Artist-In-Residence: Matana Roberts, post-concert talk with Nate Chinen
“Ms. Roberts isn’t just mildly curious to expand her medium: She seems driven to do it.” – NY Times
“Matana is definitely nondescriptive. She’s not a lady, she’s not a man; she’s just a being…” – Jazz Times
“Roberts is a deep traditionalist who looks beyond the rigid distinctions and definitions of musical style” – Chicago Defender
“…alto saxophonist and clarinetist Matana Roberts –add this name to the frustratingly short list of excellent, female reed players…” – All About Jazz
“…Roberts is a fluid, elegant player who rejects the star soloist approach of many a saxophonist….” – BBC Jazz
“The sound of Matana Roberts’ alto sax spans jazz her-story, from its roots in New Orleans, through the swinging ‘30s-40s, to the New Thing.” – All About Jazz
Matana ( mah-tah-nah)Roberts, is a dynamic saxophonist, composer and improviser, who tries to expose in her music the mystical roots and spiritual traditions of American creative expression.
As a Chicago native she was fortunate enough to be surrounded by musicians who showed her by distinct example the importance of listening to one’s personal creative voice while at the same time using the profound and many layered traditions of jazz and improvised musics to act only as her creative guide, not as her creative definer. By using their mentorship, she has been able to craft a voice and creative focus that truly speaks to her own true artistic individuality. She feels strongly that her music should not only reflect the many colors and moods of universal human emotions, but that it should also testify, critique, document, and respond to the many socio-economic, historical, and cultural inequalities that exist not only in this country, but all over the world.
Matana, a 2006 Van Lier fellow, Brecht Forum fellow, and 2008 and 2009 Alpert Award in the Arts nominee, has appeared as a collaborator on recordings and performances in the U.S., Europe, and Canada with her own ensembles as well as with the collaborative jazz trio Sticks and Stones, Black Rock Coalition founder Greg Tate’s Burnt Sugar, Reg E Gaines and Savion Glover’s homage project to the late John Coltrane, the Oliver Lake Big Band, and the Julius Hemphill Sextet and Merce Cunningham dance. She recently released a homage project to her hometown entitled The Chicago Project, on Barry Adamson’s Central Control International, produced by pianist extraordinaire Vijay Iyer, featuring friends and supporters of her Chicago development. She has also recorded as a side person on recordings with such iconic bands as Godspeed You Black Emperor, TV on the Radio, Guillermo Scott Herren’s Savath and Savalas, Silver Mt Zion, and sound artist Daniel Given’s Day Clear/Day dark. Matana is a member of the AACM– Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and the BRC– Black Rock Coalition.
She has played alongside some of the most intriguing creative sound visionaries spanning across genres of this time period and currently resides in New York City
“Ms. Roberts isn’t just mildly curious to expand her medium: She seems driven to do it.” – NY Times
“Matana is definitely nondescriptive. She’s not a lady, she’s not a man; she’s just a being…” – Jazz Times
“Roberts is a deep traditionalist who looks beyond the rigid distinctions and definitions of musical style” – Chicago Defender
“…alto saxophonist and clarinetist Matana Roberts –add this name to the frustratingly short list of excellent, female reed players…” – All About Jazz
“…Roberts is a fluid, elegant player who rejects the star soloist approach of many a saxophonist….” – BBC Jazz
“The sound of Matana Roberts’ alto sax spans jazz her-story, from its roots in New Orleans, through the swinging ‘30s-40s, to the New Thing.” – All About Jazz
A CAN CAN FOR COIN COIN…
Rooted in her strong belief that sharing honest creativity is a catalyst for instant community, Matana Roberts and ISSUE Project Room will join together for A CAN CAN FOR COIN COIN, a concert and food drive for her last performance as Artist-in-Residence on December 9th. While developing her blood narrative COIN COIN, she has been trying to connect the work to the social activism inherent in sharing art, and the devotion to community activism prevalent throughout in her family tree. In honor of her ancestors, she is creating this community-focused food drive benefiting the Bread and Life Soup Kitchen, a healthy food initiative that brings both physical and mental nourishment to in-need areas around Brooklyn.
Matana Roberts (Reeds)
Amelia Hollander (Viola)
Jessica Pavone (Viola)
Daniel Levin (Cello)
Keith Witty (bass)
Tomas Fujiwara (drums)
Daniel Givens (projections)
The concert will be followed by a talk with Nate Chinen, a regular music contributor to the New York Times, JazzTimes and The Village Voice.
COIN COIN: In Essence, a Musical Monument to the Human Experience
Matana will premiere the last of three new COIN COIN pieces which focus on spacial and environmental interplay while excavating themes relating to her familial heritage and own personal history.
Matana cultivates an environment where every surface, from walls to floors, to furnishings to large instruments, serve as sonic reciprocators. Keeping visual aesthetics in mind just as much as the auditory experience, and having utilized raw space and various architectures before, Matana creates a comprehensive sensory experience for the audience, attempting to create an intimate “womb” feeling.
Her work during the Residency focuses on and attempts to deconstruct recent discoveries in her lineage and family histories. Researching back to the 1700’s, Matana explores themes of hardship and perseverance while trying to find and construct her own identity. Since beginning this project, she has found that her lineage includes Irish, Dutch, Danish, English, Scottish, African and others, imploring a critical look
at the title “African American”.
Since her youth, Matana was surrounded by musicians who showed by distinct example the importance of listening to one’s personal creative voice while at the same time using the profound and many layered traditions of jazz and improvised musics to act only as her creative guide, not as her creative definer. By using their mentorship, she has been able to craft a voice and creative focus that truly speaks to her own artistic individuality. She feels strongly that her music should not only reflect the many colors and moods of universal human emotions, but that it should also testify, critique, document, and respond to the many socio-economic, historical, and cultural inequalities that exist all over the world.
Matana, a 2006 Van Lier fellow, Brecht Forum fellow, and 2008 and 2009 Alpert Award in the Arts nominee, has appeared as a collaborator on recordings and performances in the U.S., Europe, and Canada with her own ensembles as well as with the collaborative jazz trio Sticks and Stones, Black Rock Coalition founder Greg Tate’s Burnt Sugar, Reg E Gaines and Savion Glover’s homage project to the late John Coltrane, the Oliver Lake Big Band, and the Julius Hemphill Sextet and Merce Cunningham dance. She recently released a homage project to her hometown entitled The Chicago Project, on Barry Adamson’s Central Control International, produced by pianist extraordinaire Vijay Iyer, featuring friends and supporters of her Chicago development. She has also recorded as a side person on recordings with such iconic bands as Godspeed You Black Emperor, TV on the Radio, Guillermo Scott Herren’s Savath and Savalas, Silver Mt Zion, and sound artist Daniel Given’s Day Clear/Day dark. Matana is a member of the AACM– Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and the BRC– Black Rock Coalition.
To learn more about Matana’s vision for her residency, read her interview “In conversation with Matana Roberts, ISSUE’s Current Artist-In-Residence” with David Martinson or visit www.matanaroberts.com
ISSUE’s AIR program made possible, in part, through the generous support of the Jerome Foundation.
till by turning + folds ensemble
Till by Turning is the collective effort of Amy Cimini, Erica Dicker, Emily ManzoSarah Biber, and Katherine Young.
Working as performers, educators, improvisers, scholars, composers, and song-writers — Till by Turning performs new chamber music by established and emerging artists and develops creative educational programs.
“There’s an old Shaker dance number, written in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett, that likely serves as inspiration for…Till by Turning. It’s called “Simple Gifts,” and what it describes is a kind of serendipitous joy in movement through time and space: “When true simplicity is gain’d / To bow and to bend we shan’t be asham’d / To turn, turn will be our delight / Till by turning, turning we come round right.”
The group belongs to a new generation of adventurous musicians bringing contemporary music to clubland….the players dip into the modern canon…and give breath to new works by their peers.” – Steve Dollar, Time Out Chicago
The members of Till by Turning met while studying instrumental performance at Oberlin Conservatory. Inspired in part by a unique instrumentation (violin, viola, cello, bassoon, and piano), our first concert was a program of Sofia Gubaidulina’s music.
Since then, we have commissioned and premiered music by Jessica Pavone, Aaron Siegel, Sabrina Schroeder, Alex Ness, and Katherine Young. Our repertoire also includes pieces by Morton Feldman, Olivier Messiaen, Harold Meltzer, James Tenney, and Christian Wolff. Our dedication to challenging and experimental new music goes hand in hand with our commitment to educational programs.
Jason Brogan (director), Michael Hanf (performance), Nathan Koci (horn), David Linaburg (electric guitar), Dave Ruder (clarinet) and Sam Sfirri (piano)
“A fold is always folded within a fold, like a cavern in a cavern. The unit of matter, the smallest element of the labyrinth, is the fold, not the point which is never a part, but a simple extremity of the line.” (4)
“[E]very contour is blurred to give definition to the formal powers of the raw material, which rise to the surface and are put forward as so many detours and supplementary folds.” (17)
Gilles Deleuze, The Fold
folds ensemble:
experimental music and performance
Jason Brogan, electric guitar (director)
Kieran Daly, laptop/activities
Sam Sfirri, piano/melodica
The Dream of the Ants + Matt Bauder and Jason Ajemian + Amy Cimini and Katie Young Duos
The Dream of the Ants
Terrence McManus-classical guitar
Ellery Eskelin-saxophone
Gerry Hemingway-drums
The Dream of the Ants, a new chamber ensemble led by guitarist Terrence McManus, will performing a new multi-sectional, through-composed work entitled, The Machine. The piece is divided into seven overlapping sections, and is highly influenced by the work of Morton Feldman, Gyorgy Ligeti, and Bela Bartok.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, guitarist Terrence McManus grew up in New Jersey and Connecticut. He has performed with Bill Frisell, Tim Berne, Ellery Eskelin, Mark Helias, Gerry Hemingway, Herb Robertson, Anthony Cox, Kermit Driscoll, Gene Bertoncini, Russ Lossing, Marty Eurlick, and Michael Sarin, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, the New York Guitar Festival, Ellis Island, and the inaugural month at John Zorn’s The Stone. In November of 2004, Terrence was invited to perform in the first annual Minnesota Sur Seine jazz festival in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. An accomplished solo guitarist, Terrence performs his own compositions and arrangements, and has developed a unique style of improvisation, drawing on extended technique and prepared guitar. Terrence’s solo improvisations were featured in the New York City debut of the Fermin Cabal play Disappeared(Tejas Verdes). The play’s month long residency took place at the Richmond Shepard Theatre in September 2006. In 2006 Terrence formed Flattened Planet, a record label dedicated to the promotion of new, creative, and improvised music. In 2008 Terrence was featured in the book, State of the Axe: Guitar Master’s in Photographs and Words, by legendary photographer Ralph Gibson. The book, published on Yale University Press, was produced in conjunction with The Museum of Fine Arts, in Houston, TX, where the book’s images were on exhibition.
Matt Bauder
Matt Bauder is a saxophonist and composer who has studied with Ed Sarath, Anthony Braxton, Ron Kuivila and Alvin Lucier. In the past ten years he has been an active member of the new music scenes in Ann Arbor, Chicago, Berlin and New York, where he has performed with, among others, Braxton, Bill Dixon, Fred Anderson, Jeff Parker, Taylor Ho Bynum, The SEM Ensemble, Ken Vandermark and Phil Minton. He appears on recordings with Jason Ajemian (Locust Music), Rob Mazurek (Thrill Jockey), Neil Michael Hagerty (Drag City), His Name is Alive (4AD/TimeStereo), Saturday Looks Good to Me (Polyvinyl) and Bill Brovald (Tzadik). His recordings as a leader and co-leader on 482 Music, Clean Feed and Eye & Ear Records have received wide critical acclaim.
Matt Bauder will be performing with This Could be Anywhere (w/ Jason Ajemian) & Architeuthis Walks on Land (w/ Katherine Young, Amy Cimini).
