TUES@7: From Scratch II
TUES@7 “From Scratch” focuses on new collaborations with recordings/performances taking place from the Ensemble’s studio/office space in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, NY.
Join us for a world premiere of a set of quartet music by Josh Modney (violin/composition), written for and performed alongside acclaimed creative musicians Ingrid Laubrock (saxophones), Cory Smythe (piano), and Mariel Roberts (cello). The second set features a new collaboration between Rebekah Heller (bassoon) and Fay Victor (voice).
Program - http://bit.ly/april6-program
Rebekah Heller & Fay Victor Duo
Fay Victor and Rebekah Heller met through their work at The New School College of Performing Arts, where they are both faculty members. After an instant connection, and a mutual artistic admiration, they decided to collaborate on a new project. This will be their first live performance together, and the seeds of a new duo project.
Modney/Laubrock/Roberts/Smythe Quartet
Josh Modney - violin, compositions
Ingrid Laubrock - soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
Mariel Roberts - cello
Cory Smythe - piano, quarter-tone piano, Roli keyboard
"TUES@7: From Scratch" includes the premiere performance of a set of quartet works written by Josh Modney for Ingrid Laubrock (saxophones), Mariel Roberts (cello), and Cory Smythe (piano), with Modney on violin. Stemming from a desire to bring these four artists and their distinctive musical practices together, Modney's work combines tightly structured material with open forms that highlight the formidable improvisational skills of the band members. In one sense, this quartet represents an extension of Modney's 2018 album of solo violin music, Engage (New Focus Recordings), which is rooted in a highly detailed relationship to sound production on the violin, an interest in Just Intonation (tuning according to the relationships of the overtone series), and the "translation" of wind techniques such as multiphonics and circular breathing into a string instrument language. In the quartet, the idea of translation moves in multiple directions: an idiomatic violin solo piece becomes a "unison solo" for all of the instruments, while the Just Intonation harmonization of violin/cello is translated to the equal temperament of quarter-tone piano/soprano saxophone, and then again to the continuous pitch spectrum of Smythe's innovative Roli keyboard setup. Ultimately, this is a music about collaboration and relationships, and Josh would like to express his deep gratitude to Ingrid, Mariel, and Cory for bringing such beautiful artistry, creativity, and generosity to this project.