Northrop Music and The Whole Music Club Present Larry Ochs Sax & Drumming Core 10/8

Northrop Music at the University of Minnesota announces the first performance of the 09-10 Music Season, copresented with The Whole Music Club, with a night full of the all-out freewheeling jazz of Larry Ochs Sax & Drumming Core. Ochs and the Drumming Core bring their music to a new stage for Northrop Music (Jazz), The Whole Music Club, an intimate campus venue inside Coffman Memorial Union. Larry Ochs, from the same school as free jazz artist Sonny Rollins, and the Drumming Core prove that there is still plenty of life in the rarefied form of free jazz.

Led by Larry Ochs (sopranino, tenor sax), the Drumming Core also consists of Scott Amendola (drums), Donald Robinson (drums) and special guests from Japan - Satoko Fujii (piano) and Natsuki Tamura (trumpet). Ochs, Fujii, and Tamura fuse jazz with the Drumming Core's beats interpreted from American and Eastern European blues-shouters songs and traditional Asian and African chant-singers to create a unique roots sound. Many of these traditional vocalists can be heard working in a similar context as the band: they are usually backed by one string player, a one hand drummer, or two background singers. This is the space where the band found their inspiration, and from that space they put their own modern curve on the traditional vocals to create a unique "urban" end result.

The group started as a trio that started performing together in 2000. In 2007, the trio grew with new additions Fujii and Tamura while they toured Europe. This European tour included at stop at the Teatro Fondamente Nuove in Venice, where they recorded live over two days. The resulting album, Stone Shift, has just been issued for its release and will be available on tour.

Larry Ochs | Tenor and Sopranino Saxophone
Larry Ochs has a well-rounded background, performing and recording with many ensembles, including Rova Sax since 1979, Glenn Spearman Double Trio from 1991 to 1998, Ochs' group Maybe Monday since 1997, and currently with the Larry Ochs Sax & Drumming Core since 2000. Ochs founded his own label, Metalanguage Records in 1978. He has also collaborated and/or recorded with a spectrum of jazz names such as Anthony Braxton, India Cooke, Dave Douglas, Steve Lacy, and John Zorn, among others. Ochs has received various commissions, including music for Leslie Scalapino's play Goya's L.A. in 1994, and also for Letters Not About Love, which won "Best Documentary Film" at South by Southwest Festival in 1998. He has also received commissions from Meet the Composer and Chamber Music America, along with various others. Ochs has recorded several albums under his name.

Scott Amendola | Drums
Over the past 13 years Scott Amendola has toured, recorded, or performed with Nels Cline of the band Wilco, Bill Frisell, jazz singer Madeleine Peyroux, and Charlie Hunter, among others. The New Jersey born musician graduated from the Berklee College of Music. After moving to San Francisco in 1992, Amendola met jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter. Together, they formed a band called T.J. Kirk, which was nominated for a Grammy in 1995. A few years later, Amendola joined the Charlie Hunter Quartet. Since then, Amendola has also led his band, worked with various other musicians, and has toured extensively throughout Europe, North America and Australia.

Donald Robinson | Drums
Described as a "percussive dervish," Donald Robinson is a technical master of the drums. He is a stalwart of the San Francisco Bay Area avant-garde jazz scene, playing and recording with many of the area's improvisational players, from saxophonists John Tchicai and Larry Ochs to koto player Miya Masaoka, and with prominent visitors like trumpeter Raphe Malik and Canadian pianist Paul Plimley. Much of this work has featured the combination of Robinson with bassist Lisle Ellis as the rhythm section, and has been called "the best bass-drums tag team on the scene" (Jazz Times). His longest musical association, dating from the 1970's, was with the late tenor saxophonist Glenn Spearman. He has appeared on numerous CDs, especially with Spearman, Ochs and Ellis.

Satoko Fujii | Piano
Critics and fans alike hail pianist and composer Satoko Fujii as one of the most original new voices in jazz. A truly global artist, she splits her time between New York City and Japan and has toured internationally leading several different ensembles. She uses melodies as simple and straightforward as a folk song, as well as the harmonic sophistication of great jazz. Fujii is also adept at manipulating the extended forms of symphonic composers. Her phrasing and improvisational techniques are equally indebted to her classical training and her jazz experience. She has showcased her astonishing range and ability on over 30 CDs as leader or co-leader since 1996.

Natsuki Tamura | Trumpet
Japanese trumpeter and composer Natsuki Tamura is known for his ability to blend extended techniques with free jazz elements. His appearances at festivals worldwide include a solo trumpet performance at the 1998 Texaco New York Jazz Festival, as well as appearances at Newport Jazz in Madarao, Festival of New Trumpet Music at Tonic in NYC, San Francisco Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Yokohama Jazz, and Moers Festival in Germany. In addition to performing with his own group, Tamura has performed with his wife Satoko Fujii, Rova's Electric Ascension Band, Misha Mengelberg, Chris Brown, and Le Quan Ninh among many others.

Individual Northrop Music tickets on sale ($10-$34) through the Northrop Ticket Office at 612-624-2345, or room 105 Northrop, 84 Church Street SE, Minneapolis, or by ordering online at northrop.umn.edu. Ask for available discounts. U of M students may purchase $10 per ID at any time in designated seating, and may purchase 1 rush ticket ($10) per ID in any seating area on the day of the performance. Season tickets are also on sale now ($40-$170). Visit northrop.umn.edu for more information.

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