|
contents | jazz | |||||||||||||
| Synergy Sight and Sound at the Saint Mark's Church Synergy Sight and Sound will give the performance Sky at Saint Mark's Church on Sunday, January 27. This concert will feature new compositions by Saco Yasuma, and elements of an installation, new costumes and instruments by Amir Bey titled “Phoenixes to the Sun.” SYNERGY is a multi-media ensemble that weaves music and art: the contemplative melodies and the forceful improvisational Jazz of alto Saxophonist and composer Saco with the vibrant costumes, striking masks and unusual instruments of mixed media sculptor Amir. The musicians wear masks and original silkscreen prints on costumes designed and printed by Amir. SYNERGY'S personnel includes Ras Moshe, woodwinds, Dave Ross, electric guitar, Christopher Dean Sullivan, bass artisan, and Lou Grassi, drums. Mixed media sculptor and curator Amir Bey has worked with musicians and performers since the 1970s, including set designs and costumes for Idris Ackamoor and Rodessa Jones of Cultural Odyssey, Maria Mitchell of Black Pearl Dance Company, and Lorna Littleway. Bey is based in New York, where he has organized exhibitions since 1989; he has also exhibited in Turkey, Japan, Spain, Martinique and Germany. His “Procession of Folk #3”, a series of 12 faceted glass windows, is a permanent installation at the Mount Eden station on the #4 line. Alto saxophonist and composer Saco Yasuma has written many styles of music. Yasuma was the featured composer and saxophonist for the annual Billy Parker Legacy Concert at SUNY Rockland College in 2002 to 2005. In 2007, she received a commission to compose and perform a world premier concert at the Brecht Forum, and released her critically aclaimed album, Another Rain, in June. She has been working with Ras Moshe, Matt Lavelle, Billy Bang, Roy Campbell Jr., Sabir Mateen, Steve Swell, Jackson Krall and the “Jazz poet” Golda Solomon. Currently she leads a few groups in the United States and Japan. Ras Moshe, a third generation reed player who, although trained in earlier forms of “Jazz”, says his preferred mode of improvisation is in the later or “free” developments of the music. He has led The Music Now Unit since 1999 and played with many original artists such as Billy Bang, William Parker, William Hooker, and Kali Z. Fasteau. He is a firm believer in the positive effects of the new music for social and personal change. Bass Artisan Christopher Dean Sullivan is a versatile bassist of many musical languages. Chris is in many recordings spanning a myriad of styles such as Stanley Jordan, Odean Pope, Archie Shepp, Chaka Khan, Sonny Simmons, and Yusef Lateef. His own project, co- led with Soundrhythium Michael T.A. Thompson, Center Search Quest, can be heard on Language of Swans (Drimala), on Barbara Sfraga & CSQ's new release Timelessness Frozen in Time. Chris is a prime advocate for bringing entertainment back into Jazz. Drummer Lou Grassi, a New York resident of long standing, has literally played from Rag- Time to No-Time...he toured with ragtime pianist Max Morath, is the leader of the Dixie Peppers and has worked with a host of Jazz avant-garde's finest including Marshall Allen, Borah Bergman, Rob Brown, Roy Campbell, Charles Gayle, Burton Greene. He is featured on many CDs and albums, including his highly acclaimed Lou Grassi Po Band. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |