Pianist GraceANN Cummings premieres Garrett Fisher’s Blueprints for Solo Piano, a technically demanding set of works based on Fisher’s unique collaborative approach to music-making.

Garrett Fisher has created more than a dozen opera-theatre productions in the US and Europe that have “combined elements of opera, dance, Indian raga, Japanese Noh theater and more into fusions that have both a ritualistic intensity and an improvisatory freedom…a groundbreaking hybrid…a strong, unified and strikingly individual utterance of unambiguous beauty” (The New York Times).

Up until now Fisher has mainly created opera-theater productions, most recently BLOOD MOON produced by Beth Morrison Projects at the NYC’s Prototype Festival. These piano pieces are the first ones he’s written for any solo instrument. In his opera scores he weaves in “blueprints” – improvisatory frameworks – that guide the performer to discover their own unique interpretation and infuse their own authentic voice into the very fabric of the production. This freedom is foreign to most western musicians, and requires great trust and extensive practice. With these pieces for piano, Fisher has stepped out of the world of theater and entirely into the world of sound.

GraceANN Cummings is a pianist known for her concerts and CDs that take listeners INSIDE the MUSIC which she has been presenting throughout the United States since 1994. Her repertoire in these concerts spans the centuries since Bach to premiere performances by living composers, designed to give audiences a deeper listening experience with the relationship of silence that moves amidst the sounds.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Following current mandates from King County & WA State public health officials, all audience members at this performance will be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status. Proof of vaccination status and/or recent negative COVID test result will be required for entry. Additionally, chair seating will be arranged to maintain social distancing; people who live together may group chairs accordingly. Windows will be open, weather permitting.

Celebrating the release of saxophonist/composer Neil Welch’s new album the ink around it, with 3 unique performers: Nat Evans (gongs/stringed instruments for improviser), Neil Welch (solo sax), and the composition Concepción Picciotto (for 11 member ensemble).

Tonight’s music will explore the vibrant, lush abundance of the natural world and the human interference within the biodiversity that threatens our one, beautiful earth-home. The event will feature three sonic episodes, including: composer Nat Evans (gongs/stringed instruments for improviser) to open, Neil Welch (solo sax) performing Puhpowee, and an 11-piece ensemble performing Concepción Picciotto, a long-form work dedicated to a homeless peace activist who worked for nuclear disarmament.

The word Puhpowee comes from the Potawatomi Native American language, and translates as “the force which causes mushrooms to push up from the earth overnight.” I try to take the listener through my sonic interpretation of the fungi bursting forth, spreading their spores, living and dying. Throughout the piece, the listener will hear multiphonic bursts of color that signify Puhpowee, interspersed by quarter note melodic passages, representing the fungi mycelium with their hyphae threads connecting the mushroom bursts. A heavy ostinato enters mid-way through the piece, representing the beasts that trample the ground, most forcefully that of the human.

Concepción Picciotto is titled, composed and dedicated to the homeless peace activist who lived on the street in front of the White House from 1981-2016. She held what is thought to be the longest continuous protest in world history, working to raise awareness of endless US-driven wars, with a particular focus on nuclear disarmament. This 26+ minute work is scored for saxophone section, string quartet, rhythm section and mezzo soprano vocalist, featuring a stellar lineup of Seattle’s top-tier creative musicians. It is a work exploring myriad territory, from ethereal soundscapes to driving jazz rhythms, percussive undulations and more. It was inspired by her life and written in her memory.

Marcin Pączkowski – conductor
Danielle Reutter-Harrah, mezzo-soprano voice and soloist
Kate Olson, soprano sax
Jacob Zimmerman – alto sax
Neil Welch – tenor sax / soloist
Peter Daniel – baritone sax
Janna Webbon, violin
Heather Bentley, viola
Ebony Miranda, cello
Abbey Blackwell, bass
Christopher Icasiano, drums, cymbals, metal objects

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Following current mandates from King County & WA State public health officials, all audience members at this performance will be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status. Proof of vaccination status and/or recent negative COVID test result will be required for entry. Additionally, chair seating will be arranged to maintain social distancing; people who live together may group chairs accordingly. Windows will be open, weather permitting.

Young Scientist, Seattle’s pioneer electronic music group, formed in the 1970’s, emerges from the laboratory for an evening of immersive modular electronic music — with Marc Barreca, celebrating the release of his latest CD, The Empty Bridge.

Young Scientist was formed in Seattle in the mid-1970’s by James Husted, Roland Barker and Marc Barreca, performing for several years with analog synths, tape loops and keyboards. Following re-releases of 1970s material on the German labels Bureau B and Vinyl on Demand, the group has reunited for performances with Marc and James joining forces for this Chapel evening of evolving, transportive electronics.

Marc Barreca, veteran Seattle electronic music composer, will be performing electro-acoustic loop-based compositions with modular synthesizer synths and samplers. He has been making electronic music in Seattle since the mid-1970s, releasing a number of projects over the years on the Hawaii-based Palace of Lights label. His most recent releases include the solo CDs The Empty Bridge, From the Gray and the Green, and Shadow Aesthetics, two CDs with Steve Peters and K. Leimer as Three Point Circle, a vinyl collaboration with K. Leimer, Chains of Being on the Spanish label, Abstrakce Records, and a vinyl release on Scissor Tail Records, The Sleeper Wakes.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Following current mandates from King County & WA State public health officials, all audience members at this performance will be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status. Proof of vaccination status and/or recent negative COVID test result will be required for entry. Additionally, chair seating will be arranged to maintain social distancing; people who live together may group chairs accordingly. Windows will be open, weather permitting.

Best known for her Cuban jazz compositions performed by her group Clave Gringa, in this concert Ann Reynolds explores her jazz roots with her original compositions honoring Mary Lou Williams, Geri Allen, Carla Bley, and Christine Jensen. Joining her are Kelsey Mines (bass) and Christopher Icasiano (drums). Presented by Earshot Jazz Festival.

Earshot Jazz COVID-19 Policy: For all in-person events, proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours required for venue entry. Masks required indoors.

Cellista is a Los Angeles based cellist and performance artist whose work emphasizes narrative, multimedia, and cross-genre collaborations. Her latest composition is Pariah — an immersive audio album that fluidly weaves together classical, pop, and hip-hop elements to create a new dialect. The self-released operetta, presented as an album and live dance film, takes the listener on a journey through Pariah’s banishment from Cloture, a fictional city whose residents punish Pariah for her passion for truth and justice.

The event begins with an overture by noisepoetnobody followed by LA’s Zero Collective. A prologue performance of moody noise covers by Joshua Icban and Cellista precedes Pariah.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Following current mandates from King County & WA State public health officials, all audience members at this performance will be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status. Proof of vaccination status and/or recent negative COVID test result will be required for entry. Additionally, chair seating will be arranged to maintain social distancing; people who live together may group chairs accordingly. Windows will be open, weather permitting.

Presented by Earshot Jazz Festival

Erika Dohi is a “virtuosic” (NY Times) “barrier-defying” (Mix Magazine) pianist/electronicist who improvises boldly with classical skills, as on her solo debut I, Castorpollux and in Wadada Leo Smith’s Golden Quintet. Seattle friend Kate Olson joins her for part of the performance.

Earshot Jazz COVID-19 Policy: For all in-person events, proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test taken within 48 hours required for venue entry. Masks required indoors. Chairs will be spaced for social distancing (households may group together). Windows open weather permitting.

Co-presented by Earshot Jazz Festival & Nonsequitur.

¿Mujer o Bruja? (Woman or Witch?) is a new multimedia collaboration between the Tiptons Sax Quartet and award-winning Latin American music duo Correo Aéreo (Abel Rocha and Madeleine Sosin, who also conceived and directs the show) and digital artist Jing ‘Jude’ Dai.

Award-winning all-female ensemble the Tiptons Sax Quartet (Amy Denio, Jessica Lurie, Tina Richerson and Sue Orfield on soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes, flute, clarinet, piano, accordion, bass guitar, percussion, electronics, voices) is collaborating for the first time with Correo Aéreo (Abel Rocha and Madeleine Sosin on guitar, cuatro, jarana, Venezuelan harp, violin, maracas, quijada, bombo, voices), a multi-instrumental duo recognized internationally for their mastery in interpreting and creating music based on Latin American cultures.  Digital artist Jing ‘Jude’ Dai is orchestrating the visual narrative for the ensemble’s original music and narration.

Inspired by Riane Eisler’s book The Chalice & The Blade and based on the archeological research of Maria Gimbutas and many other scholars, ¿Mujer O Bruja? draws us into rich sonic and visual worlds, looking at the history of feminine cosmology based upon birth, life, death and re-generation, and connected deeply with Nature and our own true nature as nature within the web of life. The project examines the effects of Dominator systems, the Mexican/American border, and includes a surreal cabaret, a story about a Mayan heroine and her bees, and other surprises.

¿Mujer O Bruja? tells an evolutionary myth for our times about the mysteries of transformation and the possibilities of Gylany, or Partnership. Partnership with our living Mother Earth, each other and all beings, our kin in the cosmic web of life.

This project is made possible in part by support from 4Culture, Earshot Jazz, Nonsequitur and Seattle Composers Alliance. We give grateful acknowledgement to Seattle Drum School and to Kenyon Hall for rehearsal space support.

Earshot Jazz COVID-19 Policy: For all in-person events, proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test taken within 48 hours required for venue entry. Masks required indoors. Chairs will be spaced for social distancing (households may group together). Windows open weather permitting.

Co-presented by Earshot Jazz Festival & Nonsequitur.

¿Mujer o Bruja? (Woman or Witch?) is a new multimedia collaboration between the Tiptons Sax Quartet and award-winning Latin American music duo Correo Aéreo (Abel Rocha and Madeleine Sosin, who also conceived and directs the show) and digital artist Jing ‘Jude’ Dai.

Award-winning all-female ensemble the Tiptons Sax Quartet (Amy Denio, Jessica Lurie, Tina Richerson and Sue Orfield on soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxes, flute, clarinet, piano, accordion, bass guitar, percussion, electronics, voices) is collaborating for the first time with Correo Aéreo (Abel Rocha and Madeleine Sosin on guitar, cuatro, jarana, Venezuelan harp, violin, maracas, quijada, bombo, voices), a multi-instrumental duo recognized internationally for their mastery in interpreting and creating music based on Latin American cultures.  Digital artist Jing ‘Jude’ Dai is orchestrating the visual narrative for the ensemble’s original music and narration.

Inspired by Riane Eisler’s book The Chalice & The Blade and based on the archeological research of Maria Gimbutas and many other scholars, ¿Mujer O Bruja? draws us into rich sonic and visual worlds, looking at the history of feminine cosmology based upon birth, life, death and re-generation, and connected deeply with Nature and our own true nature as nature within the web of life. The project examines the effects of Dominator systems, the Mexican/American border, and includes a surreal cabaret, a story about a Mayan heroine and her bees, and other surprises.

¿Mujer O Bruja? tells an evolutionary myth for our times about the mysteries of transformation and the possibilities of Gylany, or Partnership. Partnership with our living Mother Earth, each other and all beings, our kin in the cosmic web of life.

This project is made possible in part by support from 4Culture, Earshot Jazz, the 2021 South Arts Creative Residency Award, Nonsequitur and Seattle Composers Alliance. We give grateful acknowledgement to Seattle Drum School and to Kenyon Hall for rehearsal space support.

Earshot Jazz COVID-19 Policy: For all in-person events, proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test taken within 48 hours required for venue entry. Masks required indoors. Chairs will be spaced for social distancing (households may group together). Windows open weather permitting.

CSTMR, is the defiant free-improv duo of guitarist Tom Scully and drummer Casey Adams. They will present an audio-video extrapolation, improvising in conjunction with extended footage from their sound-film The Endless Responsibility of Looking at My Face, which premieres Oct. 20th as part of the Earshot Jazz Festival.  

Stalwarts and champions of Seattle experimental music, drummer Dave Abramson (Diminished Men, Climax Golden Twins, Telescoping) and cellist Lori Goldston (solo, Earth, Torben Ulrich) will continue their deep listening duo explorations.

Trombonist and electro-acoustic agitator Amelia Coulter will be joined by Noel Kennon on viola and assorted sounds.

COVID-19 PROTOCOLS: Following current mandates from King County & WA State public health officials, all audience members at this performance will be required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status. Proof of vaccination status and/or recent negative COVID test result will be required for entry. Additionally, chair seating will be arranged to maintain social distancing; people who live together may group chairs accordingly. Windows will be open, weather permitting. Audience should be aware that some performers will be playing wind instruments.

Co-presented by Earshot Jazz Festival & Nonsequitiur

Two towering figures of liberating jazz exploration — bassist William Parker and drummer Hamid Drake, who have collaborated with generations of innovators — with poetry and dance from Patricia Nicholson Parker.

Earshot Jazz COVID-19 Policy: For all in-person events, proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test taken within 48 hours required for venue entry. Masks required indoors. Chairs will be spaced for social distancing (households may group together). Windows open weather permitting.