Co-presented with the Coastal Jazz and Blues Society.
The following text is taken from Front Magazine, vol. VI, no. 2, pp. 9-10, November/December 1994:
– Michael Snow & Jack Vorvis The Jack and Mike Concert 11/03/94
Toronto based Michael Snow is a visual artist, pianist, trumpeter, composer and improviser. In the words of visual artist Raymond Gervais, “The musical works of Michael Snow may be divided into two categories: improvisation and composition. Into the first category we may place his early Dixieland jazz, his ESP period in New York, his work with Artist Jazz Band and CCMC, a work for piano like Around Blues and, finally 2 Radio Solos. His solo albums, Musics for Piano, Whistling, Microphone and Tape Recorder, The Lazy LP and Sinoms, belong to the second category, the realm of the composer. Near the end of the 1970s, such pianists as Cecil Taylor, Borah Bergman, Irene Schweizer, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Misha Mengelberg and Paul Bley all experimented in duets with drummers. Michael Snow is part of this movement. With drummer Jack Vorvis, he reveals the percussive side of the piano that was so long concealed pre-20th century music. Energy, lyricism, invention, “sports and entertainment” (as Eric Satie would say): these are some of the qualities of these prodigious gymnastics for two: piano and percussion.” Co-sponsored with Presentation House Gallery.
– Fritz Hauser, Urs Leimgruber and Kate Hammet-Vaughan 11/04/94
Swiss saxophonist Urs Leimgruber, equally brilliant on the tenor and alto saxes, blends modern jazz influences (Coltrane, Ayler, and Shepp) with Western classical forms. Over the years he has toured and recorded with Reflexionen, Carla Bley, Albert Mengelsdorff, Barry Altschul, and others. Leimgruber has many recordings available both as a leader and musical collaborator. Swiss drummer Fritz Hauser explores the most minimal structures, shifts and changes working them into his compositions with strict adherence to form. Fritz has numerous recordings on the Hat Art label and has performed with Franz Kogelmann, Steve Lacy, and Joe McPhee. Together Hauser and Leimgruber perform music that is strong and sensuous. Joining the duo for the first time is vocalist Kate Hammet-Vaughan. Based in Vancouver, Hammet-Vaughan has a nation-wide reputation as one of Canada’s premier jazz vocalists, both for her interpretations of jazz standards and for her work with the contemporary trio Garbo’s Hat. Her highly personal style is characterized by multi-textured vocal improvisations, cool phrasing and an unusual breathy alto sound. Thanks to Pro Helvetica.
– Glenn Horiuchi’s Shamisen Trio 11/05/94
Drawing on his Japanese American heritage and African American and Euro-American traditions, pianist/composer Glenn Horiuchi instills his music with passion, warmth and humour. Coda Magazine describes his music as “A revelation in sound…inspired by African American creative music and tempered by the sounds and rhythms of his culture.” Horiuchi’s work as a composer and pianist are documented on his five discs for the ‘Soul Note’ and ‘Asian Improv’ labels. His unique sound reflects his love of Japanese folk rhythms and of the work of Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane and Cecil Taylor, as well as his experiences as a Japanese American growing up in the U.S. He has appeared at major festivals in North America and Europe, including the Berlin Jazz Festival, Knitting Factory Piano Festival, Vancouver’s du Maurier Ltd. International Jazz Festival and Japan America Theatre’s Kokoro Series. He is also a frequent collaborator with leading artists in film, dance and theatre. This wonderful trio includes shamisen master Lillian Nakano and flue and saxophone player Francis Wong.
– Screen 11/06/94
“The screens are rigged and our junket is set to sink from the surface into view. See the sounding bubbles as they seep up from the siliconed hold to form a congress of lapping electromagnetic waves. From a leaky pixel jar the light itself materializes to distribute dissolving gifts to all aboard. A gale of sound unleashed fills our sails with vacuum packed images, feeding back in a high definition of decay.” – Screen
Screen is a Montreal performance group that integrates the time based arts of music/sound, video/film, and performance/theatre live. Real time interactivity between the various media and the integration of documentary elements characterize their work. At the centre of the performance they use live video with large screen projection, gestural command to “play” virtual instruments (David Rokeby’s Very Nervous System, as well as their own sensor-to-computer interfaces), and computer control as a means of translating the various media. At the core of the troupe Phil Giborski, Willy Le Maitre and Eric Rosenzveig provide the requisite technical mastery of sound, image and computer media, and a group dynamic borne over ten years of collaboration.
We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the Canada Council Music & Opera Section