Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones at SLU's Xavier Hall

Presented by NMC and St. Louis University Fine and Performing Artist Department

Friday, March 28th, 2025 | 7pm Doors / 8pm Show
Xavier Hall ( SLU Campus on Lindell / 3733 West Pine Mall, 63108 / map )

Info: newmusiccircle.org

Amirtha Kidambi – voice, harmonium, synthesizer, effects
Matt Nelson – soprano saxophone and effects
Lester St. Louis – bass
Jason Nazary – drums and electronics
Alfredo Colon – tenor saxophone and effects

https://wejazzrecords.bandcamp.com/album/new-monuments

pushes the boundaries of free jazz, composition, and electronic forms, with the raw riotous energy of “spiritual punk,” comprised of vocalist, composer, and keyboardist Amirtha Kidambi (Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl, Darius Jones), saxophonists Matt Nelson (Battle Trance, Flying Luttenbachers) and Alfredo Colon (Henry Threadgill, Moses Sumney), bassist Lester St. Louis (jaimie branch’s Fly or Die, Wendy Eisenberg’s Darlin’), and drummer Jason Nazary (Anteloper, Saint Abdullah).

The ensemble’s instrumentation, undergirded by the drone of the Indian pump organ harmonium, forms an intricate landscape for Kidambi’s voice to traverse; she battles against its mountainous heights before sliding speedily down its slopes. Truly making an instrument of her vocal cords, Kidambi’s syllabic, frenzied, and powerful utterances weave into the alluring, hypnotic, and confronting jazz melodies of the ensemble. Dealing with issues such as power, capitalism, colonialism, white supremacy, and fascism, Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones are not shy to confront and resist systems of oppression and control through their music. As such, a sense of ancestral energy pulses through their performances; it feels as though they are not alone on the stage, but are rather carried along by an old knowledge buried deep within the music.

Host or Publisher New Music Circle