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| 2/23/05 Charles Gayle at the Bowery Poetry Club, NYC Wet Ink, “a composers' collective devoted to freshly minted scores and adventurous approaches” (Time Out NY), presents new music from the Wet Ink Ensemble followed by saxophonist Charles Gayle. Wet Ink Ensemble performs compositions by members of the Wet Ink Composer’s Collective Alex Mincek, Sam Hillmer, and Brendan Connelly. Saxophonist Charles Gayle, one of New York's most guttural and aggressive improvisers, performs a solo set as his theatrical alter-ego, “Streets the Clown.” “Gayle plays as one possessed, with a passionate, warbling, broad sound that includes shrieks, screams and multiphonics and a stamina that allows him to improvise non-stop for hours at a time.” . – Creative Music Archive Buffalo-born avant-garde tenor saxophonist Charles Gayle was around for the first wave of “the new thing,” in the 1960s, but attracted little attention, making no recordings or significant club appearances. Discouraged, he became a street musician in Manhattan, and remained one for 20 years until 1987 when he was invited by Knitting Factory impresario Michael Dorf to perform and record. Today Gayle has moved off the streets, and tours the United States, Canada and Europe regularly. The immediacy and urgency of his performances have appealed to fans of post-punk rock music and one of Gayle's most ardent champions is rock musician Henry Rollins. Gayle recorded with drummer Michael Wimberly and bassist Wilber Morris on Testaments and also has toured with Sonny Murray, Milford Graves, Andrew Cyrille, Sirone, Rashied Ali, Reggie Workman, Cecil and Michael Bisio. The Wet Ink Ensemble is a group of soloists specializing in contemporary music. Formed in 2002 by composers Alex Mincek, Brendan Connelly, and Sam Hillmer, the ensemble is the house band for the Wet Ink concert series. The group's repertoire is diverse, ranging from indeterminate and improvisational music, to scores of rigorous notational complexity. The Wet Ink Ensemble has performed works by Earle Brown, Brian Ferneyhough, Philippe Hurel, James Saunders, Salvatore Sciarrino, and Christian Wolff among others. The seven core members of the ensemble are Erin Lesser (flutes), Miranda Cuckson (violin), Joanne Lin (cello), Matt Hough (electric guitar), along with Wet Ink composers Alex Mincek (music director, saxophone, bass clarinet) Sam Hillmer (saxophone) and Reiko Fueting (piano, synthesizer). “The members of Wet Ink have become some of New York’s most interesting young composers.” (Dusted Magazine) *** Sam Hillmer has been active as a composer and saxophonist in New York City since 1998. Hillmer first came to New York to attend the Manhattan School of Music where he completed studies in saxophone with Robert Mintzer (Bmus). Hillmer’s music has been performed in the United States, the Czech Republic, and Canada at a variety of venues, and has been featured at festivals including Columbia University's experimental music series, the VAV gallery (Montreal, Canada), Ostrava Days Festival (Ostrava, Czech Republic), the Neon Hates You Festival (Los Angeles, California), and the Ocularis Rooftop Festival (Brooklyn). Hillmer is also active as a saxophonist and improviser performing in and around New York, across North America, and in Europe. Recently he has performed and/or improvised with the Downtown Ensemble, the OCNM Ensemble, the Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, the Columbia University Composers Ensemble, and composer/improviser Christian Wolff. Alex Mincek (b.1975) is a New York-based composer and saxophonist. He studied composition with Nils Vigeland at the Manhattan School of Music (BM, MM), and has participated in master classes with Tristan Murail, Helmut Lachenmann, Alvin Lucier, Pascal Dusapin, Martin Smolka, Christian Wolff, and Phill Niblock, among others. He is currently pursuing his doctorate in composition at Columbia University. In 2000, Mincek became a founding member of the experimental ensemble Zs. In 1998, he also co-founded Wet Ink, a composer’s collective dedicated to presenting new music concerts in NYC. He currently serves as the group’s president and music director. Mincek’s music has been performed at festivals around the world by ensembles including the New Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra Leipzig, the Orchestra of the SEM Ensemble, the Janacek Philharmonic, Tactus, the Vega String Quartet, the Dorikos String Quartet, and the Scarborough Trio. Mincek’s music is available on Troubleman Unlimited, and Planaria. Mincek has received grants, fellowships, and other awards from organizations such as the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, Meet The Composer, the Ostrava Center for New Music, the University of North Florida, Manhattan School of Music, and Columbia University. Brendan Connelly (b. 1975) is active as a composer of concert music as well as of scores and sound designs for the theatre. His music has been performed have at Columbia University's Experimental Music Series, the STAGE'01 Festival, Oasis - A Festival of Experimental Music and Art, and numerous Wet Ink Concerts. He is co-founder and resident composer of the Theatre of a Two-Headed Calf and has composed the scores to all of its productions. Connelly's theatrical credits also include: Deux Mariages (Primary Stages); The Amargo Trittico (Present Company/Juilliard); MedeaMachine (NYFringeFest); and Match (Lincoln Center). The Two-headed Calf was in residency at Chashama in the winter of 2004 and are visiting artists at the University of Rochester in 2005. Connelly has also been a visiting artist at Dartmouth, Lafayette, Ursinus and Skidmore College and New York University. Connelly graduated from Tulane University in 1997 with a BFA in Music Composition and a BA in English Literature. write your comments about the article :: © 2005 Jazz News :: home page |