Acid Birds (Andrew Barker, Jaime Fennelly, & Charles Waters) includes members from Peeesseye and Gold Sparkle Band, and released their self-titled LP in 2009 (QBICO). Barker formed the trio to perform his composition (also titled “Acid Birds”) and in early 2009 the band gave the piece’s second performance at ISSUE Project Room.
Charles Gayle plays double bass, tenor sax, piano, and has recently been exploring voice in his free jazz and improvised work. He was born in Buffalo, but moved to New York in the 1960s and played on the streets until (in the 1990s) he was noticed. Since then, he has played everywhere from The Knitting Factory to a multi-country European solo tour.
Acid Birds was formed in 2004 in Brooklyn, NY, by Andrew Barker (drums & percussion), Jaime Fennelly (harmonium + electronics) and Charles Waters (alto saxophone & bass clarinet). NY-based Barker and Waters are both founding members of Gold Sparkle Band, and Fennelly, who recently relocated to Chicago from the Pacific Northwest, is 1/3 of Peeesseye. Their first self-titled LP came out on the Italian label QBICO in 2009. Their second LP, Acid Birds II, will be released in January 2011 on Sagittarius A-Star, and the new Brooklyn label Electric Temple Records will be releasing their first cassette, entitled Mock Load, to coincide with their Midwest / East Coast tour in February 2011.
Andrew Barker has worked with Gold Sparkle Band, Sirone of the Revolutionary Ensemble, Daniel Carter, Roy Campbell's TAZ, Rob Brown, Chris Jonas, Sonny Simmons, Sabir Mateen, Virginia Genta, and many others. He has appeared on several recordings, including Apostolic Polyphony (with Matthew Shipp and Charles Waters) and The Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra's Mayor of Punkville. In addition to several ongoing projects, Barker has also recently formed a metal band called Hallux.
Jaime Fennelly is most well-known for his work with Peeesseye (with Chris Forsyth and Fritz Welch), who recently released Pestilence & Joy and a collaborative recording with Talibam! He has recorded several albums for labels such as Digitalis Industries, Sick Head, Locust and Evolving Ear. In addition to his work with Peeesseye, he performs solo under his new project Mind Over Mirrors, and is also a member of Phantom Limb & Bison and Manpack Variant.
Charles Waters is a member of the Gold Sparkle Band, a large collective of musicians that has included Nate Wooley, Sabir Mateen, Matt Lavelle, Hill Greene, and many others. Waters studied clarinet with Eugene Kavadlo of the Charlotte Symphony, and has also worked with William Parker's Little Huey Music Orchestra, Matthew Shipp, and Chris Jonas' Brooklyn Comprovisers Orchestra.
Charles Gayle
Born and raised in Buffalo/New York, the great Charles Gayle has been playing saxophone and piano for over 40 years. After working the steel mills in Buffalo, he came to New York City in the late 60's to work his music full-time.
When he couldn't find any paying gigs, Charles began playing for spare change on the streets and in the subways. For the next twenty years Charles played and lived on these same streets, playing what he wanted, when he wanted, how he wanted; the free-est of free jazz. The 1990's finally saw him playing at the Knitting Factory and on the European stages with his outstanding, most expressive saxophone performances which soon made him famous. Though Charles told me in the lovely Thompkins Square Park in Manhattan, that the music he is playing at the piano on his new CD "Jazz Solo Piano" is the music of his youth he used to play in clubs in his native Buffalo. Charles played a November solo tour in 2002 in Prague, Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Croatia. He was invited to play some concerts in Russia in spring 2004 and performed at the renowned. Jazz festival in Clusone/Italy as well a the Cork Jazz Festival in Ireland.
In 2005 Charles toured with Reggie Workman and Andrew Cyrille and in 2006 with his own trio. From 2007 - 2009 he played once more with Rashied Ali and William Parker in the trio "By Any Means." Shortly after Rashied Ali's passing in august 2009 the trio performed at the Newport Jazz Festival (with Muhammad Ali on drums replacing his late brother). Charles Gayle has studied the double bass recently and switched back to tenor saxophone - also he has discovered the voice as an instrument.