Doug Russell and Kirill Nikolai present solo and collaborative works for large format modular synthesizers and tape.

Doug Russell is a guitarist and improvisor based in Seattle. He studied music at Wesleyan University under Alvin Lucier, Anthony Braxton and Ron Kuivila before forming the Los Angeles-based free noise group Open City with Peter Kolovos and Andrew Maxwell. Open City operated from 1997 to 2006.

Kirill Nikolai is a Seattle-based musician and composer. He has released both solo and collaborative works on Tonefloat (NL), Fluid Audio (UK), Apollolaan Recordings (UK), Reverb Worship (UK), and Ho Hum Records (UK). 

James Falzone presents his Renga Ensemble, a longstanding group with revolving players and instrumentation in different locales, interpreting multi-part vocal music from Lithuania known as Sutartinės. 

James Falzone: clarinet, penny whistles, shruti box
Heather Bentley: viola
Tom Baker: electronics, theremin, guitar
Neil Welch: saxophones
Omar Willey: spoken word
Robin Holcomb: piano
Jacob Zimmerman: saxophones and clarinet
Greg Campbell: drums and horns

The BadMovieTrio is James DeJoie’s newest musical adventure. Furthering  the explorations of a “pianoless” group, the BadMovieTrio unapologetically delves into each individual member’s sound within the broader context of the trio itself. Through composition and improvisation, the trio strives to create a unique and uncommon sound. From atonal to heart-breaking melodies and back again, the BadMovieTrio aspires to take an unparalleled music journey.

James DeJoie: Woodwinds
Chris Symer: Bass
Greg Campbell: Percussion

DeKirÖpp is a group dedicated to rhythm. Without over-reliance on (perhaps sentimental) harmonic structures, we seek to find the true basis of music through vertical harmony and rhythmic drive. Never losing sight of melody, each player is at once an accompanist and soloist. The improvisation is based on melody and form with the freedom of non-judgmental experimentations. DeKirÖpp is a recent selection in the prestigious “Jazz in the Second Century” Earshot Jazz presentation.

James DeJoie: Woodwinds
Steve Kirk: Trombone
Brian Oppel: Drums

Please join us for this unique program of premieres and new music by local composers from Kitsap and Pierce Counties, featuring contemporary chamber works for voice, ukuleles, piano, guitar, bass, and brass. Electronic multi-media music will also be featured.

Participants include composers Sheila Bristow, Clement Reid, and Carson Farley. Performers Elaina Lewis, Walter Kovshik, Krissy Villaruz, John Wells, and Tommy Hawthorne will make this a varied and memorable evening.

Ramen Trio was formed in 2016 by three veterans of the Seattle music scene with the purpose of writing, improvising and performing music that branches out while at the same time acknowledges the lifeblood of music that came before. The band – James DeJoie (clarinet, bass clarinet), Doug Lilla (5-string bass guitar), Greg Campbell (drums) – combines form and freedom through composition, improvisation, jazz and contemporary classical styles while adding splashes of folk and rock resulting in an open-ended dance of ideas. Any player can “float to the top” at almost any time once these guys start rolling. They welcome drummer Greg Campbell to the band after Jay Weaver’s recent move to Berlin. The evening will open with a short set by James DeJoie (woodwinds) and Brian Oppel (drums).

Three internationally celebrated performers/composers meet for a night of improvised music in the intimate setting of the Chapel: Canadian clarinetist François Houle, Swiss violist Charlotte Hug, and American pianist Wayne Horvitz.

(Photos: Hug by Kai Bienert, Houle by Michèle Bühler, Horvitz by Tom Chargin)

Celebrated artists come together for an evening of collaborations within dance and music. Seating is limited to ~60 people, so get your tix in advance!

Sound/Movement artist pairings: Jason E Anderson & Corrie Befort, Alina To & Paige Barnes, Chari Glogovac-Smith & Nia-Amina Minor, Leanna Keith & Moonyeka, Hope Wechkin & Beth Graczyk, Tom Baker & Alia Swersky.

Night Music arose from conversations during the Covid-19 pandemic between composer Hope Wechkin and choreographer Beth Graczyk. While “night music” is often understood to be music intended to divert – to lull one to sleep, to entertain, or to distract – it can also serve as a medium for investigation: an opportunity to explore darkness and the concerns that may pale in the light of day.

Like the hours of the day, the hours of the night are particular and distinct: in mood, in the presence of light vs. darkness, in “feel,” in level of activity, and in the perception of the passage of time. For many people, the night is a time of reckoning, and for many people around the world, this period in our social and cultural development is also a time for facing and contending with darkness. And, as we emerge from the confines imposed by the pandemic, it is also a time for renewed commitment to creativity and community. Night Music provides a space for 6 artist pairs to connect with each other and the audience to contemplate, reckon with, and celebrate the infinite shades of the dark of night.

(Photo: Leanna Keith & Moonyeka by Michelle Smith-Lewis)

Co-produced by Earshot Jazz and Nonsequitur

Portland-based ensemble Be Present Art Group (BPAG) is a multidimensional revolving artists collective who specialized in improvisational creative collaborations. Founded in 2021 by Roman Norfleet, BPAG strives to empower through collaboration, creativity, and education. Earlier this year they released an album titled Roman Norfleet and Be Present Art Group (Mississippi Records). The ensemble for this concert includes Roman Norfleet (saxophone, percussion, vocals, keys), and Jacque Hammond (vocals), Andre Raiah (Brown Calvin) (keys), Harlan Silverman (cello), Dae Bryant (drums), Machado Mijiga (drums), Cam Haskins (percussion), and Scotty Williams (Based Zeus) (bass).

Originally from Lockport, Illinois, Roman Norfleet is an interdisciplinary cultural producer, healer, and mystic who uses sculpture, music compositions, performance, and social organizing in his quest for spiritual and social development. Norfleet’s life and work has been informed by his early musical influences from his time spent in the Baptist Church to the Hindu philosophies that he immersed himself in at an ashram in Los Angeles. Norfleet seeks to continue that artistic, expressive expansion by continuing to incorporate visual and performance art elements that challenges the status quo, encourages spiritual expansion, and calls for audiences to be present in the now moment.

*Earshot Jazz COVID-19 Policy: Earshot recommends that all ticket holders be vaccinated. Policy subject to change. Full COVID policy here.

Roman Norfleet and Be Present Art Group photo courtesy of Roman Norfleet

Kin of the Moon and Shadow Girls Cult team up to present: COVE. Featuring new works by Kaley Lane Eaton, a new commission by UK composer Dominic Matthews, and Heather Bentley’s Rewilding. The Kin of the Moon trio features classically trained composer/performers who utilize electronics and embrace improvisation to create wild new soundscapes. Bentley’s Rewilding is a sonic platform for a ritual improvisation honoring history’s first named writer, the poet and high priestess Enheduanna who served her goddess, Inanna, and her people of the ancient Sumerian city of Ur. For Matthew’s Cosmic Sermon, KOTM brought in the shadow puppet company Shadow Girls Cult, to create a visual storytelling experience of sci-fi, using liquid light to delve through the cosmos. The collaboration will be truly out of this world. 

Autumnal Resonances – Three local experimental music artists (Carbon In Prose, RM Francis, and Flicker Duo) perform original compositions ranging from ambient, noise, electroacoustic, and free improvisation.

Carbon In Prose is the ambient music project from Seattle-based composer Cam MacNair. Inspired by movements in nature and the human juxtaposition to it, the project aims to capture its moments in stasis, in full acceptance of its beauty. Cam will be performing material from the new album Salt Water Blood.

RM Francis is a Seattle-based artist working with computer-generated sound via recordings, performances, and installations. In addition to his solo projects, in recent years he has collaborated with Jack Callahan & Jeff Witscher, Jung An Tagen, and farmersmanual, among others. His most recent releases are pedimos un mensaje (Superpang), AToGRNN Prism (tokinogake), and Every Single Person Has Some Muscle (FLEA).

Flicker Duo, a collaboration between Sarah Pyle, flute, and Janna Webbon, violin, creates incandescent moments that evolve between sound and noise. Based in Western Washington, they build improvised sonic worlds inspired by visual art and the rich ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest. Seeds is a new work by Flicker Duo that uses the structures of native wildflower seed pods to inform improvisation.