The Squid's Ear Magazine


Hwang, Jason Kao: Myths of Origin (True Sound Recordings)

Recorded live at the 2022 Vision Festival in Brooklyn, Jason Kao Hwang conducts a remarkable ensemble of strings, guitars, bass, and percussion in a work that blends notated passages with conduction-driven improvisation, forging a powerful and fluid language that transcends cultural and stylistic boundaries while illuminating collective individuality and truth.
 

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Product Information:

Personnel:



Charles Burnham-violin

Mark Chung-violin

Gabby Fluke-Mogul-violin

Keir GoGwilt-violin

Rosi Hertlein-violin

Gwen Laster-violin

Elena Moon Park-violin

Ben Sutin-violin

Tom Swafford-violin

Johnna Wu-violin

Ginger Dolden-viola

Melanie Dyer-viola

Judith Insell-viola

Pete Lanctot-viola

Eric Salazar-viola

Dara Bloom-cello

Kirin McElwain-cello

Lester St. Louis-cello

Tomas Ulrich-cello

Che Chen-guitar

Anders Nilsson-guitar

Hans Tammen-guitar

Ken Filiano-bass

Andrew Drury-drums

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UPC: 798576333096

Label: True Sound Recordings
Catalog ID: TS06
Squidco Product Code: 36762

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2025
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
Recorded live at the Vision Festival at Roulette in Brooklyn, New York, on June 25th, 2022, by Andrya Ambro and Teerapat Parnmongkol.
Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

Artist Biographies

"Charles Burnham (born 1950; also known as Charlie Burnham) is an American violinist and composer. He has a unique highly imaginative style that crosses genres, including bluegrass, delta punk, free jazz, blues, classical and chamber jazz. He often performs with a wah-wah pedal. He initially became renowned for his work on James "Blood" Ulmer's Odyssey album. The musicians on that album later performed and recorded as Odyssey the Band, sometimes known as The Odyssey Band. He was also a member of the String Trio of New York, and currently plays in the 52nd Street Blues Project, Hidden City, We Free StRings, Improvising Chamber Ensemble and the Kropotkins.

He has played on recordings by Living Colour, Susie Ibarra, Cassandra Wilson, Steven Bernstein, Queen Esther, Peter Apfelbaum, Henry Threadgill, Ted Daniel, Medeski Martin & Wood, The Woes, Hem, Elysian Fields, Adam Rudolph, Jonah Smith, The Heavy Circles, Mario Pavone, Joan As Police Woman, Rick Moranis, Doug Wamble, Steve Swell, John Zorn, Rufus Wainwright, Gabrielle Roth, Robert Musso, Jai Uttal, Soul Syndicate, Bobby Paunetto, Krishna Das, Sasha Dobson, Kenny Wollesen, Kato Hideki, Norah Jones, Billie Joe Armstrong, Emily Coates and Jason Kao Hwang.

He played a musician in the film Junior. He played on the soundtracks for Northfork, Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man; and an episode of the Backyardigans."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Burnham_(musician))
10/1/2025

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"Gabby Fluke-Mogul (b. 1991) is an improviser/composer living in New York.

They exist within the threads of improvisation, the jazz continuum, noise, & experimental music.

Their playing has been described as "embodied, visceral, & virtuosic."

Gabby is humbled to have collaborated with Kyle Bruckmann, Nava Dunkelman, Wendy Eisenberg, Fred Frith, Jordan Glenn, Phillip Greenlief, Jacob Felix Heule, Brandon Lopez, Lisa Mezzacappa, Kanoko Nishi-Smith, Pauline Oliveros, & Danishta Rivero, among many other musicians, poets, dancers, & visual artists.

GFM holds a MFA in Music Performance & Literature from Mills College, a BA in Music & Education from Hampshire College, & a Deep Listening certificate from The Center for Deep Listening at Rensselaer."

-"Gabby Fluke-Mogul Website (https://www.flukemogul.com/)
10/1/2025

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"Keir GoGwilt is a violinist, scholar, and poet, whose work spans a range of genres and disciplines. His creative work often reflects his scholarship, which follows performers' historical writings on music, phenomenology, and pedagogies of improvisation. He is at home in collaborative, often interdisciplinary work, in which creative labor is shared and recognized.

As a violinist he has been described as a "formidable performer" (New York Times) noted for his "evocative sound" (London Jazz News) and "finger-busting virtuosity" (San Diego Union Tribune). He has soloed with groups including the Orchestra of St. Luke's, the Chinese National Symphony, the Orquesta Filarmonica de Santiago, the Bowdoin International Music Festival Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia, and the La Jolla Symphony. He is a core member of the American Modern Opera Company, a collective of dancers, instrumentalists, composers, writers, and singers, committed to the long-term creation and performance of an original music- and dance-theater repertory.

His duet with dancer Bobbi Jene Smith, "A Study on Effort," has been featured at the Luminato Festival, PS 122's COIL Festival, the ODC Theater, UCSD Dance&Theater, the American Repertory Theater, and Carolina Performing Arts. Their quartet with dancer Or Schraiber and violinist Miranda Cuckson, "With Care," investigates the politics of empathy and apathy on the level of individual relationships. He is part of the cast and creative team for Bobbi Jene's acclaimed show, "Lost Mountain," premiered at La Mama in May 2019.

Long-time collaborators include composers Matthew Aucoin, Celeste Oram, and Carolyn Chen. Aucoin has written numerous pieces for him, including "Poem" and "Its Own Accord." They perform together frequently, and have appeared at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, Rockport Chamber Music, Music Academy of the West, the LA Opera, Dumbarton Oaks, the San Diego Symphony's "Hearing the Future" festival, among others.

GoGwilt's debut solo CD, re: d, includes music by Johann Paul von Westhoff and Carolyn Chen. The CD and its live performance-installation features artwork by Audrey Hope and poetry by Christopher and Keir GoGwilt.

He has worked with Celeste Oram in her explorative broadcasts on technological media, "Televisionmann," and "Vera Wyse Munro: A Radio Séance." He is also part of the creative team for Oram's 3-hour show, "Tautitotito: An Alternative Genealogy of Aotearoa New Zealand Music" (commissioned by and premiered at the Darmstadt Summer Courses 2018).

GoGwilt regularly performs with other San Diego musicians including Steven Schick, Mark Dresser (as part of the Dresser quintet/septet), and bassist/improviser Kyle Motl (as part of their duo, Treesearch). He can be heard on records released by Tzadik, Clean Feed, and BMOP (upcoming). He has additionally performed with musicians including Tan Dun, Chance the Rapper, Robert Levin, and singer-songwriter Asaf Avidan."

-Keir GoGwilt Website (https://kgogwilt.com/ABOUT)
10/1/2025

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"Born in Germany, Rosi Hertlein's career spans contemporary classical, improvisation, and vocal/poetic expression. She relocated to New York in the mid-1990s and has collaborated with avant/improv musicians like Joe McPhee and Pauline Oliveros."

-Squidco 10/2/2025

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"Gwen Laster is a nationally acclaimed musician who has been the recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts, Jubilation Foundation, Puffin Foundation, Arts Mid Hudson, Lila Wallace and the Cognac Hennessey 1st place Jazz Search. She's a native Detroiter whose creative influences come from the Motor City's exciting urban and classical music culture. Gwen started improvising and composing because of her parents love of jazz, blues, soul and classical music and her inspiring music teachers from Detroit's public schools.

​Laster relocated to NYC after earning two music degrees from the University of Michigan. She began collaborating, performing and recording with internationally-known creative and commercial artists including Anthony Braxton, Nona Hendryx, Aretha Franklin, Wadada Leo Smith, William Parker, Danny Elfman, Sun Ra Arkestra, Tyler, the Creator, Gladys Knight, Emeline Michel, Andrea Bocelli, David Foster, Alicia Keys, Rhianna, Shaggy, Andrew Baba Lamb, Natalie Cole, Solange, Mark Anthony, J Lo and Shakira at President Obama's Inaugural Neighborhood Ball."

-Gwen Laster Website (https://www.gwenlaster.com/)
10/1/2025

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"Tom Swafford grew up in Seattle, studied composition with Louis Andriessen (Amsterdam), Olly Wilson (U.C. Berkeley) and John McDonald (Tufts U.), and has been active as a violinist and composer in a wide variety of music communities since his arrival in New York in 2007. He has presented concerts of his music at Roulette Intermedium and The Stone. He recorded and toured Europe in the group Kef, with bassist Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz and guitarist Aram Bajakian. In 2015, his 11-piece ensemble String Power released its debut album. His musical theater piece, Bad Actor, was performed at the Tank in 2017. He recently recorded a duo album with bassist Zachary Swanson, and a trio album with Swanson and drummer Dalius Naujo."

-Tom Swafford Website (https://www.tomswafford.com/bio.html)
10/1/2025

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"Melanie Dyer performs and composes in creative, improvised and through-composed music spheres. She trained with William Lincer (Principal Violist, New York Philharmonic), Lee Yeingst (Principal Violist, Colorado Symphony Orchestra), John Jake Kella (NY Metropolitan Opera) and Naomi Fellows (Colorado Symphony Orchestra); and studied viola performance at the LaMont School of Music/University of Denver.

Melanie founded WeFreeStrings, an improvising string/rhythm collective rooted in improvised music in 2011. ​From 2004 - 2013, under her Bb Universe banner and in collaboration with the multi-generational, multi-ethnic Scientific Soul Sessions collective, Melanie's Harlem home became the scene of underground public performances by WeFreeStrings and other large and small music ensembles. Bb Universe hosted open rehearsals and performances, recordings, lectures, one-act plays and films including presentations by recognized indigenous activists Toaksin Ghosthorse, a performance of Robbie McCauley's Sally's Rape and a screening of John Douglas' documentary, Grenada: The Future Coming Towards Us. These monthly and semi-monthly events brought cultural luminaries, emerging artists, social and environmental activists, working and under-employed people together. Open dialogues, emphasizing individuals as agents of change, were central to Bb Universe and Scientific Soul Sessions.​Melanie currently performs with the Sun Ra Arkestra, Heroes Are Gang Leaders, Gwen Laster's New Muse 4tet, William Parker, Tomeka Reid Stringtet, Patricia Nicholson's Women w an Axe to Grind. She's played and/or recorded with Henry Grimes, Nona Hendryx, Joe Bonner, Reggie Workman, Howard Johnson, and a many other notable musicians in Europe, South Africa and across the U.S.

Recordings include WeFreeStrings Fulfillment (Indepstrings, 2018), David Haney's Birth of a City (2019), Come Sunday (T. Cumberbatch, 2015); Fred Ho & Quincy Saul Present the Music of Cal Massey: A Tribute (2011); Live at St Nick's Pub, Salim Washington & Donald Smith Ensemble, Cadence Records (2007); With Strings, Salim Washington & The Harlem Arts Ensemble, CIMP Records (2007); Harlem Homecoming, Salim Washington & The Harlem Arts Ensemble, UJam Records (2005), and others. WeFreeStrings has received project support from New Music USA, Chamber Music America, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, and individual donors."

-Arts for Art (https://www.artsforart.org/blog/melanie-dyer-artist-profile)
10/1/2025

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"Judith Insell, a New York native, has been an active member of the New York jazz, classical, and pop scene since the mid nineties. Violist can play anything!

Lee Konitz, Greg Osby, Steve Coleman, Antonio Hart, and Miguel Zenon are just a few of the many jazz greats with whom Ms. Insell has had the pleasure of performing and recording. She has performed throughout the eastern United States with the chamber jazz string group "Sojourner." As a founding member of "Sojourner," Ms. Insell has not only explored self expression through improvisation, she has also ventured into the realm of composition with the title track of the group's CD "Journey" and arranging such standards as Thelonious Monk's "I Mean You."

Her debut CD, "Dark Wood Explorations," a duo project with acclaimed jazz bassist Joe Fonda, wasreleased in September 2008. Continuing her pursuit of creativity, Ms. Insell has recently formed a collective with Virg Dzurinko (piano), Eli Asher(trumpet), & Leonid Galaganov(drums/percussion), provocatively name "Jump Off This Bridge" and she previously collaborated with Reut Regev(trombone) & Tomas Ulrich(cello) in the "Twisted Standard Trio."

Ms. Insell has also had an active career on the "pop" music scene performing and recording with artists Beyonce Knowles, India.Arie, Jessica Simpson, and "Joe." As a member of the "Soldier String Quartet," she was on an extensive world tour with rock legend John Cale throughout the nineties.

She has performed with the New Jersey Symphony, the National Chorale Orchestra and is currently a member of the Greenwich Symphony. She has performed in the Broadway Orchestras for Les Miserables (25th Anniversary Edition), A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Gypsy, Ms. Saigon, Tommy, Carousel, and Kiss of the Spider Woman.

As an educator and administrator, Ms. Insell is currently the Director of Curriculum and Artist Development for the Bronx Arts Ensemble and was formerly a member of the Juilliard School's "Educational Outreach Team," serving as a mentor and consultant to the Morse Teaching Fellows. She previously held the position of Director of the School for Performing Arts at Bronx House, Director of Music at The Harlem School of the Arts, Assistant Director of Instrumental Studies at Mannes College The New School for Music, Director of the String Program at The Collegiate School, Director of the String Program at The Juilliard School- MAP Program and Director of the String Program at The Bloomingdale School of Music. She also completed 1-year association with "Education Through Music," as a Teaching Artist.

Ms. Insell has also been a contributing writer for All About Jazz - NY since January 2006.

Judith attended the Manhattan School of Music where she was classically trained: receiving both her Undergraduate and Masters degrees."

-Judith Insell Website (http://www.judithinsell.com/tour)
10/1/2025

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"Lester St. Louis is a New York City born and based Multi-instrumentalist, composer and curator. Lester has worked in, performed and created in artistic environments in The United States, Canada, South America, Europe and China with groups and artists such as Dré Hočevar Trio, Jaimie Branch Fly or Die, Ensemble Adapter, TAK Ensemble and many more. As a composer, Lester has been commissioned by artists such as the JACK Quartet, Mahan Esfahani and Stefan Jackiw, RAGE THORMBONES, Lauren Cauley and others. In the near future Lester will be continuing to develop groups such as MADD (with Dré Hočevar and Leafar) as well as TRANSFER (with Jordan Balaber, Daniel Brew and Rocío Bolaños) along with many new ventures."

-Contemporary Insights (https://contemporaryinsights.org/lester-st-louis-2/)
10/1/2025

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"Cellist-composer Tomas Ulrich received music degrees from Boston University and the Manhattan School of Music. After attending a performance by the great Soviet cellist Mstislav Rostropovich at the age of eight, Mr. Ulrich was inspired to begin his musical journey on the cello. In addition to the traditional classical repertoire, Mr. Ulrich's work clearly demonstrates the influence of such diverse artists as Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Miles Davis,Charles Mingus, Eric Dolphy, Dmitri Shostakovich and Olivier Messiaen. Mr. Ulrich has performed and recorded with such diverse artists as Anthony Davis, Joe Lovano, McCoy Tyner, Alice Coltrane, Anthony Braxton, Aretha Franklin, Derek Bailey, Ravi Coltrane, James Moody,Taylor Ho Bynum, Gerry Hemingway, Dom Minasi, Jason Kao Hwang, Dominic Duval, Ayman Fanous, Ben Allison, Ted Nash, Dave Douglas, Kevin James, Karl Berger, Hans Tammen, Coheed and Cambria, Natalie Merchant and Ivo Perelman. He is also a member of the Diller-Quaile String Quartet, which premiered his Quintet for Trumpet and Strings (featuring guest soloist Herb Robertson) in May of 1996. In 2006, Tomas began his recorded musical collaboration with the acclaimed German trombonist Christof Thewes with the release of Quartetto Pazzo "Melancholera" (with Rudi Mahall and Dirk Peter Kolsch). 2007 saw the release of Mr. Ulrich's first CD as a co-leader (Labryinths with Ayman Fanous on the Konnex label). In 2008, Mr. Ulrich released his first CD as a leader. Cargo Cult (with Rolf Sturm-electric and acoustic guitars and Michael Bisio-acoustic bass) released their first CD "If You Should Go" on the Cadence label to great critical acclaim. This ensemble has gone on to release three more CDs on the CIMP label (Tomas Ulrich's Cargo Cult (2009), Lonely House (Covers) (2010), Discovers (2011)). 2010 also saw the release of "Clear Horizons" on the German gligg record label with a new ensemble Tomas Ulrich's TransAtlantic Quartet (with Christof Thewes -trombone, Martin Schmiddi Schmidt-mandolin and Michael Griener-drums). JAZZ NOW has characterized him as "the total package ... incredible chops, great imagination and superb pitch. He fulfills the roles of bassist, guitarist, and additional horn player and is endlessly talented and creative". Jay Collins from Signal to Noise has written that "Tomas Ulrich is surely one of the most accomplished and intriguing cellists in improvised music, with a brilliant technical mastery and ability to play prickly improv, jazz, classical, film music or pretty much anything he desires." Tomas has written music for film, theater and instrumental performance and has concertized in Europe, Japan, South America and the United States. Mr Ulrich can be heard on over 100 CDs in a wide variety of musical styles and settings. Tomas has recently returned from a wonderful tour in Avignon with Bruno Bertrand percussion and Francois Grillot bass. These performances have been released as digital downloads by AMJI and are available on Itunes, Amazon, etc. . Tomas will be performing a solo cello recital in Saarbrucken on August 9th in addition to a series of concerts with Christof Thewes, Martin Schmidt, the Christof Thewes Little Big Band (Concerto for Cello, Mandolin and Big Band), Alexander Schlippenbach and Jan Roder."

-All About Jazz (https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/tomasulrich)
10/1/2025

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"Swedish-born and New York-based experimental guitarist Anders Nilsson produces music that is at once bracingly direct and utterly unclassifiable." - Matt Miller, tuneOUToptIN. As an electric, acoustic and 11-string alto guitarist, he has performed at festivals and concerts throughout Europe and North America. His solo guitar music is featured on the albums "Night Guitar" 2012 and "Äventyr" 2022. "Anders Nilsson, a guitarist-composer comfortable with everything from free improvisation to avant-garde metal, celebrates a fine recent solo effort, Night Guitar, that traverses ghostly mood-setting, bluesy twang and overdriven riffage." - Time Out, New York. He leads three bands playing his music; Anders Nilsson Group with Satoshi Takeishi drums, percussion and David Ambrosio electric bass, bata, Outer Space Caravan with Stephanie Griffin viola, Michael Attias alto sax, Ken Filiano bass, Anders Nilsson's AORTA, a jazz-rock band in Malmö, Sweden. He plays on over 40 albums and has performed and/or recorded with many artists such as Mohsen Namjoo, Gordon Beeferman, Jason Kao Hwang, Kalabalik, Paquito D'Rivera, Elliott Sharp, Fay Victor, and Angelblood. Nilsson's work as a composer has produced 100+ compositions ranging from brief to epic solo works to large experimental ensemble works, many of which have been released on several acclaimed albums. He has also written music for string quartet, short films, butoh dance performances and theatre.

I extend endless thanks to the many special collaborators I've been fortunate to work with over the years including;

Drummers: Peter Nilsson, Michael Evans, Tom Bruno, Satoshi Takeishi, David Nuss, Lou Grassi, Michael T.A. Thompson, Jeff Arnal, Gerald Cleaver, George Schuller, Hamid Drake, Vinnie Sperrazza, David Gould, Tim Keiper, Michael Wimberley, Kevin Shea, Calvin Weston, Antonio Sanchez, Lukmil Perez, Martin Brandquist, Jeremy Carlstedt Bassists: Ken Filiano, David Carlsson, David Ambrosio, Joe Fonda, Sean Conly, Michael Formanek, Matt Heyner, Reid Taylor, Kermit Driscoll, Felipe Cabrera Cardenas, John Benitez, Ed Schuller, Mark Helias, Francois Grillot, Stuart Popejoy, Ratzo Harris Cellists: Tomas Ulrich, Fred Lonberg-Holm Violin: Sarah Bernstein, Charlie Burnham Keyboardists: Sebastian Schunke, Daniel Kelly, Evan Gallagher Trumpeters: Tomas Hallonsten, Matt Lavelle, Roy Campbell, El Indio, Ralph Alessi Saxophonists: Mattias Carlson, Sabir Mateen, Daniel Carter, Ras Moshe, Michael Attias, Darius Jones, Sven Andersson, Cennet Jönsson, Sam Newsome, Tony Malaby, Helge Albin, Henrik Frisk, Mats Gustafsson, Martin Kuchen Clarinetists: Paquito D'Rivera, Perry Robinson Vocalists: Fay Victor, John Sinclair, Bonnie Barnett Percussionists: Chris Tunkel, Burkhard Beins, Brahim Fribgane Guitarists: Gene Bertoncini, Raoul Björkenheim, Aaron Dugan, Elliot Sharp Banjoist: Eugene Chadbourne Tubaist: Jose Davilla The world's only Flexicordist: Herman Müntzing."

-Anders Nilsson Website (http://www.andersnilssonguitar.com/bio/)
10/1/2025

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"Hans Tammen likes to set sounds in motion, and then sit back to watch the movements unfold. Using textures, timbre and dynamics as primary elements, his music is continuously shifting, with different layers floating into the foreground while others disappear. This flows like clockwork, "transforming a sequence of instrumental gestures into a wide territory of semi-hostile discontinuity; percussive, droning, intricately colorful, or simply blowing your socks off" (Touching Extremes).

He currently plays guitar, Buchla Music Easel, a Blippoo Box chaos synthesizer plus other small electronics devices. He also performs with various pieces of software of his own design, i.e. the "Endangered Guitar" (a hybrid software/guitar instrument), and "Prozesshansl" (made to process the sounds of other instruments). He regularly writes for large ensembles, notably his 18-piece chamber-jazz ensemble Third Eye Orchestra, and the all-electronic Dark Circuits Orchestra, both founded in 2005. In 2021 FLUX String Quartet commissioned him to write a large work for string quartet and live electronics.

His works have been presented at festivals in the US, Canada, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, India, South Africa, the Middle East and all over Europe. He has recorded on labels such as Clang, Innova, ESP-DISK, Nur/Nicht/Nur, Gold Bolus, Nachtstück, Creative Sources, Leo Records, Potlatch and Outnow.

Hans Tammen received grants and composer commissions from NewMusicUSA, Chamber Music America, MAPFund, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, American Music Center, Lucas Artists Residencies Montalvo, New York State Council On The Arts (NYSCA), New York Foundation For The Arts (NYFA), American Composers Forum w/ Jerome Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Funds, New York State Music Fund, Goethe Institute w/ Foreign Affairs Office, among others.

Hans Tammen is currently teaching at School of Visual Arts, Hunter College and NYU. From 2001 to 2014 he worked at Harvestworks Digital Media Art Center in NYC, where he was responsible for the Client Services, Education and Artist In Residence program, helping countless digital media artists through completion of their works. As an arbitrator at BTQ in the 1990s, he spent a decade advising unions about electronic monitoring and surveillance at the workplace, and negotiating contracts and agreements to minimize surveillance aspects. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Kassel, studying on a stipend from Friedrich Ebert Foundation."

-Hans Tammen Website (https://tammen.org/Bio-CV)
10/1/2025

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"Ken Filiano performs throughout the world, playing and recording with leading artists in jazz, spontaneous improvisation, classical, world/ethnic, and interdisciplinary performance, fusing the rich traditions of the double bass with his own seemingly limitless inventiveness. Ken's solo bass CD, subvenire (NineWinds), received widespread critical praise. For this and numerous other recordings, Ken has been called a creative virtuoso, a master of technique ... a paradigm of that type of artist... who can play anything in any context and make it work, simply because he puts the music first and leaves peripheral considerations behind.

Ken composes for his quartet with Michael Attias, Tony Malaby, and Michael T.A. Thomspon; a collective with Attias and Tomas Ulrich; and for his decades-long collaborations with Steve Adams and Vinny Golia. His prolific output also includes performances and/or recordings with artists including Bonnie Barnett, Rob Blakeslee, Bobby Bradford, Taylor Ho Bynum, Roy Campbell, John Carter, Nels Cline, Alex Cline, Connie Crothers, Mark Dresser, Ted Dunbar, Marty Ehrlich, Giora Feidman, Bob Feldman, Eddie Gale, Georgian Chamber Orchestra, Dennis Gonzalez, Lou Grassi, Phil Haynes, Fred Hess, Jason Hwang, Joseph Jarman, Sheila Jordan (with the Aardvark Orchestra), Raul Juarena, Joe Labarbera, Joelle Leandre, Frank London, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Tina Marsh, Warne Marsh, Dom Minasi, Hafez Modirzadeh, Butch Morris, Barre Phillips, Don Preston, Herb Robertson, Bob Rodriguez, Roswell Rudd, ROVA Saxophone Quartet, Ursel Schlicht, Paul Smoker, Chris Sullivan, Peeter Uuskyla, Fay Victor, Biggi Vinkeloe, Kenny Wessel, Andrea Wolper, Pablo Ziegler. With Tomas Ulrich, Elliott Sharp, and Carlos Zingaro, he is a member of T.E.C.K. String Quartet.

Ken has been a guest lecturer, performer, and workshop leader at institutions in the United States and Europe. He earned a MM from Rutgers University and is currently on faculty at Mansfield University."- All About Jazz

-Pi Recordings / All About Jazz (https://pirecordings.com/artist/Ken_Filiano)
10/1/2025

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"Andrew Drury grew up near Seattle (USA) and works primarily in avant-jazz and free improvisation, with regular forays into other genres and media. He has performed in Europe and North America, made five CDs as a bandleader, and appeared on over 20 others. He is an acclaimed leader of percussion workshops.

Drury began drumming in the sixth grade band at his school on Bainbridge Island, Washington. After spending a summer digging a basement under his parents' house with a shovel and pick he bought a drum set and began taking lessons from Seattle drummer Dave Coleman, Sr. He later studied with Ed Blackwell, Bill Lowe, Bill Barron, and the writer Annie Dillard at Wesleyan University. He is a self-taught composer.

Drury performs as a soloist, collaborates with adventurous musicians from around the world, and leads several groups that play his compositions. In addition to groups that he leads and frequent encounters with improvisers from various parts of the world he plays regularly with Jason Kao Hwang, Jessica Lurie, Reuben Radding, the Rat Race Choir, the Steve Swell Trio, TOTEM>, Nate Wooley, Jack Wright, and others.

Since 2002 much of Drury's music has been characterized by an exploration of new materials and techniques, and by the use of texture as a central organizing element. He frequently performs using one drum, scraping the head with wood slivers and fingernails, manipulating drum head tension and harmonic patterns with bells, using the drum as an acoustic filter and amplifier for vibrations produced on other objects, and using the drum as a wind instrument.

Drury's wide ranging interests lead him periodically to explore other media and formats. Inspired by the work and writings of visual artist Robert Smithson, Drury performed and photographed over 20 Earth Solos-site specific drum set solos in desert, mountain, prairie, and industrial settings throughout the western US. He co-created a street theater piece that he performed in streets and political rallies in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Mexico in 1993. In his work with choreographers (Love of the New Gun, Self-Obliteration Companion, etc.) he has created collages of field recordings and percussion samples, with occasional live mixing, percussion, or prepared piano. His music for dance has been presented at DTW, Joyce Soho, NW New Works Festival, and five cities in Romania.

Drury has led nearly 1,000 percussion workshops and trainings for music teachers and since 1989. Participants have included people of all ages, backgrounds, and physical abilities in rural and urban areas in schools, prisons, museums, Indian reservations, festivals, villages in Nicaragua and Guatemala, as well as the graduate school of the Columbia University School of Social Work. In 2005 he drummed with homeless people and battered women in ten shelters in Indiana. Following a six-month "Millennium Project" residency with the Oneida Nation in 2000 the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation identified him as "one of the most skilled and experienced community artists in America."

Drury has received 18 grants for his work from the NEA, NYSCA, NYFA, the Seattle Arts Commission, the Artist Trust, the Puffin Foundation, and others. He lives in Brooklyn, New York (USA)."

-Andrew Drury Website (http://www.andrewdrury.com/bio.htm)
10/1/2025

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Track Listing:
Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Jazz & Improvisation Based on Compositions
Free Improvisation
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Large Ensembles
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

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Evil Clown Shorties Volume 5 (2024-2025)
(Evil Clown)
Spanning 14 compact improvisations drawn from nine shifting ensembles within the modular Evil Clown collective, this volume distills the creativity of PEK's longform sessions into concise sonic snapshots — each "Shortie" capturing a distinct moment from the various ensembles as a focused sampler of the label's wide-ranging free improvisation ethos.
Turbulence
Objections To Realism
(Evil Clown)
Originally intended as a Leap of Faith chamber set, this richly detailed Turbulence quartet emerged from last-minute changes, assembling David Peck, John Fugarino, Tom Swafford, and Scott Samenfeld in a balanced wind and string ensemble for an intricate improvisation, blending strings, horns, electronics, and the evil clown arsenal of instruments in a texturally nuanced performance.
Leap Of Faith
Decoding the Evolution of Meaning
(Evil Clown)
Boston-based improvisational ensemble Leap of Faith, led by multi-instrumentalist David Peck (PEK) and cellist Glynis Lomon, presents a drummerless seven-piece configuration recorded live at Evil Clown Headquarters, navigating expansive free improvisation with horns, strings, electronics, and unconventional percussion in an explorative chamber-like performance of subtle dynamics and spontaneous interplay
Bisio, Michael
NuMBq
(Mahakala Music)
Bassist and composer Michael Bisio leads an exceptional quartet with Melanie Dyer on viola, Marianne Osiel on English horn, and Jay Rosen on percussion, blending Third Stream nuance with the fire of free jazz in an ever-flowing, deeply expressive set of improvisations, channeling rich orchestral textures and spontaneous interplay into a powerful and fluid genre-blurring journey.
Various Artists
Evil Clown Shorties Volume 4 (2024)
(Evil Clown)
A curated collection of 14 short improvisations from Evil Clown's modular ensembles, this fourth Shorties Volume distills the essence of expansive, long-form performances into concise yet potent expressions, featuring 31 musicians across 7 ensembles, these spontaneous works, recorded during warmups and soundchecks, offer a dynamic snapshot of the label's ever-evolving sonic landscape.
Christi, Ellen (Christi / Buchanan / Ulrich / Parker / Brown)
Instant Reality
(Network)
A striking exploration of avant-garde jazz and free improvisation, this 1992 session unites vocalist and pianist Ellen Christi with Steve Buchanan (electric guitar), Tomas Ulrich (cello), William Parker (bass), and Lefferts Brown (loops), weaving dynamic vocal phrasing, bold instrumental textures, and evolving electronic layers into an immersive and unpredictable sonic landscape.
Various Artists
Evil Clown Shorties, Vol. 3 (2024)
(Evil Clown)
Drawn from 13 albums across eight ensembles and featuring 29 musicians, this third volume offers an excellent introduction to the concise improvisations recorded as soundchecks before long-form works, providing distinct snapshots of Evil Clown's dynamic creativity and showcasing the evolving sonorities and modular ensemble interplay that define their unique sonic universe.
Leap of Faith
Linguistic Deference
(Evil Clown)
Recorded live at Evil Clown Headquarters, the quartet Leap of Faith — David Peck, Glynis Lomon, John Fugarino, and Tom Swafford — delivers a masterful chamber improvisation balancing strings, winds, percussion, electronics, and an extraordinary palette of acoustic and electro-acoustic instruments, blending seasoned creativity into a vivid, expansive, and tightly woven sonic exploration.
Sharp, Elliott (w/ Coleman / Dulberger / Green II / Insell / Jiang / McKenzie / Salomon / Wooley)
Hudson River Compositions 1973-74
(zOaR Records)
Inspired by fireflies, birds, and the flow of the Hudson River while living in Germantown, NY, Elliott Sharp developed these compositions using traditional, graphic, & conceptual scores, presented here in a collage of sessions featuring Sharp on reeds & strings with Anthony Coleman, Nate Wooley, Shayna Dulberger, Hao Jiang, Terry L. Greene, Don McKenzie, Terry L. Green II, Sara Salomon, and Judith Insell.
Leap of Faith
Spooky Action at a Distance
(Evil Clown)
An acoustic septet edition of the Leap of Faith, the core duet of David Peck on clarinets, saxophones, double reeds & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, joined by Michael Caglianone on saxophones, flute, clarinet, melodica & water bottle, John Fugarino on trumpet, slide trumpet & flugelhorn, Tom Swafford on violin, Kit Demos on bass, and Eric Rosenthal on drums.
Modney (Modney / Wooley / Gentile / Roberts / Pluta / Symthe / ...)
Ascending Primes [2 CDs]
(Pyroclastic Records)
Exploring tuning systems and the extremes of harmonicity and dissonance through compositions that employ prime numbers of players in solo, trio, quintet, septet, and undectet (11) configurations, violinist Modney takes listeners into transcendent and turbulent spaces spanning improvisation and composition, detailed in a 24-page booklet with collages from Ellsworth Kelly.
Evil Clown Shorties
Volume 2 (2023-2024)
(Evil Clown)
While typically performing and releasing extended improvisations that last an hour or more, before each of the Evil Clown's Livestreamed performances they record a short improvisation, referred to as "Shorties", taking approaches that yield unique character to the longer works, collected here in 15 recordings with permutations of regular collective members.
Leap Of Faith Chinese Orchestra
Magic Squares
(Evil Clown)
A unique and fascinating edition of the Leap of Faith Orchestra, bringing special guests Jimmy Zhao, Yazhi Gao, Jiaxin Winky Wan, Ziya Gao, and Kaixin Hou performing on Chinese instruments to join with the core duo of David Peck on clarinets, saxophones, clarinets & flutes, Glynis Lomon on cello, aquasonic & voice, along with percussionist/drummer Michael Knoblach and bassist Scott Samenfeld.
Sharp, Elliott
SysOrk: Occam's Machete
(zOaR Records)
Assembling a world-class ensemble of 24 string players drawing from the Quartets JACK, Sirius, Flux, and Bergamot, here performing as SysOrk, Elliott Sharp's large-scale algorithmic composition provides simple instructions to the participants, creating a seething sonic tapestry of shifting, swirling tones and acoustic drones, exceptionally immersive and detailed.
Easter Quartet, The (Weissenfels / Filliano / Grassi / Capp)
Light End
(Not Two)
From subtle dynamics to invigorating free exchanges, the collective improvising band Easter Quartet brings together New York luminaries Ken Filiano on bass with two drummer/percussionists--Lou Grassi and Todd Capp--and Leipzig, German pianist Simone Weissenfels, performing in the studio for three extended, forcefully confident, evolving improvisations.
Fowler, Chad / Shanyse Strickland / Sana Nagano / Melanie Dyer / Ken Filiano / Anders Griffen
Birdsong
(Mahakala Music)
Highlighting the parallel to changes in birdsong in urban areas because of anthropogenic ambient noise, this diverse ensemble demonstrates the evolution of improv approaches through unique origins and backgrounds; with Chad Fowler (stritch, flute), Shanyse Strickland (French Horn), Sana Nagano (violin), Melanie Dyer (viola), Ken Filiano (bass) and Anders Griffen (drums).
Wooley, Nate / Mutual Aid Music
Four Experiments [4 CD BOX SET]
(Pleasure of the Text Records)
Engaging an expanded version of the ensemble from his Mutual Aid Music, trumpeter Nate Wooley provides scores for his players in various configuration that challenge concepts of group composition, instrumental sound and resonance, idealized tones and the human voice, the development of melody and harmony in compositions, &c.; performers include Wooley, Seymore Wright, John McCowen, Gabby Fluke-Mogul, Cory Smythe, Luke Stewart, Eric Wubbels, &c.
Leap Of Faith
Degrees Of Freedom
(Evil Clown)
Leap Of Faith
Cosmic String Loop
(Evil Clown)
The core duet from the Leap of Faith Orchestra of David Peck (PEK) on clarinets, saxophones, double reeds & flutes, and Glynis Lomon on cello, are joined by Tom Swafford on violin and Kit Demos on double bass, all performing on the vast collection of percussive instruments in the Evil Clown arsenal, performing transformations across highly varied sonorities.
Dunkelman, Nava / Gabby Fluke-Mogul
Likht
(Relative Pitch)
Two New York improvisers — percussionist Nava Dunkelman and violinst Gabby Fluke-Mogul — sharing a background from Mills College and work with luminaries including Fred Frith, present their extroverted approaches to free improvisation in these eleven assertive dialogs recorded in the studio, their compatibility and love of unusual techniques evident.
Soldier, Dave / William Hooker
Lewitt Etudes
(Mahakala Music)
Inspired by the graphic wall drawings of American artist and sculptor Sol Lewitt, designed as graphic scores for flexibility in improvisation, violinist Dave Soldier and drummer William Hooker assembled this impressive ensemble to present 9 etudes, performed with Rebecca Cherry, Kirk Knuffke, Ayumi Ishito, Hans Tammen, Alex Greene, Luke Stewart, and Ken Filiano.
Robinson / Whitecage / Filiano / Grassi
Live @ VisionFest20
(Not Two)
Dedicated to the memory of reed & wind players Perry Robinson and Mark Whitecage, both of whom have passed since they took part in this tremendous 2015 live recording recorded at the 20th VisionFest in NYC, in a quartet with bassist Ken Filiano and drummer Lou Grassi for three collective free improvisations, particularly the extended first piece dedicated to late trumpeter Roy Campbell.
Fluke - Mogul, Gabby
Love Songs
(Relative Pitch)
An album of raw and emotional "love songs", 17 unique solo violin improvisations and vocal utterance as the New York improviser runs her bow with passionate openness and intimacy through raspy edges, ardent plucking, introspective aching, and moments of beauty, all displayed through immense technique and powerful control over her instrument.
Nilsson, Anders
Aventyr [VINYL]
(zOaR Records)
A impressive album of virtual guitar duos from Swedish-born and New York-based experimental guitarist Anders Nilsson, challenging himself to imagine playing the pieces as 4-handed piano music, or as performed on a kora, or by a string quartet, through three extended pieces that balance complex interaction with thoughtful beauty and instrospection; exceptional.




The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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