July 11, 2014
Friday night live at Transistor: Green Pasture Happiness, Stein/Reid/Daisy and Rooms. Sound by Jon Monteverde.
The Green Pasture Happiness is predatory, smarmy, and slaphappy. Those who get hypnotized by its dialectic approach to the history of music do not hear what it is really saying. They sincerely believe that the cure for evil is more evil. Their violent, tendentious campaigns of malice and malignity are to improvisation what the blitzkrieg was to international diplomacy, by which I mean that they like forcing one to fall into the trap of thinking that all musical literature that opposes diabolism was forged by resentful, unambitious bludgers.
Personnel:
Daniel Fandiño - modular synth
Aaron Zarzutzki - modular synth
Brian Labycz - modular synth
(For this Transistor set, only Aaron and Brian performed.)
Visit Green Pasture Happiness' website.
Jason Stein was born in 1976 and is originally from Long Island, New York. He is one of the few musicians working today to focus entirely on the bass clarinet as a jazz and improvisational instrument. He studied at Bennington College with Charles Gayle and Milford Graves, and at the University of Michigan with Donald Walden and Ed Sarath. In 2005, Stein relocated to Chicago and has since recorded for such labels as Leo, Delmark, Atavistic, 482 Music and Clean Feed. Stein has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe, including performances in festivals in Lisbon, Cracow, Utrecht, Barcelona, Debreccen and Ljubljana. He has had the opportunity to perform with a number of exciting local and international musicians including: Michael Moore, Jeff Parker, Oscar Noriega, Rudi Mahall, Ken Vandermark, Rob Mazurek, Jeb Bishop, Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten, Urs Leimgruber, Pandelis Karayorgis, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Tony Buck, Eric Boren, Kent Kessler, Tobias Delius, Michael Zerang, Michael Vatcher, Peter Brotzman, and Wilbert DeJoode.
Tim Daisy is a Chicago-based percussionist, composer and educator working in the fields of improvised and composed music. Born and raised in northeastern Illinois, he moved to Chicago in 1997 and has since performed, recorded, and toured with many acclaimed musicians and ensembles from both the USA and abroad. Tim also maintains an active touring schedule, working with a number of musicians and ensembles and has traveled extensively throughout North America and Europe. Working in a number of different environments, he has composed for solo percussion, chamber groups, jazz ensembles, dance, theater, and film.Tim has had the fortunate experience to work with many of the most cutting-edge musicians currently working in the field of improvised music, including: Ken Vandermark, Jeb Bishop, Fred Lonberg-Holm, James Falzone, Dave Rempis, Steve Swell, John Tchicai, Mars Williams, Joe McPhee, Matt Bauder, Michael Zerang, and Frank Rosaly, and Aram Shelton. In 2001 he joined the acclaimed ensemble The Vandermark 5, making six recordings with the group, as well as the 12-CD “Alchemia” box set, documenting the group's week-long residency at the Alchemia Club in Krakow, Poland. In 2002 he was named one of 13 "Drummers For The Future" by Downbeat magazine. In 2010 Tim was commissioned to compose an original percussion score for "Marchland," a new work for modern dance choreographed by Carrie Hanson and performed by the Seldoms at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. In 2011 Tim received both the New Music America "Composers Assistance Award" as well as the American Society of Composers Authors, and Publishers ASCAP Plus Award recognizing his original contributions to American music. Tim has performed drums as well as showcased his original compositions at many festivals throughout North America and Europe, including: The Newport Jazz Fetival, The Chicago Jazz Festival, The Umbrella Music Festival in Chicago, The North Sea Jazz Festival in The Netherlands, the Suoni Per Il Popolo Festival in Montreal, Krakow Jazz Fall in Krakow, Poland, and the Monterrey Jazz Festival.
Chicago-based cellist, composer and educator Tomeka Reid has been described as "a remarkably versatile player," (Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune). Equally adept in classical and jazz contexts, Ms. Reid predominantly finds herself in experimental and improvisatory settings and composes for a wide range of instrumentation, from big band to chamber ensemble. Ms. Reid's music combines her love for groove along with freer concepts. She is an integral part of Dee Alexander's Evolution Ensemble, Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble/Strings, Mike Reed's Loose Assembly, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) Great Black Music Ensemble, and co-leads the internationally recognized string trio Hear in Now, with performances in Poznan, Poland; Paris, France; Rome, Venice, Milan, Italy; Soazza, Switzerland, as well as Chicago and New York. In addition to the aforementioned ensembles, Ms. Reid performs with many of today's forward-thinking musicians in the world of jazz and creative music, including Anthony Braxton, George Lewis, Roscoe Mitchell, Jeb Bishop, Myra Melford, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Mary Halvorson, Denis Fournier, Edward Wilkerson and Harrison Bankhead. She also leads her own trio, featuring guitarist Matt Schneider and bassist Josh Abrams, for which she composes. Ms. Reid can be heard on numerous studio recordings. As a composer, Ms. Reid has been commissioned by the AACM, the Chicago Jazz Festival and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and has had several opportunities to showcase her work abroad at festivals such as Umbria Jazz, An Insolent Noise and Vignola Jazz. She has been nominated and awarded residencies for composition with the Ragdale Foundation and the 2nd Annual Make Jazz Fellowship hosted by the 18th Street Arts Organization.
Also available: a previous Jason Stein Transistor recording from November 23, 2013.
Since the fall of 2012, Rooms has been building a distinctive voice as an improvising ensemble. Comprised of Dan Pierson on keyboards, Charlie Kirchen on bass, and Matt Carroll on drums, the band has developed a large repertoire of original music that draws on a range of influences, while at the same time expressing an aesthetic that is specific and personal. This aesthetic can be heard on the group's debut album, "Rooms", and at frequent performances in Chicago and beyond.