8:30pm/12am
$10 or b/o
Rob Chalfen/Neil Leonard &
subconsciouscafe new chamber music present:
-NEIL LEONARD’S GARDEN OF REEDS (8:30pm)
FEATURING ELLIOTT LEVIN & DAVE BRYANT
NEIL LEONARD’S GARDEN OF REEDS
featuring:
from Philadelphia:
Neil Leonard - sax, synth (Leroy Jenkins, Don Byron)
Elliott Levin – sax, flute, poetry (Cecil Taylor, Harold Melvin)
Charles Cohen - Buchla music easel (Cecil Taylor)
Boston:
Dave Bryant – keyboards (Ornette Coleman)
Katt Hernandez – violin (Joe Maneri)
Ken Field – alto sax (Birdsongs of the Mesozoic)
John Turner – bass, live electronics (J. Geils, White Heat)
Jerome Dupree – drums (Morphine, Either/Orchestra)
ABOUT NEIL LEONARD & GARDEN OF REEDS
After recent commissions in Italy and Norway,
composer/saxophonist/synthesist NEIL LEONARD returns to THE ZEITGEIST
GALLERY with his latest band, GARDEN OF REEDS. Leonard inaugurated the band
in Philadelphia with top saxophonists Elliott Levin (Cecil Taylor) and
Marshall Allen (Sun Ra).
Few musicians have worked with as wide a range of musicians as has
Philadelphia native Leonard, including jazz/klez clarinetist Don Byron,
Buena Vista bassist Orlando ‘Cachaito’ Lopez, Boston Ballet and National
Ballet of Sengal lead drummer Ibrahima Camara. Always startling & inventive
in his playing and writing, Leonard released a solo album for saxophone and
computer-controlled electronics and contributed music for installations in
the last two Venice Biennials.
PERFORMANCE AT ZEITGEIST:
The first set features Leonard’s compositions for chamber ensemble
incorporating elements from medieval plainchant to the poignant melodies and
lush harmonies of the saxophone trio, and segue to group improvisations
featuring violinist Katt Hernandez and Charles Cohen playing the rare Buchla
Music Easel analog synthesizer.
The second set showcases Leonard, Levin and Cohen out front in a jazz sextet
including a dazzling rhythm section of Boston luminaries including
keyboardist David Bryant (Ornette Coleman), bassist John Turner (Rudd,
Konitz) and percussionist Jerome Dupree (Morphine).
PLEASE NOTE: We regret that our hero JOE MANERI will not appear at this
show. He can be heard at the Zeitgeist on 15 Jan. with James Carson. We hope
to present him at the gallery this spring.
BIOGRAPHIES:
NEIL LEONARD (composer/saxophonist) featured by Venice Biennial, Museum of
Modern Art, Whitney Biennial of American Art, Museo Riena Sofia, Carnegie
Hall. Leonard performed with Marshall Allen, Boston Ballet, Guillermo
Barretto, Lester Bowie, Don Byron, Uri Caine, Leroy Jenkins, Orlando
Cachaito Lopez, Robin Eubanks, Odean Pope, Jamaaladeen Tacuma.
ELLIOTT LEVIN (saxophone/flute/poetry) has toured with Cecil Taylor, Harold
Melvin & the Blue Notes, and Odean Pope’s Saxophone Choir. He has performed
at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The United Nations, The U.S. Embassy in
Moscow, Lollapalooza! (performing with Courtney Love).
CHARLES COHEN is one of the few practicing Buchla Music Easel virtuosos. He
is well known for his work with Cecil Taylor, The Ghostwriters, Elliott
Levin and Jamaaladeen Tacuma.
DAVID BRYANT rose to international prominence in 1990 as a member of Ornette
Coleman’s Prime Time ensemble performing at venues worldwide including
Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Royal Festival Hall in London, the Oakland
Coliseum, and with symphony orchestras in Italy, Germany, Poland, Japan and
New York performing “Skies of America.”
JEROME DUPREE is a founding member of the legendary Boston bands Morphine
and Either/Orchestra. He has tour extensively with guitarist Joe Morris. He
currently works with currently the Jeff Robinson and Bourbon Princess.
Bassist JOHN TURNER has performed and recorded with the Either/Orchestra, J.
Geils, Charlie Kohlhase, Scott Hamilton, Roswell Rudd, Lee Konitz, the Tommy
Dorsey Orchestra, and the White Heat Swing Orchestra.
KATT HERNANDEZ has performed with Joe Maneri, Marc Bisson, Matt Somalis,
John Voigt, Walter Wright, Eric Rosenthal, Andrew Neumann, She has performed
at Autumn Uprising, High Zero, Mobius ArtRages, and Improvised and
Otherwise, Brandeis New Music, Boston CyberArts, Michiania, IAJE, IASJ, and
Ear Whacks festivals.
KEN FIELD is a saxophonist, flautist, percussionist, composer and member of
the internationally acclaimed electronic modern music ensemble Birdsongs of
the Mesozoic. His horn and percussion group the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble
recently released its debut CD “Year of the Snake.” Field has performed in
the US, Canada, France, Spain, Portugal, and Japan. Field’s music is also
heard regularly on the children’s program Sesame Street.
Production: Neil Leonard – nleonard@berklee.com
Rob Chalfen – robchalfen@hotmail.com