New York-based tuba player Dan Peck makes a wide swing over to the Left Coast to join a crew of Seattle improvising stalwarts with Bill Horist (guitar), Eyvind Kang (viola), Lori Goldston (cello), Greg Campbell (percussion, French horn).

Presented by Earshot Jazz Festival.

Tatsuya Nakatani is a creative percussionist originally from Osaka, Japan, currently based in Easton, PA. He uses drums, gongs, cymbals, singing bowls and much else to create organic, intense music. Tonight he plays solo and in a first-time duo improvisation with special guest violist Eyvind Kang.

Presented by Earshot Jazz Festival. Support provided by the Consulate General of The Netherlands.

Reeds man Ab Baars and violist Ig Henneman, both long-established members of the theatrically avant-garde New Dutch Swing pantheon, bring an unmistakable playfulness to their collaborations as a musical duo. The husband-and-wife team deliver lyrical, expressive pieces that animate memories of tiptoeing down a hallway, dancing outside or hiding beneath the bed. For all of its sharp dissonances and off-kilter rhythms, their sound is like a simple game of tag.

Percussion by Dean Moore in collaboration with butoh artist Alan Sutherland and Acrobalance performers Jason Williams and Evelyn Bittner (aka Dr. Calamari & Acrophelia of Circus Contraption). With special guest percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani performing with butoh artist Vanessa Skantze.

The long-awaited CD release from Tempered Steel, featuring Ffej, Frank Junk, and Dennis Rea playing amplified, electronically processed thumb pianos. The trio’s seamless improvisations conjure everything from phantom harpsichords and subaquatic percussion to as-yet-uninvented stringed instruments and vintage musique concrete. Opening are Lube Fondue, featuring Noisepoetnobody and Briana Jones.

Composed by John Teske, murmur explores through sound the subtleties of human consciousness, awareness and experience. As our society becomes more interconnected, it can feel as if time is accelerating and the sense of self, of authenticity and intention can be lost in a scattered existence. By slowing the experience of time through music, the listener’s attention is brought to detail. This focus can open a door to a deeper awareness of the environment, sensations in the body, and other people. The Broken Bow Ensemble is a 26-piece orchestra dedicated to performing original contemporary classical music. This new ensemble features local musicians, including Tari Nelson-Zaglar, Brianna Atwell, Jessie Polin, Greg Campbell, and more.

Local saxophonist Neil Welch explores the underbelly of the saxophone. From whisper soft gestures to bellowing cries, Welch’s musical voice centers around extremes on the instrument – multiphonics, pitches clusters, and minimalist sound-cycle repetitions are strong components of his performances. The show tonight features two sets of acoustic material, some composed and some improvised.

Two great quartets in the Seattle avant jazz and experimental scene. Opening the night will be KROMER, featuring Ivan Arteaga (sax), Katie Jacobson (voice), Cameron Sharif (piano/keyboards), and Evan Woodle (drums). Empty Boat, led by drummer Don Berman, features Kate Olson (sax), Geoff Harper (bass), and Dennis Rea (guitar).

Flutist/vocalist Emily Hay, pianist Motoko Honda, and percussionist Brad Dutz are all major players in the Los Angeles experimental/ improvised music scene. As the trio Polarity Taskmasters they create abstract experimental soundscapes through intense improvised ensemble interaction combined with electronic effects, jazz idioms, extended classical techniques, primal vocals, and stories from the id. Developing a vocabulary utilizing both the inside as well as the exterior parts of the piano, using preparations and objects, German pianist Magda Mayas explores textural, linear and fast moving sound collage.

For over 30 years,  Rova Saxophone Quartet has explored the synthesis of composition and collective improvisation, creating exciting, genre-bending music that challenges and inspires. Founded in 1978 and inspired by a broad spectrum of musical influences – from Ives, Varese, Messiaen, Xenakis, and Feldman to Art Ensemble of Chicago, Coltrane, Braxton, Lacy, Taylor, Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman – ROVA began composing, touring, and recording, collaborating with such like-minded colleagues as guitarists Henry Kaiser and Fred Frith and saxophonist John Zorn, along with fellow Bay Area trailblazers Kronos Quartet and Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. In 1983 ROVA became the first new music group from the USA to tour the Soviet Union. Their new projects are the Celestial Septet with the Nels Cline Singers, and Electric Ascension, an epic re-imagining of John Coltrane’s masterwork with an all-star large ensemble.