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Table & Chairs Showcase - An interactive installation at the 2016 Ballard Jazz Festival

An exclusive T&C discount on Ballard Jazz Walk passes is available now! Click HERE and use the promo code "CHAIRS" to receive nearly 50% off your Jazz Walk pass.

*Note: The promo code is only available for “The Ballard Jazz Walk” (tickets for individual events). Make sure to input the proper number of tickets in the appropriate field.

If you're familiar with the arts organization Table & Chairs, it should be of no surprise to you that this performance will be an experiment. This evening, we are acknowledging that jazz is fluid and that its presentation and audience are ever-evolving.

Expect a challenge. Expect to think. Expect to engage. Expect nothing.

The Table & Chairs showcase will feature evolving installation work throughout the evening in between the performers sets. This will explore a world of sensors, computers, electronic music & dance. Audience should expect to use Beach Balls to transform audio and video landscapes throughout the room. That's correct. Beach Balls.

Where: Upstairs at Salmon Bay Eagles Lodge - 5216 20th Ave NW, Seattle, WA When: 8 pm on Friday, May 13, 2016

8:00 - Vader Tots w/ Darren Palmer 8:45 - Marcin Paczkowski and Ivan Arteaga 9:30 - MESS Collective 10:15 - Bad Luck 11:00 - Hoop

Vader Tots w/ Darren Palmer VADER TOTS is a duo comprised of a bass and drums. Tasty, crispy, deep-fried Rhythms with a structured, fun, jam-like chaos and incessant unrelenting groove. Featuring Max Benoit on bass and Dio Jean-Baptiste on drums. They will be joined by visual artist Darren Palmer

Marcin Paczkowski with Ivan Arteaga Marcin Paczkowski and Ivan Arteaga collaborate with Mariah Davis from Mess Collective to present a new piece for accelerometers, conducted sound, dance and saxophone. Feats of magic are sure to abound throughout this exploratory work.

MESS Collective MESS is a collaborative performance ensemble that was founded by Amelia May Coulter, Mariah Davis, and Haley Freedlund in 2015. Their work is inspired by queer theory, liberation politics, social situations, personal storytelling, gender & sexuality, and finding new ways of relating to themselves and others. As a group, they co-create scores as rough templates for interactive, improvisational, and durational work. Featuring - Amelia Coulter - trombone, Haley Freelund - trombone, Mariah Davis - dance, spoken word

Bad Luck Bad Luck is a 10-year collaboration between Seattle-based musicians Chris Icasiano on drums and Neil Welch on saxophone/electronics. With four albums under their belt, Bad Luck has created an incredibly diverse array of music — no small feat in the heavily trodden world of drum/saxophone duos. Their melodies, improvisations and compositions are constructed from the ground up, creating a band sound much larger than the sum of its parts.

Hoop Soft-grunge. Seattle. Recently dubbed by The Stranger to possess, "magical guitar lines and introspective lyrics that tug gently on [the] most sensitive heart strings," hoop's brand of dream pop should win over fans of 90's luminaries like; The Breeders, My Bloody Valentine and Eric's Trip. Featuring Caitlin Roberts, Pamela Santiago, Leena Joshi and Ingrid Chiles.

Two new albums from composer Raymond Larsen

Today we at T&C are celebrating the release of two albums from local composer and trumpeter Raymond Larsen! We've already published his work with Chemical Clock (winners of the 2015 Earshot Jazz Album of the Year) and are proud to be connected to more of his work.

These new albums are the first two installments of his ambitious album trilogy “Modern Achievements”. The works combine unconventional instrumentation with diverse improvisational and compositional approaches to pay tribute to three entries from a 1903 encyclopedia. How Glass Is Made re-imagines the early processes of industrial glass manufacture, and New Studies of the Starry Skies traces a path through the heavens and back. The final album to be released later this year is When Mountains Blow Their Heads Off, which tells the story of destruction and renewal through the forces of nature. With 26 musicians participating across the 3 works, the music offers a generous cross-section of Seattle’s best up-and-coming improvisers.

Table & Chairs at the 2015 Ballard Jazz Festival

Table & Chairs again be a part of the annual The Ballard Jazz Festival! This is our fourth year presenting a showcase at the Jazz Walk, which takes place on Friday, May 8, 2015 at the Salmon Bay Eagles Lodge. In March, we had the great honor of receiving the Earshot Jazz Award for “2014 Concert of the Year” for our showcase last year, and we promise that this year we’ve upped the ante! *We will be offering a very special ticket discount exclusively for those signed up on our T&C mailing list. Sign up at the link below and you will receive the promo code via email. http://www.tableandchairsmusic.com/signup Here’s the lineup: 8:00 – Jen Gilleran and GRID 9:00 – Wiener Kids (Oakland) 10:00 – Ivan Arteaga’s Neijing Ensemble 11:00 – Bad Luck Opening the evening will be percussionist Jen Gilleran and GRID, performing a live-music soundtrack to vintage film. Jen has worked extensively with the North West Film Forum, producing live-soundtrack performances for landmark films such as Metropolis, and most recently a soundtrack to classic Buster Keaton films at our inaugural T&C Vermillion Gallery series. Joining her will be one of Seattle’s preeminent trombonists, Christian Pincock. In addition, GRID will be facilitating an interactive movie intermission in between sets. A variety of instruments will be provided so that anyone can participate in the music making. Audience participation is highly recommended! Following will be Oakland-based group Wiener Kids. Brainchild of drummer/composer Jordan Glenn, Wiener Kids is an unusual power trio made up of saxophones and drums. Since 2008 WK has been an active member of Oakland, CA fertile avant/experimental/underground music scene. As the years have gone by the pallet of the band has expanded to incorporate percussive sounds from near and far. Objects/instruments include gongs, tin cans, Tibetan bowls, bundt pans, chromatic cowbells, angklung (bamboo rattles), triangles, car springs, suitcase-vibraphone, glockenspiels and various whistles, drums and bells. The trio is made up of Glenn on drums along with reed masters Jacob Rex Zimmerman and Cory Wright. Neijing Ensemble began as an opportunity for saxophonist Ivan Arteaga to create gestural and improvisational pieces for saxophone quartet. The inspiration came in large part from the idea of improvising with Neil Welch, Greg Sinibaldi and Levi Gillis in particular; he quickly started using the group to play and arrange other music that he enjoys and they have since accumulated a small body of varied music. Neijing Ensemble will be performing original arrangements of songs featuring the voice of Katie Jacobson as well as some original improvisational songs for the Quartet with the addition of Abbey Blackwell on bass. This music contains rich and dynamic soundscape development where haunting improvisations abound. Finally, we’ll close the evening with T&C veterans Neil Welch and Christopher Icasiano, collectively know as Bad Luck. For the first time, the dynamic drum and saxophone duo will be collaborating with a dance artist Lorraine Lau to create a brand new multidisciplinary piece that will stretch your mind and defy your expectations. We hope you’re able to make it and to share this great experience with all of us!

Kim Cass Debut Solo EP out Tuesday January 27th

Orders now being taken for physical/digital at the Table & Chairs Record Shop.

Growing up in the small island town of Bar Harbor, Maine, Kim Cass developed his prodigious talents as a virtuoso jazz bass player early on. In the early 2000s, while still a teenager, Kim began making home solo recordings using a simple keyboard. Already with the mark of an utterly unique musical thinker, burnt CDs began to circulate like wildfire amongst fellow students at the New England Conservatory. After college Kim began another focused course of study with the trio Anteater, a "rhythmic laboratory" where ideas were workshopped and put into practice. 2 years later the complexity and rigor of the music necessitated a move to playing solo with pre-recorded electronics. This long-awaited debut solo release fearlessly presents the acoustic bass in a virtual obstacle course of jaw-dropping electronic sounds. The music of "KIM CASS" was composed and performed entirely by hand with no sequencing. A unique polyrhythmic language is intuitively arranged and precisely executed to create the illusion of constantly shifting tempos. Each piece is held together by a single tempo; nothing is rubato. You must hear it to believe it.

#Kim Cass #Bass #Electronic Music

Cry & Roar V Lineup Announced!

Cry & Roar V: Celebrating five years of Racer Sessions January 23-25, 2015 Cafe Racer - 5828 Roosevelt Way NE Seattle, WA 98105 All shows 8:00pm $5-15 suggested donation The title "Cry & Roar" is a tribute to the memory of baritone saxophonist Andrew Carrico, a regular Racer Sessions participant who died tragically in September of 2012. The loss of Andrew's life occurred not long after the shooting at Cafe Racer that previous summer; another wound for an already enormously grief-stricken community. Utterly unique and self-aware, Andrew once described his sound on the saxophone as a cross between a cry and a roar. For 5 years Table & Chairs and Racer Sessions have provided one-of-a-kind artists like Andrew a platform to freely express themselves. "Cry & Roar" is dedicated to this ever-expanding community. Friday, January 23, 2015 Lawson Young Nudist (Michael Coleman) Heatwarmer Saturday, January 24th, 2015 Short sets by (in no particular order): Shannon Kerrigan Dio Jean-Baptiste & Geoff Traeger WA (Simon Henneman & Gregg Kepplinger) Evan Woodle Aaron Otheim Christian Pincock Lori Goldston Sunday, January 25th, 2015 Curator: King Tears Bat Trip Interlude: Neil Welch Post-show: Iji

Bad Luck Releases New Album "Three"

Table & Chairs Presents: Bad Luck, Three Record Release Concert featuring Tomo Nakayama

Chris Icasiano and Neil Welch, A.K.A. Bad Luck, are thrilled to announce the long-awaited release of their third full-length studio album Three. This concert will kick-off the start of their first national tour. Opening the show will be have the endlessly talented Tomo Nakayama, of Grand Hallway. The concert will take place at The Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood on Wednesday, October 1st, 2014 at 8:00pm. Nearly ten years into their collaboration, Seattle-based drum and saxophone duo Bad Luck returns with Three, their third full-length release on Table & Chairs. Drummer Chris Icasiano and saxophonist Neil Welch formed Bad Luck while in college, and from its humble beginnings reinterpreting jazz standards, the duo has remained in a constant state of artistic urgency. Icasiano and Welch sculpted Three while touring and performing over the last two years, many of the songs having emerged during long stints on the road together. Holding steady to the artistic integrity of their previous records, Bad Luck performs music only possible with these two musicians in a room together. Their melodies, improvisations and compositions are carefully constructed from the ground up, and in many cases, simply cannot be conventionally notated. Theirs is a language of transmission and a sound of complete artistic balance between the two players. Three was recorded live to tape by Trevor Spencer on March 20th and 21st, 2014. The album includes Bad Luck's first cover, a brief rendering of saxophonist Roscoe Mitchell's now apocryphal composition "Nonaah". In June of 2013 Bad Luck had the honor of performing a bill with the legendary musician, a show which seemed to plant the piece into their new set.

Bad Luck Three Album Release Concert with Tomo Nakayama The Chapel Performance Space on the fourth floor of the Good Shepherd Center 4649 Sunnyside Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103 Wednesday, October 1st, 2014 Doors 7:30 - Music 8:00 $10-15 Suggested Donation -- a donation of $15 will include a copy of "Three"

Table & Chairs Presents: Second Wednesdays at Vermillion Gallery

We are pleased to announce the start of our new music series that will take place on the second Wednesday of every month at the Vermillion Gallery, in the heart of Capitol Hill. The line-up for each month's show will be curated by a different local musician with the focus of pulling from diverse genres of music and integrating the bands and musicians throughout Seattle's improvised-music scene. Our inaugural show is curated by drummer Chris Icasiano and will take place on Wednesday, August 13th. The first group of the evening will feature a new trio with Seattle jazz veteran Jeff Johnson on bass, Ivan Arteaga on saxophone, and Icasiano on drums. Following, will be drummer Jen Gilleran's ensemble, who will be performing a live soundtrack to vintage film. Closing out the evening will be Fluke, a quartet led by pianist Brian Kinsella that plays all original compositions. This is sure to be an amazing night of music! All the performances are funded by your generous donations and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the support!

Vermillion Gallery - 1508 11th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122 Wednesday, August 13, 2014 $5-15 suggested donation 8:00-8:45 - Jeff Johnson, Ivan Arteaga, Chris Icasiano 9:00-9:45 - Jen Gilleran with Neil Welch, Christian Pincock, and Simon Henneman playing live music to vintage film 10:00-10:45 - Fluke (Brian Kinsella, Gregg Belise-Chi, Chris Symer, Chris Icasiano) Upcoming curators: 9/10 - Ivan Arteaga 10/8 - Simon Henneman 11/12 - Evan Woodle 12/10 - Christian Pincock

Human Feel Holds Master Class June 27th

This event isn't of our creation, but we wanted to inform you about the exciting masterclass being held by Human Feel. This masterclass will take place at the JewelBox Theater on Friday June 27th at 2:00 PM, and all are invited to come ask questions and hear the group perform.

- Human Feel - Jim Black, Chris Speed, Andrew D'Angelo, Kurt Rosenwinkel Friday, June 27th, 2:00 PM JewelBox Theater 2322 2nd Ave Seattle, WA 98121 $15 At the Door $12.50 In Advance RSVP here

Burn List to Release First Record on T&C

Burn List, a new collaboration from Seattle’s scorching new music scene features trumpeter Cuong Vu, tenor saxophonist Greg Sinibaldi, keyboardist Aaron Otheim, and drummer Chris Icasiano. Marking the meeting of two distinctive generations of creative new music in Seattle, each member of Burn List have uniquely contributed their musical DNA to the city’s musical lineage. Having been on the forefront of the scene as established veterans, Vu and Sinibaldi each offer unique compositional approaches and styles that have helped shape the newest generation of musicians in Seattle. Icasiano and Otheim are, in part, products of those contributions and they form Burn List’s paired-down rhythm section combination of keyboard and drums, pushing to create a new sonic approach to the music and group improvisation.

Burn List’s unique interface with improvisation and original compositions draw from wide musical influences ranging from Ligeti to Albert Ayler to Aphex Twin to Meshuggah and many things in between. Siphoned through the band’s collective aesthetics, the music freely crisscrosses genres resulting in a new musical sound that is thoughtful, energetic, current and original.

Burn List will celebrate the release of their album on Wednesday, May 14th. Details below:

Wednesday, May 14th The Chapel Performance Space in Wallingford (4649 Sunnyside Ave. N, Seattle, WA) with Mount Eerie Doors at 7:30pm / Music at 8:00pm $10-15 suggested donation A donation of $20 will include admission and a CD.

Do Computers Improvise? — netcat's Installation at the Ballard Jazz Walk

“Do computers improvise?” - netcat's interactive audio installation and record release show at the Ballard Jazz Walk

netcat is T&C's newest family member and features keyboardist Andrew Olmstead, chango and percussionist Brandon Lucia, and cellist David Balatero. As part of the Table & Chairs label showcase at the Ballard Jazz Walk on Friday, April 18th, they will be debuting an audience-interactive audio installation that aims to answer the question: “Do computers improvise?” This is an interactive installation, which means all Jazz Walk attendees are encouraged to engage and participate in the music-making process by connecting and interacting.

Here’s how you connect:

The concept is to create music out of the chaotic web of communication that our smartphones transmit. Anyone who wishes to participate can join the wireless network at the installation. Any time you receive an email or browse a website, our software will add a part to an ongoing piece of music. Here, the computer is the improviser - netcat has instructed it how to make certain sounds, but ultimately the computer, based on your smartphone interactions, will decide what to play and when.

Here’s how you interact:

The second idea is to allow participants to interact with their surroundings through light and movement to generate sound. The Chango, a custom instrument that netcat developed, generates sound based on what the camera sees – it interprets light and motion to make music. The installation features a darkened room outfitted with multiple video cameras connected to the Chango. Participants are supplied with handheld lights and are encouraged to interact by shining light throughout the room, to create sound.

Along with the installation, netcat will be releasing their first album titled "Cycles Per Instruction,” which explores this idea of computers improvising, as well as human-computer interactions and the complexity of technology. In addition, the album includes programs that generate speech sounds and lyrics based on computational models of human language. In contrast to use of technology, the band also improvises alongside their computer-based counterparts.

Remember, there is a special T&C discount to the Jazz Walk if you sign up to receive our mailing list here.

Table & Chairs at the Ballard Jazz Festival

Table & Chairs is very excited to announce that we will once again be part of the Ballard Jazz Festival, which will take place April 16th to 19th in Seattle’s historic Ballard neighborhood! We are absolutely honored and humbled to again be included as part of this ever-growing and important Seattle mainstay. This year is extra special because we have more bands involved than ever and are planning a showcase to end all showcases!

Also, we have discounted tickets for the Jazz Walk (4/18 which includes the showcase to end all showcases) for sale only through our mailing list, so sign up here if you're not already a part!

2014 Ballard Jazz Festival Schedule:

Wednesday, April 16th, 2014 – The Brotherhood of the Drum Conor Byrne Pub - 5140 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107<br/? 8:00pm $15 cover/ 12$ adv 21+

The festival opens at the Conor Byrne Pub, one of Seattle’s oldest watering holes, on Wednesday, April 16th, with an event called The Brotherhood of the Drum. It is an evening that features drummer-led and drum-centric bands in all their glory. Luckily for us, Oakland-based T&C group Cavity Fang, led by keyboardist Michael Coleman, has three drummers! This will be Cavity Fang’s first performance in Seattle and they will be sure to mesmerize their unsuspecting victims at the Brotherhood of the Drum. The other members of Cavity Fang include Ben Goldberg on clarinet, Luke Bergman on guitar, and Jordan Glenn, Evan Woodle, and Chris Icasiano on drums.

Also performing that evening will be Chicago-based drummer Dana Hall and the newest addition to the UW jazz faculty Ted Poor. Guaranteed to be an awesome show!

Thursday, April 17th, 2014 – The Guitar Summit Conor Byrne Pub - 5140 Ballard Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98107 8:00pm br/$15 cover/ 12$ adv 21+

The following evening, Thursday, April 17th, is the Guitar Summit, where there is one instrument to rule them all. Our friend Gregg Belisle-Chi will be leading his group Colouri, performing a set of newly recorded tracks. The original music of Colouri reflects the sensibilities of the traditional jazz idiom, while embodying the passion and fire of collective improvisation. The rest of the members of Colouri include Carmen Rothwell on bass, Andrew Swanson on saxophone, and Christopher Icasiano on drums. Originally assembled to play and honor the music of the late Paul Motian, the quartet has since begun composing original music inspired by the spirit and melodic vitality of Motian's oeuvre. Focusing on collective improvisation, Colouri is at once quiet as they are deft, and delicate as they are wild.

Also performing this evening are Origin Records artists Mimi Fox and Corey Christiansen. Mimi’s newest record Standards, Old and New pulls classics from the American songbook as well as the contemporary pop canon, while Lone Prairie, Corey’s newest recording, takes on traditional cowboy songs and presents them in an exciting new light!

Friday, April 18th, 2014 – Ballard Jazz Walk

Featuring the Table & Chairs record label Showcase Salmon Bay Eagles Club - 5216 - 20th Ave NW Seattle, WA 98107 $30 day of show / $24 online before April 1st

This year’s Ballard Jazz Walk is shaping up to be the most impressive yet! On this evening, 10 venues in Ballard open their doors to the jazz walk, where a single ticket-price will get you in to all of them, with music going from 6:00pm to 2:00am! Not only will this be the best jazz walk in BJF history, T&C will be presenting our most exciting label showcase to date. Here’s what you can expect:

We will be hosting four distinctive and cutting-edge bands, all promising to deliver the most unique jazz walk experience.

Opening the show at 8:00pm will be the newest addition to the T&C family: netcat, the mind-blowing collaboration between cellist David Balatero, synthesizer master Andrew Olmstead, and Changoist/percussionist Brandon Lucia. This is a very special performance for netcat because they will be presenting a fully interactive installation piece that involves the participation of the attendee’s mobile devices as well as the listeners' interaction with light. In addition, this performance will double as netcat’s record release show.

Following netcat at 9:00pm will be the second performance for Cavity Fang. We were so excited that Michael Coleman and the other Oakland folks were able to make it up to Seattle that we couldn’t resist letting them play twice! Don’t worry, though, if you already caught them at the Brotherhood of the Drum because the Cavity Fang folks have an extra special treat for their jazz walk performance!

The second half of the show will be kicked-off by the sonic onslaught of Japanese Guy. An exploration in improvisation as writing and recording, Japanese Guy's music moves between heaving rhythms and shades of introspectiveness. The material works its way through peaks and valleys all while continuously being reassessed live by the musicians. Performances are meant to breathe and exist on their own as microcosms of texture and sound while guitarist Skyler Skjelset, keyboardist/saxophonist Andrew J.S., and drummer Chris Icasiano rely on each other directly to create a sonic landscape – both while performing live and from the tracking room floor to tape.

And last, but not least, King Tears Bat Trip will melt your face off. The instrumentation includes a guitar outfitted will all G-strings tuned to the same note, the otherworldly sounds of tenor saxophonist Neil Welch, Chango (a computer generated instrument, built by Brandon Lucia himself), and, of course, four drummers. Yup. You heard correct. This will mark KTBT’s second Ballard Jazz Festival performance, as they were a headliner at the 2012 Brotherhood of the Drum. This KTBT performance will also be to celebrate and preview their new record, which is being release by our fellow Seattle record label brethren Debacle Records.

Saturday, April 19th, 2014 – Swedish Pancake Jazz Brunch

Nordic Heritage Museum - 3014 NW 67th St Seatings at 11:00am and 12:30pm Non-Museum Members: $15 / Museum Members: $12 / Family of 4: $40 / ALL AGES

This is always a fun event and is sure to get you in the mood for the Mainstage concert in the evening. This year, T&C’s own Jacob Zimmerman Quintet will be performing for the eager brunch-goers. Recently awarded Earshot Jazz’s Golden Ear award for 2013 Emerging Artist of the Year, Jacob is an extremely versatile and integral part of the local creative-music community. He studied music at the internationally renowned Garfield High School, the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and Mills College in Oakland. His teachers have included Roscoe Mitchell, Jerry Bergonzi, Joe Morris and Anthony Coleman.

The Jacob Zimmerman Quintet will be performing classic bebop music from the 40s and 50s while featuring some of Seattle's best up-and-coming jazz talent.

Cry & Roar IV Will Be Here Soon!

We are very excited to announce the fourth annual Table & Chairs-sponsored Cry & Roar Festival. This year, it will take place on January 31st through February 2nd at Cafe Racer in the Ravenna neighborhood. Each night, music will start at 8:00 PM and there will be a suggested donation of $5 to $15 at the door, which will help support the artists. RSVP on Facebook here!

On January 31st and February 1st, a "traditional" set of concerts will take place, with multiple bands playing consecutively. On Sunday February 2nd, the Racer Sessions will bring together everyone who attends the performance that night in a musical experience. We hope that everyone at the session that evening will pick up their horns and join us in an extended piece, which will celebrate the community that has been cultivated over the years at Cafe Racer. Following the group performance, the free improvisation session will take place as usual until 10:00 PM, at which time a secret special guest will take the stage for a toe-tapping end to the festival.

This year's festival is particularly exciting because Kim Cass (Oakland) and netcat (Seattle) will be playing, both new to the Table & Chairs roster.

CARMEN ROTHWELL

Carmen Rothwell is a current senior at the University of Washington, where she is studying Jazz Performance on the double bass. At this year's Cry & Roar festival, Carmen will be performing a solo set of double bass music. Her compositions are always heartfelt and full, despite the single, low voice of her instrument. SEQUOIA ENSEMBLE

Sequoia Ensemble was formed in the spring of 2011 as a part of the curatorship by Levi Gillis at the Racer Sessions. Since then it has developed into an amalgam of influences, as much Americana as Avant-garde. A warm and sometimes gritty array of horns is paired with ambient electronic imaginings, drawing on the group’s vast timbral possibilities to create intricate and provocative soundworlds. The lyrical quality of much of Gillis’s writing for the group is augmented by the unique wildness that can only be found in free improvisation. These forays into a wide range of sounds create an exciting and varied concert experience. WALLY SHOUP

Since 1985, Shoup is a mainstay of that city's improvised music scene. By his own account, Shoup "grew up listening to black music in the South, the blues and jazz and R&B," and was "introduced to free jazz in the late '60s in Atlanta". Although his "voice is definitely influenced by African-American music" he "felt like free jazz was the domain of black musicians." Hearing Britain's Music Improvisation Company, "he simultaneously discovered free improvisation and his calling as a musician." "It wasn't jazz-based," he would say in 2003. "They were trying to find some new ways of improvising. I realized that was the kind of music I wanted to know about, and the only way I could know more about it was by playing it."

NETCAT

netcat is Andrew Olmstead, Brandon Lucia, and David Balatero. Their music explores the intersection between complexity, computers, and free improvisation. Playing cello, synthesizer, drums, and chango, the band interacts with custom sound generation software through long-form textural compositions. netcat's debut album, Cycles Per Instruction will be out in early 2014.

KIM CASS

Mr. Cass is an active freelance bassist and composer living in Oakland. He is currently recording a self titled solo project set to be released on Table and Chairs this year. The music presented in "Kim Cass" is a mixture of acoustic and electronic sounds. With a strong focus on polyrhythmic material, Mr. Cass uses multiple synthesizers to record his music. Each piece is started on paper, and there are virtually no computers used while writing and recording it. Each song has a constant pulse, yet hints at other dimensions of the beat. The pitch content is largely randomized, and then harmonized accordingly. Mr. Cass plays upright bass on his compositions, and his forthcoming album will also feature his skill on the parlor guitar. With Mr. Cass's original artwork, select scores of the material, and liner notes by a special guest, "Kim Cass" is promising to be a memorable debut album.

GRAMMIES

GRAMMIES is the musical knitting circle formed by saxophonist/effectist Noah Bernstein and drummer/samplist Dan Sutherland. Together, they have built the infrastructure of the GRAMMIES consortium through viscerealist basement improv sessions, intuitive sampling symposiums, and no less than a few pauses to ask, "Is this terrible?" Depending on the angle of approach, GRAMMIES's music has been compared to the disparate artistry of D'Angelo, LTJ Bukem, M-Base, Flying Lotus, Johns Coltrane and Zorn, The Notorious B.I.G., James Chance, and Chick Corea's Elektric Band. They make more noise than most duos.

Friday Carmen Rothwell—Solo Double Bass Sequoia Ensemble Wally Shoup

Saturday netcat* Kim Cass (Oakland)* Grammies (Portland)

Sunday "Cry & Roar"— a curation of the Racer Sessions After Party performance by SECRET SPECIAL GUESTS

* Designates newly signed to Table & Chairs

Preview: Ryan Miller and Pinkish

Pinkish is an experimental jazz ensemble from Portland, Oregon consisting of: Andrew Jones (Upright Bass), Ryan A. Miller (Electric Guitar, Electric 12-string Guitar), Kyle Shipp (Electric Guitar) and Grant Pierce (Drumset). Ryan Miller describes it this way: "We formed out of mutual admiration of the improvised medium in 2013. Our sound is the culmination of every member creating an environment where we can feel comfortable singing to one another."

Table & Chairs is very excited to be collaborating with Pinkish and the Portland-based Creative Music Guild for our October 24th show at the Columbia City Theatre. T&C artist Neil Welch met with guitarist/composer Ryan Miller of Pinkish to discuss the fully creative world that his music occupies.

The Interview:

Many of our T&C artists have recorded in more natural environments like the woods, or maybe just a craftsman-bungalow dugout basement. I know you've recorded in both of these Northwest treasures. I'd love to hear how you approach to composing and ultimately producing your music.

My approach to composing and producing my music is simply to grow as much as possible everyday. This includes growing my relationship with the guitar and making every attempt to stoke my imagination. Improvisation has always been a vital element of composition for myself and every group or project that I've been involved with. New and exciting environments absolutely make for an exciting performance experience which absolutely influences whatever compositions I'm working on. I recorded all of the acoustic guitar tracks for "Hex Fortunes" entirely in my bathroom because I loved the sound of the room!

Your band Pinkish will be playing at the October 24th Apparitions show. How did all of you meet and come to be a band?

I'm incredibly excited for Pinkish to perform this month in Seattle. I've been playing with the incredible Andrew Jones for the past year playing mostly duo and our own compositions. Andrew is wonderful, we played as a duo for the Creative Music Guild's Outset series in January and I sincerely hope that it was one of many collaborations with Mr. Jones in the near future and in my lifetime! I met the amazing Kyle Shipp and Grant Pierce at a house show in Portland not more than 6 months ago. The lineup was Anteater, Grammies and The Wisherman - As it turned out we had many friends and musical aspirations in common (also we all studied at PSU). There was very little time before we all played together and formed Pinkish.

Pinkish uses much more space and fewer grooves than a lot of your other projects. As a band, are exploring these open textures something that you have discussed, or is this more your natural approach together?

I think that the space that is created in our compositions simply comes from a place of wanting to leave room for each member to explore their own sound while rising and falling with each other. It is absolutely the natural approach to our collective writing but we have so many ideas and new tunes in the works do that may change soon!

You describe Pinkish as an experimental jazz group. Ryan, in your own music I hear many different influences but experimental jazz isn't one of the first that comes to my mind. Is this specifically a musical area that Pinkish talked about wanting to explore, and is this an area that you yourself work in fairly often?

This is a tough question! I guess I will start to say that I think genre classifications are really not of the greatest importance to me. I get a bit perplexed at the notion of classifying the music that I'm a part of! I've never really felt like the music I've made has been particularly tied to any one specific genre. That being said, I have listened to and studied "jazz" and "experimental" music much more so than any other genre. I think I'd be safe to assume that the same is true for the other members of Pinkish. Grant Pierce, Kyle Shipp and I have all studied Jazz performance at PSU (although we didn't meet at PSU). Andrew Jones also studied jazz performance at ASU. I think that while we have never actually talked about the kind of music that we would make as a collective - it just made sense to call it "experimental jazz."

Many of our readers know that Seattle's T&C artists work closely with the Racer Sessions weekly series here. Could you talk a bit about the Creative Music Guild in Portland, and how this collective has influenced your work?

The Creative Music Guild is amazing and I am forever grateful to be a part of the organization! I am inspired by my friends and local performers more than anything. It is utterly astounding to get be such an intimate witness to so many amazing CMG performances and to be involved with the guild as a board member! In my opinion, CMG shows are some of the most wonderful shows that happen in Portland! I am honored to be witness to our performance planning efforts and to be a part of our amazing organization! I am inspired by friends more that anything and since I have been a part of the CMG I have gained more amazingly talented friends and acquaintances than ever. The CMG has absolutely influenced who I am as a musician, and I dearly wish that it continues to do so forever.

Coming back to your own music now, I know that many artists are reluctant to pigeon-hole themselves into a genre, but I'm curious to know where you hear yourself fitting into the scheme of it all. Right now I'm personally in the middle of a long-term, daily recording project thats really re-defined my playing. I wonder what similar landmark moments you or your bands have had over the years?

I've had many "landmarks" in my playing and in my confidence as a composer and performer. I spent the better part of a decade writing, recording and performing with drummer Michael Dillon (With Eyes Abstract). Michael and I began playing together when we were both 17 years old and we recorded two full length albums and two EP's together. We spent an incredible amount of time playing together at an early age and grew up very much in influence of each others playing. He is undoubtedly my biggest influence to date simply because we grew up composing together. Mikey and I discontinued With Eyes Abstract (WEA) in 2010 and since then I have been concentrating primarily on composing and performing with Phil Cleary (drumset) and Jon Scheid (electric bass) in our group U SCO (usco.bandcamp.com). Jon and Phil are absolutely incredible musicians and they just happen to be my best friends in the world. U SCO is an entirely collaborative effort and our compositions are completely the result of the sum of our exhaustive rehearsals and live performances. U SCO is recording our second full-length album in December and I'm incredibly excited about it!

In many of your own songs one rhythmic cycle morphs into another in really captivating ways. You also blatantly cut from one rhythmic world into the next. This brings to mind math-rock bands like Battles to me as much as it does the minimalist music of Steve Reich. Could talk about the strong persistence of rhythm in your music? Where is this coming from?

Some of my earliest influences are in-fact "math-rock" bands! I discovered Don Caballero's "Don Caballero 2," "American Don" and Hella's "Hold your Horse Is" at a very developmental stage in my playing thanks to a mutual friend and wonderful guitarist and recording engineer, Stephan Hawkes. Needless to say - I fell in love. The "math-rock" format of rhythm changes and sheer intensity of playing shook me then as it does now. I can indeed say that I was just as infatuated with Steve Reich's "Music for 18 musicians" not more than a year later. Rhythm comes from so many different places, it is the pulse of one's thoughts and the beats in our imagination. The persistence of rhythm in my compositions simply comes from my relationship with the guitar and the intensity or feelings that I had at the time when I wrote the piece!

See Pinkish live at the Apparitions show this month.

October 24th, 8:00pm at the Columbia City Theatre. $10 advance / $12 at the door. Bands: King Tears Bat Trip, Pinkish (PDX), Burn List, and the debut of the Jacob Zimmerman & Gus Carns Duo!

Check out more music from Pinkish and Ryan Miller.

Table & Chairs Presents: Apparitions

Hello, friends! We are very excited to present an exciting Halloween inspired show, which we are calling Apparitions. It will take place at Seattle’s historic Columbia City Theater on Thursday, October 24th, 2013 at 8:00pm, and will feature performances by some of your favorite T&C artists! Keep scrolling for the details.

Opening the show will be the brand new duo comprised of alto saxophonist Jacob Zimmerman and pianist Gus Carns. Performing all original music, the duo features a unique brand of rhythmically complex improvisations. Their music is restless yet relaxed; precise yet spacious; with chaotic musical structures navigated in a flowing, intuitive way.

Following will be the newest addition to the T&C family: Burn List, a new collaboration featuring trumpeter Cuong Vu, tenor saxophonist Greg Sinibaldi, keyboardist Aaron Otheim, and drummer Chris Icasiano. This performance will be a little sneak preview for their debut album, which will be released by T&C in the Winter of early 2014. Be on the lookout!

This Fall concert will be especially fun because we are proud to be hosting a wonderful new Portland-based noise group Pinkish, which features Andrew Jones (Upright Bass), Ryan A. Miller (Electric Guitar, Electric 12-string Guitar), Kyle Shipp (Electric Guitar) and Grant Pierce (Drum set). Portland is pretty wonderful, we realized, and has some amazing musicians, so we decided it would be a great opportunity to collaborate with Portland’s Creative Music Guild and have them send a band up here to throw down!

Finally, we have King Tears Bat Trip. Yeah. Did I mention that Ted Poor will be a special guest? Yeah.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the show! To purchase advance tickets, click here!

ANDY CLAUSEN WEST COAST TOUR

NYC trombonist, composer and Table & Chairs artist Andy Clausen launches a LONG overdue West Coast tour in support of his 2012 release, "The Wishbone Suite."

Andy (who still does not have a driver's license!!) and his cohorts will pile in his family van and navigate their way down to LA and back, with a few stops along the way:

Fri. July 5th at 8:00 p.m. at Backspace, 115 NW 5th Ave in Portland

Sat. July 6th at 8:00pm at 1078 Gallery, 820 Broadway in Chico

Mon. July 8th at 7:30 p.m. at Luna’s Cafe, 1414 16th St in Sacramento

Tues. July 9th at 8 p.m. at the Center for New Music, 55 Taylor St in San Francisco.

Wed. July 10th at 8:30 p.m. at Lou’s Village, 1100 Lincoln Ave in San Jose

Thurs. July 11th at 9 p.m. at Blue Whale, 123 astronaut E S Onizuka St. Suite 301 in Los Angeles

Sat. July 13th at 9:30 p.m. at Duende, 468 19th Street in Oakland

Sun July 14th at 4:30 p.m. at Berkeley Jazz School, 2087 Addison St in Berkeley

Featuring: Andy Clausen - Trombone Ivan Arteaga - Clarinet Aaron Otheim - Accordion Gus Carns - Piano Chris Icasiano - Drums

For more information, or to receive updates from the road, please visit:

andyclausen.com

facebook.com/andyclausenmusic

What folks are saying about the record:

"Brilliant release by trombonist Clausen…finds a way to fuse these disparate musicians and their seemingly ill-fitting instruments into an alluring, whimsical, and just-plain-cool mix of jazz, classical, and experimental music. Challenging music that doesn’t shy away from also being pretty. Pick of the Week." - Dave Sumner, eMusic

"improvisational brushstrokes through elements of classical composition, frenzied syncopation, flashes of pop structure, and buoyant, melodic themes." - Gwendolyn Elliott, Seattle Weekly

"...the fluidity with which the band moves between composed and improvised approaches is truly staggering at times. Beautifully orchestrated by Clausen for a mixed ensemble of trombone, clarinet, piano, accordion and drums, the album ranges from lush melodies with Romantic-era harmonies and broad improvisations to swelling ensemble writing and energetic group interplay. There’s a bright future ahead for Clausen, based on this made-in-Seattle release by a group of talented young musicians." - Earshot Jazz

"Throughout the suite there is a folk song directness and simplicity of melody married to grander harmonies, an expression of unfiltered childhood experience washed—in a painterly sense—with the wisdom gleaned from Clausen's musical studies. The mood of a chamber ensemble (one that is not averse to having some wide-eyed fun, or that hasn't lost any sense of wonder) prevails. At nineteen years of age, Clausen displays some youthful wisdom in presenting his music before the end of his formal education, choosing rather to strike a creative spark while the memories and emotions are still sharp. These compelling tunes, songs that speak to the innocence and intensity of youthful experience, are arranged and played marvelously on his auspicious debut." - All About Jazz

About CavityFang: An Interview with Michael Coleman

Bay Area keyboardist and composer Michael Coleman has been on the Table & Chairs radar for quite some time. Some of you may remember an epic show at The Mine in February of 2011 where Michael's group Beep! shared the bill with Heatwarmer and Chemical Clock. And perhaps some of you may have listened closely to Michael's beautiful synth contributions to the debut Lawson album.

Beyond his impressive list of performance/recording credits, Michael is a restless creative spirit; a true artist never satisfied with yesterday's solutions. Since the label's inception T&C has been quietly observing his activities, waiting until now to pounce!

T&C is extremely proud to release the debut album from Michael's latest project CavityFang, officially out on Tuesday July 2, 2013. The album will be available as a digital download, as well as a beautifully packaged compact disc. Check out the interview below for some really great insights into how "Urban Problems" came to be.

Jacob Zimmerman: You're involved in so many different projects (Beep, Arts & Sciences, Young Nudist, Lawson, Kapowski, Chris Cohen...) and you seem to be coming up with new ones all the time! What compels you to keep starting new bands?

Michael Coleman: I sometimes think of music as a series of experiments. I'm always searching for new sounds and trying to realize some idea that's been floating around in my head. Each group represents an exploration of a new idea or feeling. Instead of having one or two groups and taking them in a bunch of different directions, I like the idea of having a different band for each experiment. And in the process of exploring some musical territory, new things are revealed both about that specific group and myself.

JZ: Why is the record called Urban Problems?

MC: I wanted the artist SNEAL to create the artwork for the album. Each of his pieces include text in addition to the image and I always love the way they work together. It made sense that whatever text ended up on the artwork for the album should also be the name of the album. He gave me about 7 or 8 possible covers and Urban Problems really stuck out to me. I think it works as a title because it fits the energy of the music. Also living in Oakland for almost a decade has put me in close proximity to a lot of crazy urban situations. And lastly, as Oakland and other American cities become gentrified, the idea of "urban problems" begins to mean different things to different groups in the city. Is it rich, white tech people complaining about the lack of parking or Mexican immigrants worrying about being stopped by police? That's interesting to me.

JZ: CavityFang is unquestionably an all-star ensemble, can you describe the superpowers of each musician?

MC: This is the most fun question to answer!

Ava Mendoza not only has a technical mastery over the guitar, but she has an extremely wide pallet of sounds and colors at her disposal. I would put parts in front of her and within minutes, she would find the right sound for each section. Her sound on Dreamzzz is wonderful and her solo at the end of Koala and Joey is super shredding.

Cory Wright can play any woodwind very well. I'd heard him play baritone with The Wiener Kids and I knew that he would be perfect for this band. For CavityFang, he plays the role of the bass much of the time as well as stepping out as the main soloist on several tracks. He's one of the most melodic soloists I know and he blends flawlessly with the other instruments. And check his flute playing on This Will Be Your Bed!

Sam Ospovat is one of the hardest working and determined musicians in the Bay Area. I've played in bands with him for about 6 years now and I've watched him develop his musical voice and become a totally unique drummer. He can lay down nasty grooves or create beautiful textures equally well and always works to make a drum part that is both compositionally interesting and understated. Listen for his polyrhythms at the end of Armadillo. Too good.

Jordan Glenn is another master drummer. He's a true group player in the sense that everything he plays and every sound he uses supports the rest of the band and the song. He's also extremely inventive and is constantly surprising both himself and the rest of the band. The sounds that he makes at the beginning of Armadillo get me every time.

Hamir Atwal is known in the Bay Area jazz scene as having both the best feel and the sweetest touch on the drums. When he locks up with Sam on the groove during Dreamzzz, it's pretty magical. And as the lead drummer on Rara, he just keeps pushing the energy higher and higher.

JZ: What are some of the most prominent influences on the CavityFang music?

MC: I was listening to a lot Captain Beefheart at the time and the Deerhoof record Runners Four. I also became obsessed with a few videos from Haiti of Ra Ra music. I transcribed my favorite and we did an arrangement of it. I think I also drew a lot of inspiration from my friends. There are hints of Sam's Piki project as well as the music of Lawson and bits of Aaron Novik's music.

JZ: The great Eli Crews (tUnE-yArDs, Deerhoof) engineered and mixed the record. You've recorded and played music with him quite a bit, what do you like about working with Eli?

MC: As an engineer, Eli is extremely inventive and creative. No situation is too weird or difficult for him. For example, we decided to record the whole group in the same room. This poses obvious problems in terms of isolation and bleed but instead of worrying about that, he put a mic in the middle of the room and one out in the hallway and decided to embrace a more live sound. He also enjoys recording to tape and for this record, the music never saw a computer until the mastering process. He treats recording and mixing in a very musical and improvisational way.

JZ: What else is on the horizon for CavityFang, and for you in general?

MC: I'd love to do some small tours with this group. It will be a logistical nightmare but well worth the headaches. I'd also love to write another batch of pieces exploring some other elements of the drums and percussion. I'm also considering augmenting this group with a bass player and another horn player and playing music that I've written for other groups. Apart from CavityFang, I'm hoping to release my solo record this year and possibly do some performances of that music. I'm scared to do it but I'm slowly building up the courage!

#Michael Coleman #CavityFang #Beep!#Sam Ospovat #Jordan Glenn #Hamir Atwal #Ava Mendoza #Cory Wright #Eli Crews #Lawson #Urban Problems #SNEAL

Why Roscoe Mitchell is Important: CHARLIE KOHLHASE

Alto, tenor and baritone saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase has been a mainstay of Boston’s jazz scene for over twenty years. Whether leading his two newest bands, performing in a dozen others or writing over 50 compositions, his music spans a broad range of styles with an emphasis on the contemporary and the improvised. In addition, he co-led groups with the great Danish/Congolese saxophonist John Tchicai for New England tours in 1997, 1998 and 2003. Charlie was also a member of Either/Orchestra from 1987 to 2001, playing throughout North America, Europe and Russia. His recordings with Tchicai and Roswell Rudd have received critical acclaim.

Roscoe Mitchell's 2 LP "Nonaah" set really kind of scared the crap out of with when I first heard it. It had a similar impact to my first hearing of Ornette's "Dancing In Your Head" which was probably a year earlier, although the two albums are ineluctably linked for me. My reaction to both was something along the lines of "What the hell is happening to music?" along with "How can I get involved in this music?" I was already familiar with Roscoe's composition 'Nonaah' from its initial recording on the Art Ensemble's "Fanfare For The Warriors" album but, particularly the extended solo rendition from the Pori Festival, here it was stretched out into the elements of sound, silence, repetition and intensity. A 3-note introductory motif and Roscoe's subsequent tonal shadings and smears, a reflective quiet interlude and ultimately a return to the opening material and a virtuosic saxophone meltdown. This performance has a similar shape to another masterpiece from that era, the performance of 'Chant' from Studio Rivbea in 1976 that was issued on the Wildflowers anthology. I actually had the temerity to request 'Nonaah' when I heard Roscoe play a solo concert at Lulu White's in Boston circa 1979. He very graciously played it as a short encore: what a nice fellow! My eternal thanks to the master Mr. Mitchell for changing the way I think about composing, shaping and organizing music.

Table & Chairs Presents: Roscoe Mitchell Performs Nonaah on June 7th, 2013 at Benaroya Hall in Seattle.

More Info — Buy Tickets — RSVP on Facebook

#Roscoe Mitchell #Nonaah #Charlie Kohlhase

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