara’s The Hook Up
April 28th or 29th, 2017
The Stage at KDHX
3524 Washington Ave. 63103
fujiwara
Tomas Fujiwara – drums / compositions
Mary Halvorson – guitar
Brian Settles – saxophones
Jonathan Finlayson – trumpet
Michael Formanek – upright bass
A drummer working along jazz music’s fringe, Tomas Fujiwara’s résumé boasts memberships in the Taylor Ho Bynum Sextet and the cooperative trio Thumbscrew, featuring acclaimed guitarist Mary Halvorson and veteran bassist Michael Formanek. Fujiwara’s flagship ensemble, The Hook Up, performs rhythmically upbeat tunes, their music often alluding to the aesthetic qualities of Wayne Shorter or Miles Davis of the 1960s – sleek, enigmatically post-bop, more suggestive than demonstrative, complicated but never random. 2016 saw the release of After All is Said, The Hook Up’s third album, which was honed extensively in ‘live’ performance, emphasizing Fujiwara’s nuanced arrangements while honoring the dynamics of its virtuosic soloists: guitarist Halvorson, tenor saxophonist Brian Settles, trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson and bassist Formanek.
New Music Circle Showcase TBA
May 2017

 

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Kris Davis & Craig Taborn (Piano Duo)

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Kris Davis – piano
Craig Taborn – piano

Please join us for New Music Circle’s 58th Season opening concert
Saturday, October 1st at the 560 Music Center (E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall)
560 Trinity Ave, St. Louis, MO 63130 (map)
7pm doors / 8pm concert

Tickets available here
Performance and seating will be onstage in the main auditorium of the E. Desmond Lee room.
This concert will be professionally recorded and documented for an upcoming CD release.

Pianist-composer Kris Davis has prospered as one of the singular talents on the New York jazz scene, known for her ability to interweave jazz standards equally with experimental improvisations. Kris cites 20th century composers György Ligeti and Morton Feldman as inspirations in her quest to form complex compositions, yet she utilizes the sense of freedom found in avant-garde jazz to push these influences into new communicative territory. Her 2011 album, Capricorn Climber, made “best of the year” lists in The New York Times, NPR, and Art Forum. In 2015 she was granted the Doris Duke Impact Award. ( www.krisdavis.net )

Craig Taborn is as likely to be playing free-improvisation with Roscoe Mitchell (Art Ensemble of Chicago), as he is to be playing straight-ahead jazz at New York City’s Village Vanguard. Though as adept in composed solo piano settings (see 2011’s critically acclaimed Avenging Angel) as with electro-acoustic sound collage (see 2004’s electronic album Junk Magic), his work resists genre labeling. While he has had a transformative impact on jazz, he remains even more deeply invested in the avant-garde models he has been exploring ever since his teenage years in Minneapolis, citing Cecil Taylor and Sun Ra as influences. Jazz Times ranked Taborn in its 2013 critics’ poll as “best piano player”, and in 2014 he was granted a Doris Duke Artist Award. ( player.ecmrecords.com/taborn )

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NMC’s 58th Season: Fall 2016 – Spring 2017

We are back from summer break and excited to announce our 58th season lineup. NMC followers may recognize some of these names from previous NMC presentations, like Tomas Fujiwara (from Thumbscrew), and Ikue Mori (of Mephista). There will also be plenty of new artists to discover as well, such as Sylvaine Hélary from France and NYC-based sound-art trumpeter Nate Wooley.

New Music Circle aims to match each concert with a space where the music will communicate best, working in some of our favorite St. Louis venues and collaborating with other co-presenters once again. Workshops, special engagements and pop-up events will be announced as our opening concert nears, so please continue to check our website, sign up on our email list and follow our social media outlets (Instagram, Twitter and Facebook: @newmusiccircle ) for regular updates.

Thank you for your support and we hope to see you at the gig!

– NMC

Kris Davis & Craig Taborn Duo
Saturday, October 1st, 2016
The 560 Music Center

Craig Taborn (piano),  Kris Davis (piano)
(Concert will take place on the stage at E. Desmond Lee Concert Hall)
*This concert will be professionally recorded for a cd release, documenting the Taborn/Davis fall tour.

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Presented in partnership with The Department of Music at Washington University

Sylvaine Hélary’s Spring Roll Quartet
Saturday, October 22nd, 2016
The Stage at KDHX

Sylvaine Helary (flute/compositions), Antonin Rayon (piano/MS-20 synthesizer), Hugues Mayot (saxophone/clarinet), Sylvain Lemètre (vibraphone/percussion)

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Presented in partnership with KDHX.

Jen Shyu
Friday, November 11th, 2016
The Kranzberg

Jen Shyu performs Solo Rites: Seven Breaths (voice, multiple instruments, and performance)

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+ workshops TBA

Tomeka Reid, Mike Reed, Nicole Mitchell Trio
Saturday, December 3rd, 2016
Joe’s Cafe

Tomeka Reid (cello), Nicole Mitchell (flute), Mike Reed (drums)

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 + workshops to be announced

Iva Bittová and Hamid Drake Duo
Saturday, January 21st, 2017
Joe’s Cafe

Iva Bittová (voice/violin), Hamid Drake (percussion/drums/voice)

IvaHamid

+ additional workshops/events TBA

Ikue Mori and Nate Wooley
Saturday, February 18th, 2017
The Luminary

Ikue Mori (electronics/computer), Nate Wooley (trumpet/electronics)

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Presented in partnership with The Luminary

+ additional workshops/events TBA

Erik Friedlander’s Black Phoebe Trio
Thursday, March 16th, 2017
The Stage at KDHX

Erik Freidlander (cello/compositions), Shoka Nagai (piano, accordion, electronics), Satoshi Takeishi (drums)

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This concert is presented in partnership with KDHX
+ workshops TBA

Tomas Fujiwara’s The Hook Up
April 28th or 29th, 2017
The Stage at KDHX

Tomas Fujiwara (drums/compositions), Mary Halvorson (guitar), Brian Settles (saxophone), Jonathan Finlayson (trumpet), Michael Formanek (upright bass)

theHookUp
NMC Showcase
TBA 
May, 2017
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58th Season Kickoff & Fundraiser

Please support New Music Circle’s upcoming 58th season by joining us for an evening of drinks and DJ’s on Wednesday, August 3rd (7:00pm – 9:30pm) at Tick Tock Tavern (3459 Magnolia Ave Saint Louis, MO 63118) located in Tower Grove East.
FREE

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Tick Tock Tavern photo by: Mabel Suen

On August 3rd from 7pm-9:30pm  DJ’s (Josh Weinstein & Jeremy Kannapell) will play records and raffle prizes (including CD’s, LP’s, and tickets to upcoming NMC concerts). All proceeds of drinks purchased during these hours at Tick Tock Tavern will help support New Music Circle concerts and workshops throughout the coming year.

Image: Okkyung Lee and Lotte Anker at Joe’s Cafe – photo by Jarred Gastreich

OkkyungLeeLoLotte

No cover entry! We hope to see you there!

About Tick Tock Tavern:
The new Tick Tock Tavern is a rebirth of the classic south-side joint of the same name and address by partners Thomas Crone, Steven Fitzpatrick Smith (of the Royale) and Fred Hessel.

Tick Tock Tavern is located in the Tower Grove East Neighborhood, two blocks east of Grand, on the corner of Magnolia and Arkansas. Street parking is available on Magnolia and Arkansas. Tick Tock is a cash only bar with ATM located inside.

 

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