The West Coast Chamber Jazz Trio is composer/percussionist Andrea Centazzo‘s tribute to the cool jazz which inspired him as a youth. Joined by LA’s own Ellen Burr on flutes and Soundwaves co-curator Jeff Schwartz on bass, he reinterprets compositions from across his over forty year career. Their debut album LA Strictly Confidential was released in September 2016 on Ictus Records.
Showtime is 7:30pm. Admission is free.
Our second year opened with the improvising duo of Emily Hay on flute, voice, and effects, and Steuart Liebig on contrabass guitars and electronics. Their work ranges from virtuosic to noisy, silly to chilling.
Soundwaves presented its first public participation event: a holiday performance of Terry Riley’s “In C,” a landmark work which influenced minimalist, ambient, and psychedelic music. All interested musicians were invited to download the score and arrive at 6PM to rehearse. Audience members were admitted at 7:30 as usual.
The Soundwaves Ensemble:
Oliver Marcus – violin
Jacqueline Suzuki – violin
Amy Martin – viola
Michael Intriere – cello
Caroline Coward – cello
Carolyn Park – cello
Sienna George – bass
John Graves – bass
Jeff Schwartz – bass and music director
Haskel Joseph – guitar
Jonathon Grasse – guitar
Marcos Mena – guitar
Bruce Friedman – trumpet
Danielle McCullough – recorder
Ken Luey – bass clarinet
Alexander Vogel – soprano saxophone
Charles Sharp – alto saxophone
Sean Sonderegger – tenor saxophone
Robert McCarthy – English horn
Timm Boatman – glockenspiel
In November, Soundwaves presented pianist Vicki Ray. Ray has appeared with the LA Philharmonic, on the Monday Evening Concerts and Piano Spheres series, and was part of the California EAR Unit. She performed a program of short modern and contemporary solo pieces:
John Cage – The Perilous Night
Joseph Pereira – Five Baroque Settings from the Norton Simon
Gyorgy Kurtág – Játékok (selections)
Chinary Ung – Seven Mirrors
Bunita Marcus – Merry Christmas, Mrs. Whiting
On Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at 7:30PM, Soundwaves welcomed soprano Justine Aronson and pianist Richard Valitutto to the Santa Monica Public Library’s Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium to perform “I Will Learn to Love a Person” (2013) by Christopher Cerrone, whose “Invisible Cities” was premiered by The Industry at Union Station, and work by Daniel Rothman, William Bolcom, Jesse Jones, and Amy Beth Kirsten.
On Wednesday, September 21, at 7:30, Soundwaves welcomed three members of the Grammy-winning Partch Ensemble: guitarist John Schneider, harpist Alison Bjorkedal, and percussionist T. J. Troy. As the group Just Strings, they performed music by Lou Harrison and Pulitzer Prize winner John Luther Adams from their latest CD.
Schneider and Troy can be heard playing Lou Harrison on DRAM, and many other recordings of Harrison and Adams’ music can also be streamed there.
In August Soundwaves presented pianist Dana Reason. Her work combines improvisation and composition, drawing on experimental aspects of jazz, classical music, and other forms.
She was joined by Soundwaves curator Jeff Schwartz on bass and drummer Peter Valsamis.
Reason’s duo album with shakuhachi player and vegan chef Philip Gelb can be heard on DRAM; Valsamis appears on DRAM with the free jazz trio Sound on Survival, with Lisle Ellis and Marco Eneidi.
An audio excerpt from this performance:
Percussionist Alex Cline debuted his duo with vocalist/pianist Areni Agbabian at July’s Soundwaves show.
Cline has collaborated with artists from Julius Hemphill to Harold Budd to his guitarist twin brother Nels and appears on numerous albums on DRAM. His Flower Garland Orchestra, featuring Agbabian, was a highlight of last year’s Angel City Jazz Festival.
Cline and Agbabian played a continuous set incorporating various compositions and improvisational areas.
In 1977, Vinny Golia released his debut album Spirits in Fellowship on his own Nine Winds label. Since then, Golia and Nine Winds have been essential elements of L.A’s musical underground, fostering and documenting the work of generations of artists. The Nine Winds catalog is now available to SMPL cardholders through DRAM.
Wednesday June 15 at 7:30 Golia brought his ensemble to SMPL for a Soundwaves performance.
Vinny Golia – Woodwinds, Composition
He explained some of the structures and techniques he uses:
Photos from this show were featured on the front page of the Santa Monica Daily Press:
Wednesday May 18, at 7:30PM, Soundwaves welcomed flautist Nicole Mitchell. The recipient of awards ranging from Downbeat magazine’s “Best Jazz Flute” to the Chicago Tribune’s “Chicagoan of the Year,” as well as numerous grants and commissions, she now is a professor in the Integrated Composition, Improvisation and Technology program at UC Irvine.
Mitchell performed solo and with percussionist Randy Gloss.
This show was been recommended by Surf Santa Monica and MetalJazz ( the blog of ex-LA Weekly music critic Greg Burk).
Soundwaves 