Tag Archives: avant garde

Nick Millevoi Desertion Trio w/ScottClark6tet

I’m very excited about this show coming up on Sunday January 29th at The Camel in Richmond.  We’ll be welcoming Nick Millevoi Desertion Trio to town…and my new ensemble, the ScottClark6tet will be opening.
I’ve known Nick for years having opened up for some of his other projects (notably Many Arms).  The Desertion Trio features Kevin Shea on drums and Johnny DeBlase on bass.  This is a truly special group of musicians, and I’m very excited to have them coming through Richmond.

Nick Millevoi’s Desertion Trio w/ScottClark6tet
The Camel 
1621 W. Broad St., Richmond, VA 23220
$7adv $10 door
Doors open at 7pm
(Facebook event link here Nick Millevoi’s Desertion Trio w/ScottClark6tet)

Here is a short description of Nick and his band:
Desertion Trio is the newest project from intrepid Philadelphia-based guitarist/composer Nick Millevoi, exploring the sonic space between Neil Young’s expansive work with Crazy Horse, late 60s free jazz, and the NY Downtown scene. Millevoi’s Desertion Trio features Johnny DeBlase of Sabbath Assembly and Zevious on bass and Kevin Shea, best known for his work with jazz assassins Mostly Other People Do The Killing and Talibam!, on drums.

Nick’s resume includes playing John Zorn‘s Bagatelles with the Hollenberg-Millevoi Quartet, playing guitar with Chris Forsyth and the Solar Motel Band live and on the group’s critically acclaimed The Rarity of Experience, and co-leading noise jazz trio Many Arms, who released two CDs on John Zorn’s Tzadik label. Nick’s music has been released by labels such as Tzadik, New Atlantis, Gaffer, and The Flenser, and has been reviewed by Pitchfork, SPIN, NPR Music, The Onion AV Club, Wire magazine, and many others.

In May 2015, Shhpuma, part of the Clean Feed label, focused on releasing music that goes “beyond, below and above the jazz realm,” released the debut record by Desertion, featuring bassist Johnny DeBlase, keyboardist Jamie Saft, and drummer Ches Smith. In a track premiere for NPR Music, Lars Gotrich said Desertion “hits the sweet spot between Neil Young’s exploratory Crazy Horse jams and a spaghetti western soundtrack,” and Aquarium Drunkard said, “Desertion is well worth getting lost in.”

Opening the show will be my new group called the ScottClark6tet.
The group features some of my favorite musicians.
Cameron Ralston-bass
Jason Scott-saxophone
Bob Miller-trumpet
Alan Parker-guitar
Tobin Summerfield-guitar
Scott Clark- drums
We will be playing all new music written for this band…and I couldn’t be more excited and honored to get to play with this group.

We’d love to have you come join us for this great show…..

won’t you join us?

ScottClark4tet “Bury My Heart”

ScottClark4tet BuryMyHeart cover CF 347

I know that in today’s culture it’s become “on to the next thing”. In music it’s the same way, “on to the next record”. Not many people want to know what you did but rather, “what are you doing?” There are some elements of that which I agree with, however last November I released a record on Clean Feed Records called “Bury My Heart”. Some of you may have heard the record or maybe saw a show, but after a recent concert performing the suite from that record, I feel that it is just as relevant today as it was the day that I started writing the music. I want to thank everyone that has checked out the record, and the inspiration/stories behind the music, as well as all the musicians that have played the suite with me live or on the record itself. (and also a special thank you to Pedro Costa at Clean Feed for helping get the record out into the world).
If you would like to check it out, you can find the music on my website as well as on Clean Feed’s site.
I am working on new music for this project…which I look forward to sharing with you soon. In the meantime, thank you all for your support and a special thank you to the people that I get to make music with for being so giving of their time and talents to make this music come alive and have the impact that it has had.
more soon…..

 

Exciting Upcoming Concerts…


For many years now I’ve been working (along with many other people) to try to bring world class musicians to our city to perform and connect with what we’re doing here in Richmond.  A lot of that wouldn’t be possible without the support of Chris Bopst at Balliceaux, Lucas Fritz at The Camel and The Broadberry and recently the Black Iris Gallery and their Tiny Bar Sessions.  (there have also been many other great venues and supporters of shows over the years….Tony Garcia and Darryl Harper at VCU, Gallery 5, Commercial Taphouse, ForInstance Gallery, Black Hand Coffee, Hardywood Brewery and many many many others!).

There are two shows coming up that I am very excited to be bringing to Richmond.  First is the group Friends and Neighbors joining us all the way from Norway on Friday, September 2nd at Black Iris Gallery.  Doors for the show open at 8:30pm and music starts right at 9pm.  Tickets are $10
Quoting from their website: “Friends & Neighbors represents a new generation of bands from the Norwegian jazz-scene. The music can be described as energetic and melodic free jazz inspired by musicians like Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp, Pharoah Sanders and John Carter. On their debut album ”No Beat Policy”, Friends & Neighbors have created an authentic and acoustic atmosphere that refers back to the political roots of free jazz. Through original and strong compositions, this has resulted in a band sound with strong identity, crystal clear presence and personality.”

Being able to have an international jazz group playing in our city is a great thing…and I hope that you will come and support them and the music.
Find out more about them here:  Friends and Neighbors
Also hear their most recent release on Clean Feed Records here: http://cleanfeed-records.com/product/hymn-for-a-hungry-nation/

The second show is the group Battle Trance led by the great saxophonist/composer Travis Laplante.  This show will also be taking place at the Black Iris Gallery on Wednesday, September 7th (doors at 8:30pm music at 9pm. Tickets $10) Battle Trance’s new record “Blade of Love” was just released and it is a truly amazing record.
More on the group and the new record via their site:

“Blade of Love is the new album from tenor saxophone quartet Battle Trance. The follow-up to their widely acclaimed debut Palace of Wind (2014), Blade of Love is an elemental composition that aims to fulfill the tenor saxophone’s expansive potential as an ensemble instrument. Working within the intimate intersection of the human body/breath and the saxophone, Blade of Love is a spiritual and enigmatic work with a deep emotional resonance. 

Since forming in 2012, the four saxophonists in Battle Trance (Travis Laplante, Patrick Breiner, Matt Nelson, Jeremy Viner) have spent hundreds of hours deepening their musical connection with each other, maturing as an ensemble through relentless touring everywhere from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, Montreal to Vancouver, and most places in between. 

The three movements of Blade of Love were composed by Battle Trance leader Travis Laplante and recorded by the group in a wooden room with soaring ceilings in the Vermont forest, after spending two years of rigorous rehearsals working to perfect the array of extended techniques, both virtuosic and primal, required to bring the challenging piece to life. 

Blade of Love’s central focus is on the physical and spiritual intersection of the saxophone and the human body. The saxophone is one of the few instruments that literally enters the body of the person playing it, and Blade of Love is a medium for this sacred meeting place, with each member of Battle Trance using the saxophone as a vessel for the human spirit. 

Singing has an inherent power, but that power is heightened in the context of Blade of Love. At times, the four players sing while exhaling through the saxophone tubes, using the instrument’s keys to shift the timbre of their voices. Laplante also integrates non-traditional mouth articulations, using the saxophone as a resonant chamber for these inventive sounds.”

You can purchase your copy of their new record at the show and also hear a sample of the music via the bandcamp page here: https://battletrance.bandcamp.com/album/blade-of-love

These two shows are just the most recent, in a long list of shows, that will pass through Richmond.  I hope that you will come support the music and help to continue to make Richmond a destination for other musicians to stop at and share their music with us.

For both of these shows my group, the ScottClarkOther4tet, will be opening.  For the show on September 2nd the 4tet will be playing music that we’ve been working on over the past few months, stemming from some of my early compositions.  For the show on September 7th we will be performing the suite “Bury My Heart” from our most recent release on Clean Feed Records.  This will be the first performance of the suite with guitarist Alan Parker, and I am very excited to share this music with you.  If you haven’t already heard the record you can hear it here (https://cleanfeed-records.com/product/bury-my-heart/) and I will also have hard copies for sale at both shows.
ScottClarkOther4tet

As always, thank you for all of your support….

more soon…..

Rick Parker/Li Daiguo & ScottClarkOther4tet @ Balliceaux

Join us for a special night of music, on Wednesday August 3rd, as we welcome the duo of Brooklyn’s Rick Parker and China’s Li Daiguo to Richmond for a great night of music at Balliceaux. The ScottClarkOther4tet will be opeing (featuring Cameron Ralston, Bob Miller, Alan Parker and Scott Clark).
Doors open at 9:30 and the show is free….
Balliceaux: 203 N. Lombardy St Richmond, VA 23220

Read more about Rick and Li below…they are touing in support of their new record and this is really something that you don’t want to miss. (you can hear a sample of what they do here…..https://youtu.be/yayQMF6LyeU)

ABOUT LI DAIGUO AND RICK PARKER
Sounds of the trombone, cello, pipa human voice and a variety of electronic remedies are conjured to form the psychoacoustic duo of Brooklyn’s Rick Parker and China’s Li Daiguo. “The sounds that the two create together are uncategorizable, a fluid blend of past and future, traditional and modern. They move from the ambient to the abstract, with folk-like acoustics colliding strangely with sci-fi electronics.” (Shaun Brady). With performances and recording sessions over the last 2 years in both NYC and Dali, a small city in southwest China, Parker and Li will release their debut record, Free World Music, on Brooklyn’s eleven2eleven record label in June 2016.

Their unlikely collaboration began in 2014 with Parker’s visit to Li’s current hometown of Dali where they performed and recorded. Later that fall, Li travelled to NYC where they spent another day in the recording studio and performed concerts at Manhattan Inn and Trans-Pecos presented by Lucas Ligeti’s Pigeon Culture. Their performance in Philadelphia presented by Fire Museum was also named a 2014 Best Performance in Philadelphia by Ken Weiss in Cadence Magazine. In the summer of 2015, they were invited to take part in a week long composition residency at COART in Lijiang, China which culminated in a concert of the music they created together during that week.

Both musicians have shaped their own successful careers on their own. Li Daiguo is a major figure in the experimental traditional music world in China and abroad. The multi-instrumentalist has performed solo concerts on cello, pipa, throat singing and beat boxing at Paris Cite De La Musique, Sonic Protest Festival France, Culturescapes Arts Festival in Switzerland, World Sacred Spirits Festival in India as well as festivals all over China. He has also composed for the Guangzhou Modern Dance company, Guangzhou Ballet company, Nobu Khan Malaysian Butoh Dance festival and has released numerous recordings on his own.

Combining jazz, experimental, electronic and rock, Rick Parker casts a broad net with his trombone playing augmented by electronics and synthesizers. His music has been described as “an expressive new-breed fusion, informed by a few generations of downtown experimentation.” Nate Chinen, New York Times. He leads/co-leads several groups including: jazz quintet, the Rick Parker Collective; Little Worlds a trio dedicated to the performance of Bela Bartok’s Mikrokosmos and 9 Volt with Eyal Maoz. These groups have 5 releases on labels including OutNow Recordings, Fresh Sound New Talent and eleven2eleven. Parker has worked with a large cross section of notable musicians including Tim Berne, Mingus Big Band, Charli Persip, Frank Lacy, Ravish Momin’s Tarana, Super Hi-Fi, Tim Kuhl, Beninghove’s Hangmen, hip hop legends the Wu Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah, DMC and mexican pop stars Ximena Sariñana and Natalia LaFourcade.

Nate Wooley’s “Sound American”

Nate Wooley

(Nate Wooley. Photo: Peter Gannushkin)

Nate Wooley is one of my favorite musicians and people.  Every time I’ve had the chance to hear him play it’s always been a treat.  (his records are pretty amazing as well).  For 8 issues now Nate has been writing about, and interviewing, an amazing array of musicians on varying topics related to music for a series called Sound American.  (http://soundamerican.org).  Each issue provides some great insight into some of the voices of many of the great musicians of our time.  The latest issue is entitled “What is Jazz?” and features interviews with Joe Morris and Ken Vandermark, Tim Berne, Gerald Cleaver, Chris Corsano, Mary Halvorson, Jeff Parker, Matana Roberts and so many more great modern voices in this music called “Jazz”.  It’s a great read and there are some really great insights into how so many musicians view not only the word Jazz, but also the music that the word is intended to describe.

I look forward to these issues and I love sharing them with others when they get posted.

I hope you enjoy and while you’re at it, check out all of the music that these musicians are making and help keep the music alive…..

http://natewooley.com
http://soundamerican.org

more soon…..

ScottClark4tet @ Commercial Taphouse Nov. 17th 9pm

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This Sunday (November 17th) at 9pm the ScottClark4tet will be playing at the Commercial Taphouse in our fair city #rva.  It’s always a great honor to get to play with this group and we’re excited to try out some of our new music.

I still have a few copies of our record A&B and I’ll have them with me.
(in the meantime you can still purchase digital copies here http://scottclark4tet.bandcamp.com/)

I hope that you can join us….

November 17th, 2013
ScottClark4tet
Commercial Taphouse
9pm FREE
11 North Robinson St.
Richmond, VA 23220

ScottClark4tet:
Cameron Ralston-bass
Bob Miller-trumpet
Jason Scott-saxophone
Scott Clark-drums

more soon….and thank you for all of the support

AZUL & ScottClark4tet @ Balliceaux 9/18

AZUL & ScottClark4tet

I hope you’ll join us at Balliceaux on September 18th when we share the stage with AZUL. AZUL features Brian Caputo on drums, Greg Howard on chapman stick and John D’earth on trumpet. I’ve heard some of their music and it is truly special music by truly amazing musicians.  We can’t wait to share the stage with them.  Here is just a small taste from one of their first shows…..

The show starts at 9:30pm and is free.

The ScottClark4tet is Cameron Ralston on bass, Jason Scott on sax, Bob Miller on trumpet and myself on drums.

AZUL & ScottClark4tet
Wednesday September 18th
Balliceaux 
203 N. Lombardy St
9:30pm FREE

more info can on AZUL can be found on Greg Howard’s webpage
http://www.greghoward.com/azul/

https://www.facebook.com/events/199738680204594/

…..more soon

ScottClark4tet @ Commercial Taphouse 8/11 9pm

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Join us as we make our return to one of the best spots in rva, the Commercial Taphouse.
It’s been some time since we played at the Taphouse and we’re looking forward to trying out some new music.
(music by  Jean Sibelius, Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker, Eric Dolphy, Charles Mingus…and all the ScottClark4tet standards….)

Also, we’ll be starting the music right at 9pm…..

And if you’ve been waiting for your chance to purchase one of the last few physical copies of our record “A&B”, now’s your chance.  (all major credit cards accepted…..!)

Thank you for all of your support…..

Sunday August 11
9:00pm sharp
Free
11 North Robinson Street
Richmond, VA 23220

ScottClark4tet:
Cameron Ralston-bass
Jason Scott-saxophone
Bob Miller-trumpet
Scott Clark-drums

more soon……….

ScottClark4tet Mingus Awareness Project Recording

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Last year the ScottClark4tet had the honor of being asked to participate in the Mingus Awareness Project.  “The Mingus Awareness Project is a series of concerts that benefits organizations that provide support for individuals who have ALS as well as their families. MAP concerts also provide opportunities for audiences and performers to celebrate the music of Charles Mingus, music composed by artists who worked with Mingus, as well as music by composers who perform during MAP concerts. Eleven Mingus Awareness Project concerts have happened in Chicago, IL and Richmond, VA since 2007.”

The show featured many Richmond bands including Glows in the Dark, No BS! Brass Band, The Angry Man Quartet, Hooten/Levin/Jones ft. JC Kuhl, and the Jon Hey Quartet. The Borderbend Arts Collective made a recording of the whole night, which is available on the Mingus Awareness Project bandcamp page here http://bit.ly/11xI8vu. (here is a link to the 2nd half of the show http://bit.ly/11yL4Mj.)

Enjoy the music and please consider purchasing a copy of the recording to support this great cause.

thanks for the support

more soon….