Actual/Actual showcases improvised music with a blues music orientation at the core while keeping to a broad outlook towards “spontaneous composition”. Their wide swath takes in swing, Latin music, fusion, doom rock, reggae, punk, and many other musical elements. It's all “grist for the mill” as they create a new context for these elements where improbable connections are made and things happen when you least expect them to. Romus originally hails from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and has made it a point to engage and collaborate with musicians from the region. This band represents recent “talent reconnaissance” and is truly a multi-generational affair.
Rent Romus is a saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, music producer, community activist, and 2023 Emmy award winning performing artist. Since 1988, his work on the saxophone has been dubbed “ferocious” by the San Francisco Weekly and “central to the creative music world of the West Coast” by writer Frank Rubolino. Gerard Cox is an American improvising musician whose primary instruments are piano and electric piano e.g. Wurly and Rhodes. Given to a very percussive and insistent kind of attack, his sound is at home in both very open, improvised situations and in jazz funk or swing jazz bands where an instigating “wild card” is desired. Josh Strange is a Grammy-nominated Instrumentalist (Nas, Lauryn Hill, G Herbo), vibraphonist, composer and trumpet player based in Cincinnati Ohio. Troy Kunkler studied music at Ohio University, where he studied classical percussion with Roger Braun and Joseph VanHassel and drum set with Guy Remonko. Troy has played, toured, and recorded with a variety of bands and ensembles on drum set, bass, and vibraphone.
Personnel:
Rent Romus - alto, soprano, c-melody, sopraino saxophones | Gerard Cox- piano, key bass | Josh Strange - vibraphone | Troy Kunkler - drums
Myles Boisen's Ornettology
Ornettology began 10 years ago as a group dedicated to the music of Ornette Coleman, ranging from the early "classic quartet" to the later harmolodic years. Rather than recreating past ensembles or recorded pieces, the group uses Coleman's compositions as a springboard for re-interpretation, group improvisation, and free jazz exploration, always keeping a focus on Coleman's distinctive melodies. Written heads may appear as medleys, overlapping layers, or brief interludes framing unpredictable improv. Energetic septet arrangements alternate with a variety of subgroupings - duos/ trios/ quartets - to keep the textures varied and surprising.
Personnel:
Jordan Glenn - drums | Lisa Mezzacappa - double bass | Myles Boisen - guitar | John Shiurba - guitar | Steve Adams - alto saxophone | Sheldon Brown - tenor saxophone | Chris Grady - trumpet
Doors open 7:00 PM Artist Q&A 7:30 PM Music 8:15 PM
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