Grex: "Auntie + Tebs" (feat. Bobby Bradford, Zoh Amba, Francis Wong)

Oakland experimental duo Grex (Karl Evangelista and Rei Scampavia) presents “Auntie + Tebs,” a brand new musical work that celebrates the sound of change - and the cost of making noise. "Auntie + Tebs" blends cutting-edge sounds drawn from the realms of jazz, rap, and electronic music with visuals and spoken word, underlining the relationship between Bay Area activism and hard-fought battles in countries like the Philippines and South Africa. The project title “Auntie + Tebs” references two epochal figures: Miriam Defensor Santiago, Evangelista’s Aunt and a longtime Filipino public servant, and Louis Moholo-Moholo (“Tebs”), an innovative South African drummer and Anti-Apartheid activist. Both of these individuals devoted their lives to toppling corruption and oppression in their home countries.

Instead of simply recounting history, “Auntie + Tebs” explores what happens when one speaks out against injustice - and what happens in the aftermath.

Grex is joined by longtime drummer Robert Lopez, legendary cornetist Bobby Bradford, Asian Improv aRts cofounder Francis Wong (May 31), and incendiary saxophonist Zoh Amba (June 1).

Grex is an experimental music duo based out of Oakland, California. In biological terms, a "grex" is an entity composed of several smaller organisms. Grex (the band) explores the meeting point between surreal songcraft and the dark outer reaches of free jazz, industrial hip-hop, and art rock. The group has been called an "otherworldly experience" (Eugene Weekly) and "true genre warping music" (KFJC), recalling at turns the ecstatic energy of John Coltrane, the electronic squall of Death Grips, and the lilting songwriting of Mitski.

Funded in part by the East Bay Community Fund

Bobby Bradford

Francis Wong

Zoh Amba

Host or Publisher Dresher Ensemble Studio