November 23, 2013

Special Saturday night event: Jason Stein and Jonah Parzen-Johnson. Sound by Jon Monteverde. 

Jason Stein has been performing solo bass clarinet concerts on occasion since releasing his 2009 solo record, "In Exchange for a Process" (Leo Records). Stein has toured as a solo artist in both the United States and Europe. Intermingling both traditional and extended techniques, Stein has developed a highly personal vocabulary on the bass clarinet.

Visit Jason's website: jasonsteinmusic.com.

Jonah Parzen-Johnson is a saxophonist living in Brooklyn, NY. He writes lo-fi music for solo saxophone and analog synth about the feeling of joyful melancholy that comes from leaving stuff behind as the world conspires to push us away from our memories. His impressive use of extended techniques, including circular breathing, multi-phonics and almost impossibly nimble vocalization, owes a debt to the Chicago saxophone legacy but his devotion to a quirky almost vocal style places him in new territory for the solo saxophone. Jonah draws inspiration from the unadorned voices of Appalachian Music and lo-fi musicians like Bill Callahan. He has meticulously constructed a world of warm memories remembered in a cold present, as he melds the evocative nature of folk music with the chilling power of experimentalism. In addition to relentlessly touring as a solo saxophonist, Jonah is a co-leader of the nationally touring Afrobeat ensemble Zongo Junction.

Visit Johah's website: jonahpj.com.

Also available: a previous Jonah Parzen-Johnson recording from May 3, 2013.