Roulette Presents: THE RENGA ENSEMBLE Featuring Music from “The Room Is” & Several Premiere Compositions

Roulette presents The Renga Ensemble playing music from their recently released recording "The Room Is", Wednesday, March 4, 8pm. This presentation will also feature several premiere of new compositions leader James Falzone has created especially for their nine-city US tour. Tickets can be purchased at: http://roulette.org/events/james-falzone-renga-ensemble/

Featuring James Falzone: Bb and Eb clarinets, Ned Rothenberg: Bb clarinet, alto saxophone, Ken Vandermark: Bb clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone, Keefe Jackson: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, contra Bb bass clarinet, Jason Stein: bass clarinet, Ben Goldberg: Bb clarinet, contra Eb alto clarinet, The Renga Ensemble's inspiration was derived from a brazenly clear haiku by American poet Anita Virgil. The ensemble, a gathering of six of the most adventurous and diverse clarinetists/saxophonists working in jazz and improvised music today, is named after a centuries old Japanese poetic practice where two or three poets blend their words into a single meditative work, is rooted in the personal voice of each member and the fertile ground that grows between the composed and the improvised.

THE RENGA ENSEMBLEJames Falzone: Bb and Eb clarinetsNed Rothenberg: Bb clarinet, alto saxophoneKen Vandermark: Bb clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone saxophoneKeefe Jackson: tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, contra Bb bass clarinetJason Stein: bass clarinetBen Goldberg: Bb clarinet, contra Eb alto clarinet
About James FalzoneMulti-faceted clarinetist/composer James Falzone is an acclaimed member of Chicago's jazz and creative improvised music scene, a veteran contemporary music lecturer and clinician and an award-winning composer who has been commissioned by chamber ensembles, choirs and symphony orchestras around the globe. He leads The Renga Ensemble and Allos Musica and has released nine highly regarded recordings on Allos Documents, a label he founded in 2000. James has performed in recital halls, festivals and jazz venues throughout North America and Europe, appears regularly on Downbeat magazine's Critics' and Readers' Polls, and was nominated as the 2011 Clarinetist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. His work has been featured in the New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, New Music Box, Point of Departure, and many other publications. Educated at New England Conservatory, James is a respected educator himself and is currently a Senior Lecturer at Columbia College Chicago and a research fellow at The Center For Black Music Research. Learn more at allosmusica.org

Roulette - one of New York City's premiere venues for experimental music for over 33 years - has reopened bigger and better than ever. Located in a newly renovated 1920s Art Deco concert hall in Downtown Brooklyn, the new Roulette features two levels of seating for up to 400 people (600 standing), an expanded multi-channel sound system, projection screen for film and multi-media events, state-of-the-art lighting system, modular stage, and a specially designed floor to accommodate dance. Teamed with bold new programming, the new Roulette promises to be one of the most exciting places in New York City - if not the country - to experience adventurous music and art.