In this Newsletter:

ROVA NEWS :: October - November :: 2010

Kyle Bruckmann’s Wrack visits the Bay Area from Chicago

What’s Up?

Our fall season begins with an exciting project that’s the brainchild of double reedman and composer, Kyle Bruckmann: On Procedural Grounds—bringing Rova and Chicago-based Wrack together for the first time for a concert and recording session. Jon Raskin is enjoying a month-long residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Marin County, where he’s working on new compositions. Rova will join him to play a Sunday afternoon set in October. The rest of the quartet is busy with other Bay Area concerts. Come have a listen.

Rova + Wrack: On Procedural Grounds

Friday, October 1, 8:00 PM
Local improvising oboist and composer Kyle Bruckmann will premiere, On Procedural Grounds, an extended work for Rova in collaboration with his long-running quintet Wrack and Bay Area improv stalwarts, Gino Robair and Tim Perkis providing the electronics. Rova will play the second set as a quartet.

Bruckmann’s creative work spans a dizzying range, from a traditional Western classical foundation into genre-bending gray areas encompassing free jazz, electronic music and post-punk rock. International touring and appearances on more than 50 recordings have led to his recognition as "a modern day renaissance musician" and "a seasoned improviser with impressive extended technique and peculiar artistic flair."

His Wrack project was founded in 2002 with the explicit intent of blurring distinctions between compositional and improvisational procedures, creative and interpretative mindsets, African-American and Euro-American experimental traditions. It is equally a book of compositions, an unconventional chamber ensemble, and an aesthetic philosophy entangling the methodologies of contemporary jazz and classical modernism.

“I can cite a 1993 Rova performance I witnessed while an undergraduate conservatory student in Houston as a seminal experience, instrumental in launching me onto the creative path I’ve pursued ever since.” -KB

Wrack is:

Kyle Bruckmann, oboe and English horn; Jason Stein, bass clarinet; Jen Clare Paulson, viola; Anton Hatwich, bass; and Tim Daisy, percussion

Join the Rova:Arts Community

Ackley and Ochs with a member of SF Taiko Dojo in 1989

Already a fan? Encourage your Facebook friends to become Rova:Arts fans.

When we hit 1,000 Facebook fans, we'll give every fan access to a video of the 40-minute Rova + San Francisco Taiko Dojo collaboration from the 1989 Leverkeusen Jazz Festival (in Germany)! This is the only video recording of the extended piece Dance of the Maroons, composed by Jon Raskin and Rova for this special ensemble in 1988. Long thought to be lost, this uncut footage is something special; it will not be shown until we reach 1000 fans—and then will only be available online for two weeks before being taken down. The only notice of the video’s availability will be posted on Facebook. facebook.com

Check out Rova on YouTube!  

We’re frequently posting new videos, both recent and vintage; if you subscribe to our YouTube channel, we’ll notify you when there is something new to watch. Go to http://www.youtube.com/user/ROVAARTSSF and click the subscribe button.

Upcoming Shows

Sunday, October 17, 3:00 PM
ROVA at the Headlands Center for the Arts

Page 2 of the score for Jon Raskin’s African Violets

The Headlands Center for the Arts, not far from the Golden Gate Bridge in western Marin County, is a fantastic institution and resource for artists of all media. Rova’s Jon Raskin will be in residence there for a month this fall, where he will be provided the time and space to concentrate on music.

On October 17, from noon till 5:00 pm, the Fall Open House will take place at the Headlands Center. This is a great opportunity to see and hear the work of the artists who are working there this season. The setting is ideal for hikes, picnics, kids, dogs and encountering provocative art.

At 3:00 that afternoon Rova will play a set of new work. Come join us and the resident artists for a trip outside the City.

Directions to the Center:
http://www.headlands.org
Rova will play in Jon’s studio there, in a building on Field road, just past the Nike base on the left.

Steve Adams

The Crushing Spiral Ensemble

Steve Adams – tenor and soprano sax
Sheldon Brown – alto sax
Chris Grady – trumpet
Matt Small – bass
Micah McClain – drums

Friday, October 15, 10 pm
Davies Symphony Hall

Performance on the second tier lobby after the SF Symphony concert

www.sfsymphony.org

-AND-

Monday, November 1 – 9:30 pm
The Make-Out Room
3225 22nd Street
San Francisco
415-647-2888
http://www.makeoutroom.com/

Dr. Eugene Chadbourne

Ackley and Chadbourne have a long standing association as friends and musical collaborators. They have not played a duo in the Bay Area in more than 15 years! This should be fun.

Friday, October 29, 6:30 pm
Steve Adams with Matt Small’s Chamber Ensemble
Made in San Francisco: Modern Music Influenced by the Music of the Post-Impressionist Era

Presenting new works in conjunction with the de Young Museum’s exhibition: Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne, and Beyond, Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay

Steve Adams – tenor and soprano sax
Sarah Zaharako – violin
Rachel Condry – clarinet and bass clarinet
Kymry Esainko – piano
Paula Dreyer – piano
Matt Small – composer, bass
Micah McClain - drums

Wilsey Court at the de Young Museum
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco
Free admission

ODD (featuring AXIS and inkBoat)

photo by Michele Clement

Friday - Sunday November 5, 6, 7
ODC San Francisco

Friday - Sunday November 12, 13, 14
Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts
Oakland

Friday and Saturday shows begin at 8pm, Sunday Matinees 3pm at ODC and 2pm at Malonga.

For more information check out our website at http://www.inkboat.com

Sunday, November 5

T. D. Skatchit & Company

Skatch Migration CD Release Show

Featuring T.D. Skatchit (Tom Nunn & David Michalak) playing in trios with guests who appeared on the CD  

Bruce Ackley – Saxophones
Bob Marsh – Voice
Doug Carroll – Cello
Aurora – Voice

Meridian Gallery
535 Powell Street
San Francisco
http://www.meridiangallery.org
$10

Sunday, November 7, 8pm

Steve Adams w. Adm. Ted Brinkley’s Horn Blower Cruise

Featuring an all-star cast too numerous and unpredictable to mention!

The Jazz School
2087 Addison
Berkeley
510-845-5373

http://www.jazzschool.com/

[TOP]

Favorite Street–Jon Raskin

Here is a list of some of Jon’s recent favorite YouTube links, in no particular order. He says, since the demise of so many independent record shops, YouTube has become a source for exploration, with an endless stream of videos of all kinds of music and art getting posted.  There’s a bonus audio recording as a chaser.

The HarkinsLarson, 1. Ford 1991
http://www.youtube.com

Bill Viola, The Reflecting Pond
http://www.youtube.com

Milton Babbit, Occassional Variations
http://www.youtube.com

Alimn Qasimov & Fargana Qasimova and Morganland Chamber Orchestra
http://www.youtube.com

Gay McKeon, Irish Uilleann Pipes
http://www.youtube.com

Lyn Hejinian, Eleven Eyes - animated
http://www.youtube.com

Enkh Jargal at Musique du Monde (Mongolian Music)
http://www.youtube.com

Son House, Death Letter
http://www.youtube.com

Duke Ellington- featuring Harry Carney, Sophisticated Lady
http://www.youtube.com

Raymond Scott, Powerhouse
http://www.youtube.com
http://www.youtube.com

Aster Aweke: shashemene in south Ethiopia
http://www.youtube.com

Frankly Jazz:  30 minute television show produced in Los Angeles in the early 1960's 

So much good music, take your pick.  I love Shorty Rogers Martian Bossa Nova.
http://www.youtube.com

Carlo Gesualdo (1560-1613)
Madrigal Moro, lasso, al mio duolo (Book VI, n.17) Il Complesso Barocco
(dir. Alan Curtis) From Death for Five Voices (dir. Werner Herzog)
http://www.youtube.com

Moog: A Documentary (Robert Moog, inventor of Moog Synthesizer)
http://www.youtube.com

Captain Beefheart: She's Too Much For My Mirror & Human Gets Me Blues...truly amazing
http://www.youtube.com

The Subject is Jazz: Baka women from Gbiné singing their traditional "Yelli" songs
http://www.youtube.com

Billie Holiday & Gerry Mulligan, Love Will Make You Do Things That You Know Is Wrong
http://www.youtube.com

The Sound of Jazz, Open All Night

Count Basie All Stars: Emmett Berry, Doc Cheatham, Joe Newman, Joe Wilder (tp); Roy Eldridge (tp, flhn); Vic Dickinson, Benny Morton, Dicky Wells (tb); Earl Warren (as); Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster (ts); Gerry Mulligan (bs); Count Basie (p); Freddie Green (g); Eddie Jones (b); Jo Jones (d)
http://www.youtube.com

Roscoe Holcomb, John Hardy
http://www.youtube.com

The Subject is Jazz: National Educational Television for classroom use in 1957-'58
With a great list of artists. Start with George Russell’s clips.
http://www.youtube.com

http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/article/content.article/miles_davis_promo/en_US

The Cosmic Scene, Duke Ellington's Spacemen

Recorded in 1958 on Columbia and re-released on Mosaic Music in 2007

Duke Ellington – piano, Clark Terry - trumpet, Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman - trombones, John Sanders - valve trombone, Jimmy Hamilton -clarinet, Paul Gonsalves - tenor saxophone, Jimmy Woode - bass, Sam Woodyard - drums.

This is a wonderful recording with some really beautiful work by Clark Terry and Paul Gonsalves.  Terry on trumpet is often playing the lead lines, and the orchestration is outstanding.

RadiOM - Improv:21 Archives

Want to sample some of the Improv:21 informances?
We will be uploading one show every two months to RadiOM (the archive website of Other Minds) until the entire series is online. There is a lot of stimulating information in each show. We just added a couple more.

Here’s what’s available at the moment. Roscoe Mitchell has just been added. Watch for the great Mark Dresser show coming online soon.

Roscoe Mitchell - Improvising with Mr. Mitchell
Recorded on February 20, 2008, at the Marsh in San Francisco, Derk Richardson introduces saxophonist, composer, and improviser extraordinaire, Roscoe Mitchell. The very embodiment of the deliberate and intelligent artist, Mitchell proceeds to hold court before an attentive and appreciative audience, presenting some of his musical collaborations, and sharing his ideas about improvising while also answering a variety of interesting questions.

Contribute to Rova:Arts

We want to express our deepest gratitude to all the generous private and public donors who contribute to Rova:Arts. Your support has been essential to the successful presentation and documentation of our projects over the year.

Formed in 1977, Rova’s been in a state of continual artistic renewal for over 3 decades. Rova:Arts, formed in 1986 to support the activities of Rova, has been instrumental in producing local projects and advancing an ongoing cultural exchange between local Bay Area artists and the international scene through its Rovaté concert series. These events, made possible by funding to Rova:Arts, have engaged Bay Area musicians and composers—as well as musicians from around the world. Rova:Arts projects are often reproduced in other parts of the world, thereby bringing the work to a broader audience. Also, many Rova:Arts events have been recorded, resulting in releases which have been enthusiastically celebrated.

Click here to find out more and to Join Rova:Arts. Thanks for being part of the art.