FRED FRITH'S "FREMAKAJO" / BETH SCHENK'S "SOCIAL STUTTER"

WEST OAKLAND SOUND SERIES

FRED FRITH (bass/viola) has been a dauntless explorer, improviser, and collaborator in the half-century since he made that breakthrough. From leaving Henry Cow to start Art Bears, from leaving England to enlist in a hyperactive New York improvisational circuit that led him to join Naked City and launch his own Massacre, Frith has situated his extended techniques and handmade instruments in dozens of different contexts. A longtime teacher at California’s Mills College, he brings another new band, FREMAKAJO. He has tapped intertwining Bay Area circles to build this quartet, with curious and playful drummer JORDAN GLENN joining exploratory saxophonist KASEY KNUDSEN and stylistically globetrotting accordionist MARIÉ ABE.

SOCIAL STUTTER, a saxophone quartet led by composer/altoist BETH SCHENCK, blurs the line between strictly written chamber music and soaring free jazz. Solos emerge from the natural order of intricately written lines that, although begin simply in structure, twist and distort themselves into surprisingly complex shapes and forms. Unlike traditional saxophone quartets, most compositions call for two altos, tenor, and bari, which leads itself to denser harmonic territory and a uniquely homogenous sound. Masters of texture and nuance, the quartet has a keen awareness of how to support and push one another's creative boundaries. Social Stutter is comprised of some of the Bay Area's most unique voices: KASEY KNUDSEN, RAFFI GARABEDIAN, CORY WRIGHT and BETH SCHENCK.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher sfSound