Seattle Guitar Circle, an 8-piece acoustic guitar orchestra, brings “Simple Songs” to the Chapel (Ives, Corea, Satie, Coltrane, Brouwer, Monk, Fripp, Sakamoto) with very special guest Julie Slick.
Seattle Guitar Circle was founded in 1993 by Steve Ball, Bill Rieflin and Bill Van Buren. For 30 years, they have been playing eclectic, polyrhythmic prog chamber music arranged for large acoustic guitar ensemble all over the Seattle area. Seattle Guitar Circle has many related sub-groups such as Tuning the Air (7 years of weekly shows at Fremont Abbey), Tiny Orchestral Moments (7+ years of workshops and live shows) and Argentina’s Electric Gauchos, recording and performing in Seattle since 1997.
This international community was initially born via Robert Fripp’s ‘Guitar Craft’ workshops that began in 1985. Each SGC performance is a combination of tightly-arranged chaos, layered guitars ‘circulations’ – where each guitarist plays one note at a time in evolving melodies.
SGC performs collaborative repertoire for layered guitars and voices including structured improvisation that sounds composed and composed collaboration that sounds improvised. This 2023 ‘Simple Songs’ performance brings to life new arrangements of pieces by Charles Ives, Chick Corea, Erik Satie, Hanai Rani, John Coltrane, Jon Brion, Jonny Greenwood, Leo Brouwer, Meredith Monk, Robert Fripp, Ryuichi Sakamoto – as well as new work from composers within the core SGC team.
Julie Slick will open (with special surprise guests) and collaborate with the SGC. Julie is a virtuoso bassist and composer known for her wide array of unique tones and substantial melodic invention. Throughout her career, she has developed a distinctive voice through international performances and recordings with acclaimed first class musicians in global progressive rock and jazz communities. She currently tours and makes albums with the Adrian Belew Power Trio and her own bass duo-fronted band, EchoTest. As of 2022, Julie has joined Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew’s Remain in Light project, celebrating the music of the Talking Heads. In 2023 she performed with her fellow RIL cast, jam/funk group Cool Cool Cool to support shows across North America.
She has also collaborated/appeared on stage with: the Crimson ProjeKct (featuring Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto), Les Claypool, Danny Carey, Victor Wooten, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Robert Fripp, Stewart Copeland, Alice Cooper, Ann Wilson, Jon Anderson, Wynonna Judd, Lzzy Hale, Vicki Peterson, Mike Keneally, Marco Minnemann, Petra Haden, Kris Myers, and more.