Brooklyn's Roulette: Interpretations Series Presents New And Older Works By Anthony Davis And Earl Howard

The fourth concert of Interpretations series' 30th Season also features bassist Mark Dresser, and multi-reeds virtuoso J.D. Parran in quartet.

On Thursday, December 13th at 8pm, the fourth concert of the 2018-2019 Thirtieth Interpretations series presents composers Anthony Davis and Earl Howard in a set of structured improvisation with live processing. Held at Roulette, 509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY, the Interpretations Series is dedicated to nurturing the relationship of composers with the growing community of new music virtuoso performers. Tickets are $20 adult / $15 students & seniors, and available on www.Roulette.com and www.Interpretations.info.

For the first time since 2011 (and what was Davis' 60th birthday), Davis and Howard will reconvene a quartet built on long-standing associations to present two sets of music built on complex rhythms and modulating textures. Featuring bassist Mark Dresser, and multi-reeds virtuoso J.D. Parran, the group will present new works from both Davis and Howard, for quartet, duo, and solo, including Howard's Curtis, for solo Kurzweill 2600 and saxophone, and Davis' Maelstrom 1 & 2 for quartet.

A solo piano work from Davis' The Goddess Variations (1999), as well as a duo piece with Mark Dresser will also be performed.

Pianist/composer Anthony Davis was born in Paterson, New Jersey, and has wide acclaim as a free-jazz pianist, a co-leader or sideman with various ensembles. He freely taps into various styles, such as jazz, R&B, gospel, non-Western, African, European classical, Indonesian gamelan, and experimental music. He taught at Yale University and Harvard University, and is currently professor of music at the University of California, San Diego. Among many collaborations, Davis has played with Anthony Braxton and Leo Smith. In 1981, he formed an octet called Epist?m?. Davis is well-known for his operas, including the celebrated X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X (1993), which was the first of a new American genre: opera on a contemporary political subject. X played to sold-out houses at its premiere at the New York City Opera. The studio recording received a Grammy Nomination for "Best Contemporary Classical Composition". Other works include Under the Double Moon (1989), Tania (1992), Amistad (1997), Wakonda's Dream (2007), Lilith (2009), and Lear on the 2nd Floor (2012). Davis also wrote the incidental music for the Broadway version of Tony Kushner's Angels in America.

Born in Los Angeles, Earl Howard is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, saxophonist, synthesizer player and multi-instrumentalist. A graduate of California Institute of the Arts, Howard is one of the pioneers of what is called "new" music. He has performed his compositions in the United States and Europe for over forty years. Venues include Merkin Hall, the Whitney Museum, The Kitchen, The Knitting Factory, Roulette, and Carnegie Recital Hall. In 2007, Earl Howard was a special guest synthesizer performer and sound designer with the Perspectives Ensemble at the Miller Theatre and with the with Opera Omaha for Anthony Davis's opera Wakonda's Dream. In 2012 he premiered a composition "Superstring" in New York, made possible through a Guggenheim Fellowship. This piece brought together musicians Wu Wei, Allan Jaffe, Miya Masaoka, Ernst Reijseger, Mark Dresser, Harris Eisenstadt, and Earl Howard. Earl Howard's compositions have been recorded by a number of musicians including Anthony Davis' recording of "Particle W", for piano and tape, released on the Gramavision label and Gerry Hemingway's recording of "D.R. for Solo percussion" on the Auricle Record label. Earl Howard has also produced numerous soundtracks for some of the leading film and video artists including Nam June Paik, Mary Lucier, Rii Kanzaki, Bob Harris, and Bill Brand.

ROULETTE:
509 Atlantic Ave. Downtown Brooklyn
2, 3, 4, 5, C, G, D, M, N, R, B & Q trains & LIRR.
Tickets, available online at www.interpretations.info, range from $15 for Seniors, Students, and Roulette Members to $20 for General Admission.

Ticket link is: http://roulette.org/event/interpretations-anthony-davis-earl-howard/

ABOUT INTERPRETATIONS: 2018-2019 SEASON

The Interpretations series is a New York-based concert series focusing on the relationship between contemporary composers and their interpreters. Sometimes the interpreters are the composers themselves; more often, the series features performers who specialize in the interpretation of new music. Since its inception in 1989, Interpretations has featured leading figures in contemporary music and multimedia, including Muhal Richard Abrams, Robert Ashley, Anthony Braxton, Thomas Buckner, FLUX Quartet, Joseph Kubera, Annea Lockwood, and Alvin Lucier, Roscoe Mitchell, Phill Niblock, Pauline Oliveros, Ursula Oppens, and Morton Subotnick.

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