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| Wayne Horvitz: West Coast Tour In March 2007, Wayne Horvitz and Sweeter Than The Day launch their first West Coast tour in more than a year. The ten date run will hit nine cities, launching in Santa Cruz and concluding in Wayne's hometown Seattle. For Wayne Horvitz, a musically dynamic composer, pianist and electronic musician, his ongoing band Sweeter Than The Day offers him an opportunity to play in an improvisational piano-based jazz context. The project first formed in 1999 as the acoustic incarnation of Horvitz's widely popular electric funk-fusion band Zony Mash. With Sweeter Than The Day, however, Horvitz splits the difference between the more jam-oriented leanings of the original electrified concept and his more recent chamber music project, Gravitas Quartet. Joining Wayne Horvitz in Sweeter Than The Day are three of the Seattle music scene's most revered musicians: guitarist Tim Young, bassist Keith Lowe and drummer Andy Roth, who've collectively toured and recorded with the likes of Sam Rivers, Danny Barnes, Kelly Joe Phelps and Fiona Apple. Having cut his teeth on New York City's fabled downtown music scene, playing with artists like John Zorn (Naked City), Bill Frisell and Carla Bley, Wayne Horvitz has carved out an astoundingly diverse and prolific career. He's written music for theater, dance and film, while collaborating on projects with the aforementioned Zorn and Frisell, in addition to Bobby Previte, Skerik, Butch Morris, Robin Holcomb and Fred Frith among others. He's received numerous grants, including the prestigious Rockefeller Map Grant, while performing his music around the world. Wayne Horvitz and Sweeter Than The Day have released three albums since their inception: American Bandstand (now re-titled Forever) in 2000 and Sweeter Than the Day in 2002 on the Songlines label. The band's most recent recording is a live double CD entitled Live At The Rendevous, which was released in 2004 on Kufala Recordings. The recordings have led to ecstatic reviews such as the following excerpt from MOJO Magazine which describes Sweeter Than The Day as “quietly powerful chamber modernism full of eclectic composerly acumen that makes dreamlike reference to jazz, country, folk and hymn-like material. Delightful and original.” More recently, Horvitz has been concentrating on the Gravitas Quartet, a project based in improvised composition. The debut album, Way Out East, released in 2006, finished on many year end “best of” lists at publications including The Village Voice, PopMatters.com and About.com. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |