Jane Ira Bloom and Brian Shankar Adler with Ken Filiano

Legendary soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and virtuoso percussionist Brian Shankar Adler return to SPACE with NYC bassist Ken Filiano to celebrate their new release once like a spark.

once like a spark brings together NASA soprano saxophonist/composer Jane Ira Bloom, percussionist/composer Brian Shankar Adler for a series of acoustic duets & trios that traverse the globe and showcase the group’s unique improvisational magic. The music documents the spark of their extraordinary connection whose inspirations range from the gamelan of Southeast Asia and rhythms of North India, to literary icons Luis Borges and e.e.cummings, to the galaxy & beyond. Their sound is alive with rhythm, melodic soul, and turn-on-a-dime improvisation in celebration of music that explores the planet and beyond. Warm, dynamic, and fired with rhythm, once like a spark ignites a special one-of-a-kind rapport between seasoned improvisers at the height of their powers.

Jane Ira Bloom finds inspiration in creating exploratory music with improvising musicians around the world and has participated in several international ‘remote’ events including a performance at the United Nations that linked improvising musicians in Korea, China, New York, and San Diego. She has recorded and produced 20 albums of her music dating from 1977 to the present. Bloom is a professor at New School University’s College of the Performing Arts in NYC. Nat Hentoff called Bloom an artist “beyond category.” Bill Milkowski has described Bloom as “a true jazz original…a restlessly creative spirit, and a modern day role model for any aspiring musician who dares to follow his or her own vision.”

Brian Shankar Adler is an interdisciplinary percussionist and composer. Described as “a polyrhythmic force… New York City gritty yet still somehow capable of evoking the delicacy of a summer breeze…” (JazzTimes), his work transcends the terrain between genre and geographic region, asking: how can we find connection through rhythm? Adler has performed in caves, forests and adjacent glacial ice fields as well as Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and The Stone. He has been recorded on over fifty albums including his solo works: For a Gallery on the Moon (Chant Records), Fourth Dimension (Chant Records), and his recent collaboration: Air Space: Cricket Cipher (Adhyâropa Records).

Ken Filiano is a bassist, composer, improviser, and teacher who performs around the world, fusing the rich traditions of the double bass with his own seemingly limitless imagination. A “creative virtuoso” (JazzValley), Ken has performed and recorded with a veritable who’s who in multiple genres, from Anthony Braxton to Pablo Ziegler. Ken leads two quartets, Quantum Entanglements and Baudolino’s Dilemma, and is co-leader of The Steve Adams/Ken Filiano Duo and other collective ensembles. He is also an integral member of groups led by Taylor Ho Bynum, Jason Kao Hwang, Fay Victor, Vinny Golia, Diane Moser, Karl Berger, and others, and was a key member of groups led by the late Roswell Rudd and Connie Crothers. Ken’s extensive discography includes the solo CD, “Subvenire”(Nine Winds) and Quantum Entanglements’s “Dreams From a Clown Car” (Clean Feed). He is a Guiding Artist and on the Board of Advisors for Creative Music Studio in Woodstock, NY.

Playing primarily a hybrid drum set that includes North Indian tabla, Argentine bombo legüero and found objects, Adler’s work explores the perception of time, the communicative properties of rhythmic gesture and existential questions that reside in the human condition. With equal focus on improvisational and compositional practices, he uses rhythm as a tool for connection. Brian Shankar Adler has collaborated with Kinan Azmeh, Ballet Hispanico, Bash the Trash, Bomba de Tiempo, Jay Clayton, LA Opera, Guillermo Klein, Frank London, Palaver Strings and more. He has been featured in Jason Bivins’ book “Spirits Rejoice,” The Center For Deep Listening’s “A Year of Deep Listening,” NPR’s “New Sounds,” PBS’s “Next at the Kennedy Center” as well as Downbeat and Modern Drummer Magazine. His music video, “Mantra” won best music video at Transcinema International Film Festival in Peru and an official selection at Quiet City Film Festival in New York City.

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