Neal Meyer performs John Cage’s text piece Writing for the Second Time Through Finnegan’s Wake (drawn from James Joyce’s novel) in observance of the 20th Anniversary of Cage’s passing (August 12), and of the hundredth anniversary of his birth (September 5). Cage’s hour-long composition will be performed from memory, with sound engineering by Jake Thompson.

Tomoyoshi Date and Corey Fuller, both currently residing in Tokyo, began collaborating as ILLUHA in 2008. Recorded in a historic 100+ year old church in Bellingham, WA, Shizuku is their debut album for 12k.

San Francisco duo En is Maxwell August Croy and James Devane. Using various instruments fed through an array of complex systems and software, En create resplendently textured, carefully crafted waves of dream-inducing sound evoking the unplaceable nostalgia associated with the imaginary landscapes of memory.

Marcus Fischer is a musician & multimedia artist with early roots in the LA independent music scene, now living in Portland. Field recordings, chance, and DIY instruments, coupled with acoustic instrumentation and visual art, define what has become his minimal signature.

Mouth of Gravity is a trio of modern improvisation acousticians, featuring renowned saxophonist and music guru Denney Goodhew performing on piano (and various accoutrement), globe-trotting, multi-faceted guitarist Mark Oi, and dimensional drum ace Adam Kessler.

Substrata 1.2 continues: Widesky (New Mexico); Loscil (Vancouver); Tim Hecker (Montreal); Pan•American (Chicago)

Substrata 1.2 is the second edition of Seattle’s intimate weekend festival exploring varying perspectives of scale though the use of sound, composition and visuals. The first night explores the breadth of the spectrum of amplified sound, from the acoustic and environmental, the synthetic and processed, to the timbres hidden in radio signals and the distortion of electricity itself. Expect an evening of both extreme dynamics and subtle susurration, of immersion in nuanced tonalities and the lashing of dissonant cascades. Lawrence English (Australia); Robin Rimbaud, aka Scanner (London); Daniel Menche (Portland)

With deep roots in free improvisation, new jazz and classical music old and new, Robert Dick (NYC) has established himself as an artist who has redefined the flute, his music going wherever his imagination and boundless chops flow to at any moment. Clifford Dunn (Seattle) has premiered nearly 100 new works for flute, and has received commissions by dozens of ensembles and individual performers. John C. Savage (Portland) has been compared to Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Herbie Mann, Noah Howard, and Ian Anderson. Paul Taub (Seattle) is a founding member of the world famous Seattle Chamber Players.

In GRID, we set ourselves as the audience: to each other, to sound, to the space between sounds. We may borrow a theme as a street corner, a place to meet. We may play familiar instruments or objects we’ve never touched before. We may use principles of conducting to shape, to communicate. But the intention is to listen, and then: to get in.

Presented by Earshot Jazz. Jazz: The Second Century is our open question to that artistic community: So, what’s happening now? Robin Holcomb is a prolific singer, pianist, composer and songwriter with influences from free jazz piano to folk music and world percussion. Her Second Century solo piano performance recalls her 2006 Tzadik release John Brown’s Body. Also performing tonight, Wayne Horvitz’s BUZZ group. BUZZ is Hovitz on piano and electronics, Geoff Harper on bass, Kate Olson on sax and Steve O’Brien on trumpet.

Seattle trombone giant Chris Stover returns from New York with his band Acquired Involuntary Narcissism, playing his original compositions as well as “recompositions” of music by Elvis Costello, Bob Marley, and Johannes Brahms. It’s a mix of new and old music, covering a wide range of expressive ground: lush, lyrical textures; far-reaching dissonances, subtly shifting compositional processes, and powerful grooves. With Stuart MacDonald, Steve Treseler, Eric Barber, James DeJoie (reeds); Greg Lyons, Thomas Marriott, Al Keith (trumpets); Andy Clausen, Nelson Bell (trombones); Bill Anschell, John Silverman, Greg Williamson (rhythm).

California-based sound artist Jen Boyd records sounds in her environment and arranges them into layered soundscapes, using contact microphones to explore the textures and timbres in trees and other found objects. Some sounds unfold naturally while others are processed. While her work mostly relies on ‘natural’ sounds she uses a wide variety of sound sources to paint sonic pictures for the listener. Seattle’s own Susie Kozawa shares the evening, with her witty blend of found objects and homemade instruments.