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Saturday, May 22

12 noon until 10 pm!!!

Ventura New Music Festival!

All This Music

All Day

ONLY $10 for the full day!

(Tickets at the door only. No Reserved Seating)

Ventura City Hall

501 Poli Street

Ventura, CA

Hosted and Curated by Jeff Kaiser

Sponsored by: The Majestic Ventura Theater, Zoey's Cafe, pfMENTUM and Angry Vegan Records, and Keith McMullen.

Funded in part with a grant from the City of Ventura's Office of Cultural Affairs.

Each concert will have two sets, approximately 45 minutes each set.

*****

CONCERT I - 12 noon

Jim Connolly and the Gove County Philharmonic

Rich West and Heavenly Breakfast

*****

CONCERT II - 2:15pm

Eric Barber (solo)

Tiner/Phillips/Schoenbeck Trio

*****

CONCERT III - 4:30pm

The Emily Hay Collective

Steuart Liebig Group

*****

CONCERT IV - 8pm

Brad Dutz/Dan Morris Percussion Duos

Vinny Golia's Music for Like Instruments (Flutes)

**********************************

Jim Connolly and the Gove County Philharmonic:

Circus music somehow gone awry...

Sally Barr, violin ; Kirsten Monke, viola; Ron McCarley, clarinet; Jeff Kaiser, trumpet; Bruce Bigenho, Piano; Brett Ellis, Accordion; John Nathan, xylophone.

Jim Connolly has been writing music for more than twenty-five years. He leads the Gove County Philharmonic and the Gove County String Quartet. He has received an Individual Artist Award for Composition from the Santa Barbara Arts Council. For his work with the Lit Moon Theater Company he earned three Independent Theater Awards. The first was for his original scoring of "Peer Gynt" the second for "The Master and Margarita" and a third for the company's adaptation of "Hamlet". In 2001 he was featured in Santa Barbara Magazine as one of the year's 25 Intriguing People. He has been commissioned by the Ojai Camerata (Jeff Kaiser, director) to write a work for choir and string quartet. Connolly's work for Theater and Dance been performed by numerous companies on both the East and West coasts as well as in Russia and Bulgaria. He has traveled with Lit Moon to perform at the Edinburgh and Montreal Fringe Festivals as well as the "Wild Side Festival" at the Centaur Theater in Montreal. As a musician, Connolly's Double Bass work in orchestral, jazz, folk, and free-improvised settings have been sought after for nearly thirty years. His tenure with The Nate Birkey Quintet has produced three recordings, as has his work with brother, Boston songwriter, Kevin Connolly. Jim Connolly's playing has been featured with Eugene Chadbourne, Bonnie Barnett, Jeff Kaiser, Queen Mab, Michael Frey, The Plymouth Philharmonic, and Area 51.

Discography

As Leader:

The Circus Doesn't Stop At Gove (pfMENTUM CD004)

As Sideman:

Nothing Is Not Breath (Jeff Kaiser Double Quartet, 9Winds NWCD206)

Nowhereland Soundtrack (Jeff Kaiser, pfMENTUM CD006)

Indelibly You (Nate Birkey Quintet, Household Ink)

Kevin Connolly (Kevin Connolly, Eastern Front Records)

Around the Bend (Kevin Connolly, Real Records)

Back to the Hills (Queen Mab)

In My Country (Michael Frey )

Richie West and Heavenly Breakfast:

The new project of Rich West, Heavenly Breakfast, consists of Emily Beezhold on  keyboards, Bruce Friedman on trumpet and flugelhorn, Dan Krimm on electric bass, Lynn Johnston on reeds, and Rich West on drums.  This group plays Rich's directed improvisations of "Quadrants", four ideas on a map, loosely and sometimes strictly  interpreted.  Using traditional and graphic notation, and some words, the group's  success is process.  There are also a couple of linear compositions in their  repertoire.

Andrew Pask/Jeff Kaiser (clarinet and trumpet duos)

(Andrew)

Andrew Pask has spent most of his life playing clarinets and saxophones. Originally from New Zealand, Andrew studied classical clarinet playing and sang in early music choirs before spending 6 and a half years based in Hong Kong as a jazz saxophone player.He now lives in Los Angeles where he divides his time between playing, composing and creating audio software.

(Jeff)

Jeff Kaiser likes the trumpet, is a vegan, and spends entirely too much time on the internet playing chess.

 

The Tiner/Phillips/Schoenbeck Trio

The Tiner/Phillips/Schoenbeck Trio was formed in 2002, and since then

has performed at Rocco, the Smell, the Open Gate New Music Series, line

space line at the Salvation Theater in Los Angeles, The Jazz House in

Berkeley, as well as at the 3rd Annual CalArts Creative Music Festival

organized by Wadada Leo Smith. They have been called "a trio of

increasingly visible local edge danglers" by the LA Weekly, and have

been gathering significant radio play and international critical

acclaim with their current CD release, breathe in, feed out (pfMENTUM

CD014). The trio performs original compositions, commissioned works,

and improvisations that explore the subtle sonic spaces of their

unusual instrumentation. Members of the group are prolific on the West

Coast creative music scene, and have each worked with notable artists

including Nels Cline, Wadada Leo Smith, Vinny Golia, Alex Cline, Leroy

Jenkins, Anthony Braxton, Gerry Hemingway, G.E. Stinson, and Harris

Eisenstadt.

CRITICAL PRAISE FOR BREATHE IN, FEED OUT:

"Wonderful...it's a minimalist approach that never loses its quiet,

stretching atmosphere and stark, naked beauty. Never too chaotic, it is

a spacey, moody, somewhat dark and at times noisy minimalism that seeks

to bring life to the barren, lonesome, jagged landscapes of its

photography."

-Jeramy Ponder (Jackal Blaster Webzine)

"Creative and imaginative...The three artists present a purity of sound

that is basic, interesting, and honest."

-The Critical Review

"This excellent CD is all about atmospheric experimentation. The

members of the trio play their instruments to compliment one another,

so this is not a slugfest of blaring trumpet and lead guitar solos...a

fine example of the potential for experimental electronic music within

the jazz medium. As far as I am concerned, this is experimental

contemporary jazz at its best."

-Michael Casano (JazzReview.com)

"Kris Tiner (trumpet), Noah Phillips (guitar), and Sara Schoenbeck

(bassoon) fashion moody, thoughtful music that delivers unexpected

warmth and familiarity...Tiner, Phillips, and Schoenbeck establish

themselves as sound scientists of the heart."

-Rex Butters (All About Jazz Los Angeles)

"From L.A. or thereabouts, a nice improvising trio that keeps to a

gentler sound with the occasional electronic burst...A bit of a

chamber-jazz feel with good stretches of exploratory improvising."

-Craig Matsumoto (KZSU Radio, Stanford CA)

"Very groovy improv (or is it?) w/ a nice variety of moods and

structures."

-Erik Amlee (Weirdsville! WebRadio, Northampton MA)

"the tiner, phillips, schoenbeck cd is the ultra dope atomic bomb."

-G.E. Stinson, guitarist and composer

Emily Hay Collective:

Ronit Kirchman, Violin, Brad Dutz and Joe

Berardi, percussion and Emily Hay, flutes

Emily Hay is a flutist, vocalist and pianist who extends the traditional pre-conceived capabilities of her instruments. Her approach to music incorporates the complexities of contemporary classical technique with the spontaneity of free improvisation resulting in startling interpretations of sound and intense ensemble interaction. As a performer of the flute, alto flute, piccolo and ethnic reeds, she emits unusual tone colors and soaring rhythmic structures augmented by electronic manipulation. Her vocalizations range from primal to operatic, including whimsical word play and lyrics from the stream of consciousness.

Hay is an active member of the Los Angeles and "left coast" music communities, performing and collaborating in avant garde, alternative art rock, free improvisation, electro-acoustical and contemporary classical ensembles such as U Totem, The Motor Totemist Guild, The 5 UU's , Otherparts, I Am Umbrella, Adam Rudolph's Go Organic Orchestra, The Emily Hay Collective, The Rich West Ensemble, The Jeff Kaiser Okodektet and The Vinny Golia Large Ensemble. She is a featured artist on Cuneiform Records, Recommended Records, Nine Winds Records, Meta Records, pfMentum and Dragnet Records. She has toured and performed extensively throughout Europe, Canada and the United States with concert highlights at the Bimhuis/Amsterdam, the Ottomat/Italy, New Music America Festival/Montreal, Art Rock Festival/Frankfurt, Kulturni Dom/Yugoslavia and the Reithalle/Switzerland.

Hay is also an entertainment paralegal for the law firm of Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca, Fischer, Gilbert-Lurie & Stiffelman, LLP where she specializes in music and motion picture contracts and copyright law. She has worked in entertainment law for over 15 years and has supervised and produced numerous film and television soundtracks. Hay was formerly the Music Program Director for the Beyond Baroque Foundation where she booked and promoted live experimental music events by performers such as Fred Frith, Tom Cora, John Adams, and David Moss and curated the 1992 New Music Across America Festival in Los Angeles. Hay is professionally associated with the Association of Independent Music Publishers, the California Copyright Conference, NARAS, the Sweet Relief Foundation and the Entertainment Industry Foundation. Emily Hay co-hosts the alternative college music radio program, "Trilogy", on KXLU 88.9FM, transmitted from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles (and at www.kxlu.com). The show features avant-garde music, free jazz/improvisation, world sounds, contemporary classical and experimental electronic music, and includes by live performances and guest interviews.

Born in rural Virginia, Hay was educated at Bard College in New York and received her MFA in music from California Institute of the Arts. Emily Hay studied musical improvisation with Karl Berger, Dave Holland and Roswell Rudd, flute with Samuel Baron, Claude Monteaux, Julius Baker, James Walker and Patricia Spencer, piano with German Diaz and Chet Swiatkowski, composition and theory with Joan Tower, Mel Powell, Benjamin Boretz, Luis Garcia-Renart and Eli Yarden.

Steuart Liebig:
Stigtette

Ellen Burr: Flutes

Andrew Pask: Clarinets

Sara Schoenbeck: Bassoon

Steuart Liebig: Contrabassguitars/Tunes

Stigtette is one of the latest Steuart Liebig supergroups to explore his

methodologies for composition- the use of both through-composition and

improvisation. Featuring three incredible local musicians, this

percussion-less ensemble is more on the chamber music side of things as

opposed to the groove/psych side with which many who know Liebig's

playing are familiar. About this music Steuart says, "It is my feeling

that the resulting music is more of a living, breathing entity as the

players bring their own artistic insights to a piece. This is not to say

that other written music does not benefit from a player's insight, it's

just that I believe that the player must engage the work more fully in a

piece that uses the method I employ."

- jeremy drake

Coming from a background that includes a lot of experience in jazz, classical and rock, as well as freely improvised music, one of my methodologies for composition is the use of both through-composed and improvised sections. It is my feeling that the resulting music is more of a living, breathing entity as the players bring their own artistic insights to a piece. This is not to say that other written music does not benefit from a player's insight, it's just that I believe that the player must engage the work more fully in a piece that uses the method I employ. Not only does the player have to deal with dynamics and nuance of phrase, he or she must also engage in a fuller understanding of the actual written material (including melody, harmony and form) to create sections of improvised material that will (hopefully) fit seamlessly into the work at hand.

Stigtette is one of the groups for which I write music of this nature. It is also of note because it is not often that one runs across a band of wind instruments and electric bass-and no percussion.

Having electric bass acting as an equal partner in a chamber group is not without precedent, but it is a little odd . . .

Contrabassguitarist-composer Steuart Liebig has had a varied career in music.

Taking up the electric bass in his early teens, his first playing experiences were in rock and blues. In high school he was introduced to jazz and started to search out more "exotic" strains of improvised music.

At the age of 19 he started a three-year stint playing rhythm guitar with soul-jazz pianist-singer Les McCann (playing on four albums). He quit Les' band and returned to university, where he studied classical contrabass, music history and composition-while playing in jazz and rock bands.

Realizing that the life of a symphony bassist was not for him, he started a rock band (BLOC), which put out an album (In the Freezone, A&M, 1991). During this period, Steuart had also been playing with noted saxophonist-composer Julius Hemphill and members of the Los Angeles improvised music community and doing much self-study and writing in "classical" composition, resulting in 20 pieces.

After BLOC, Steuart focused his energies on improvised music and composition. (Still finding time to play on two tours for pop/rock singer-songwriter Michael Penn.) He formed Quartetto Stig, an integration of his compositional ideas and the needs of an improvisational group. The quartet had three well-received CDs on Nine Winds Records (Hommages Obliques, 1993; Lingua Oscura, 1995; Pienso Oculto, 1997).

Steuart disbanded the quartet and embarked on three more or less parallel lines of compositional investigation: Stigtette, which elaborates on some of the ideas and techniques explored in Quartetto Stig; The Mentones (Locustland, pfMENTUM 2004), which revisits American folk music (as exemplified by John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Roscoe Holcomb, Hank Williams, etc.) through the prism of "avant-garde" jazz; and a free-jazz-based trio (with multi-reedist Vinny Golia and drummer Billy Mintz), which has two CDs on Cadence Jazz Records (No Train, 1999; Antipodes, 2001).

Pomegranate (Cryptogramophone, 2001) consists of four concerto-like vehicles for featured soloist and a seven-piece backing band.

Steuart is also writing material for an improvising chamber group, Minim (a CD, Quicksilver, is pending on pfMENTUM, 2004); a jazz group, the Seconda Prattica Quintet developing literature for solo contrabassguitar; an electric jazz band, Lane Ends Merge Left; and continues to write long-form pieces for Kammerstig, the same group that performs on Pomegranate.

A trio of Steuart, Vinny Golia and American ex-patriate drummer Michael Vatcher have a CD on Red Toucan (On the Cusp of Fire and Water, 2004).

Steuart often plays in the groups of guitarist G.E. Stinson, drummer-percussionist Alex Cline, drummer-vibraphonist Gregg Bendian and trombonist Scot Ray; in the improvising collective L. Stinkbug (drummer Scott Amendola, guitarist Nels Cline, Steuart Liebig, G.E. Stinson); and in improvising duos with Jeff Kaiser (trumpet, voice, electronics) and Anna Homler (voice, toys).

Steuart Liebig Select Discography

Les McCann: River High, River Low (Atlantic-1976) [LP]

Les McCann: Music Lets Me Be (ABC-1977) [LP]

Les McCann: Change, Change, Change [Live at the Roxy] (ABC-1977) [LP]

Les McCann: The Man (A&M-1978) [LP]

Julius Hemphill: Georgia Blue (Minor Music-1983) [LP]

Rhythm Plague: Radio Free Dude [from C.O.M.A. Compilation] (1984) [CASS]

Rhythm Plague: Dressed for the Apocalypse (KillZone-1985) [CASS]

John Fumo: After the Fact (9Winds-1986) [LP]

Wayne Peet's Doppler Funk: Blasto! (9Winds-1987) [LP]

Vinny Golia: Blood and Concrete (1991) [CD-Sound Track Album]

BLOC: In the Free Zone (A&M-1991) [CD]

G.E. Stinson Group: The Same Without You (9Winds-1992) [CD]

Steuart Liebig/Quartetto Stig: Hommages Obliques (9Winds-1993) [CD]

Brad Dutz: Krin (Interworld-1995) [CD]

Steuart Liebig/Quartetto Stig: Lingua Oscura (9Winds-1995) [CD]

Steuart Liebig/Quartetto Stig: Pienso Oculto (9Winds-1997) [CD]

Brad Dutz: Making Ice (Truemedia Jazzworks-1997) [CD]

Addie Brik: Whino (ITZA Records-1997) [CD]

Steuart Liebig/Vinny Golia/Billy Mintz: No Train (Cadence Jazz Records-1999) [CD]

G.E Stinson: Vapor (Smells Like Records/Ecstatic Peace-1999) [CD]

Gregg Bendian's Interzone: Myriad (Atavistic-2000) [CD]

Steuart Liebig/Kammerstig: Pomegranate (Cryptogramophone-2001) [CD]

Steuart Liebig/Vinny Golia/Billy Mintz: Antipodes (Cadence Jazz Records-2001) [CD]

L. Stinkbug: The Allure of Roadside Curios (Starlight Furniture Company-2001) [CD]

(Scott Amendola, Nels Cline, Steuart Liebig, G.E. Stinson)

Bone Structure: Bone Structure (Cryptogramophone-2003) [CD]

(Gregg Bendian, Jeff Gauthier, Steuart Liebig, G.E. Stinson)

Scot Ray Quintet: Active Vapor Recovery (Cryptogramophone-2003) [CD]

Steuart Liebig/The Mentones: Locustland (pfMENTUM-2004) [CD]

Michael Vatcher/Steuart Liebig/Vinny Golia: On the Cusp of Fire and Water (Red Toucan-2004) [CD]

Steuart Liebig/Minim: Quicksilver (in preparation) (pfMENTUM-2004) [CD]

Anna Homler/Steuart Liebig Duo: Kelpland Serenades (in preparation) [CD]

Brad Dutz/Dan Morris: Percussion Duos:

BRAD  DUTZ   

Brad  studied  music privately  throughout  his youth. After high school he

studied at the University of North Texas  and Berklee

college of music. In 1982  he moved to Los Angeles  and  began

free-lancing  untill  1984 when he joined  Maynard Ferguson and toured

around the country.  Beside his nine solo c.d.s - KRIN, CAMELS, RAILROADS,

GRILL, MAKING ICE,  OBLITERATION quartet, MY BONGO, JOHN HOLMES- BRAD DUTZ

duos and the first  BRAD DUTZ c.d.  he has co-produced  twelve others and

played  as a sideman for 210  titles .  In 1995 Warner Brothers and

Interworld  selected  Brad  to  do eight  video tapes for beginners entitled

HAVE  FUN  PLAYING  HAND  DRUMS.   He can be heard on TV shows KING OF THE

HILL, MUPPET CHRISTMAS,  ENTERPRISE and FIREFLY.

            Some of  the  movies  that Brad has played on  are

PRINCE OF EGYPT, INCREDIBLE HULK, HILDAGO, RUGRATS GO WILD,

STAR TREK 5, OCEAN'S ELEVEN ,  HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE , RUN DOWN and  I SPY.

IMAX  films :  MYSTERIES OF EGYPT, MT. KILAMANJARO , AMAZON,  and  ISLAND of

SHARKS. In addition to playing mallets   hand  percussion is  his  specialty

. He  has studied many  instruments ; congas,  berimbau, bata, bodhran,

bones, pandiero, djembe,  tabla, kanjira, doumbec,riq and others.

         While  recording   c.d.s  for artists like  ALANIS MORRISETTE,

KISS, WILLIE  NELSON,  TRIBAL TECH, DAVID BENOIT,RICK BRAUN,  VINNY GOLIA,

LEE ANN RYHMES, MITCH FORMAN ,TERENCE  TRENT  DARBY, RICKIE LEE JONES,

HANDS'ONSEMBLE and even JEFF BRIDGES  Brad tries to bring the strangest

percussion  instruments he has to the session to create  a  unique sound .

Every  year  he travels to colleges and stores  to do clinics and concerts

on hand percussion and mallets.His  endorsements include VIC FIRTH,

REMO,YAMAHA,  PAISTE, and MOUNTAIN RYTHYM .  Since becoming  a member of the

part-time faculty of Cal State Long Beach  seven years ago Brad has finished

two books, "Practicing music on  hand percussion"and  "Duos,Trios,and

Quartets for percussion". Last year his Obliteration quartet was  the

subject of a documentary film. .

Vinny Golia:

Music for Like Instruments; The Flutes

Ellen Burr

flute, alto flutes

Vinny Golia

C, alto, bass & contrabass flutes, C, Db & G piccolos

Fawntice McCain

flute

Jennifer Roth

C & alto flutes, piccolo

Music for Like Instruments is an ongoing project which utilizes the various families of woodwinds that are a) all in the same key- like the Eb and Bb Saxophones, b) produce sounds a crertain way like the double reeds, c) all belong to a family of instrumnets that have similar characteristics-like the clarinets or flutes

this ensemble has been performing for a litttle over a year and it's next incarnation will be in the form of a flute choir. All the compositions for these groups are written by Vinny Golia who also performs in the ensemble on a wide range of flutes

Vinny Golia is a composer who fuses the rich heritage of Jazz, contemporary classical and world music into his own unique compositions. As a bandleader, Golia has presented his music to concert audiences in Europe, Canada, Mexico, Japan and the United States in ensembles varying dramatically in size and instrumentation. Mr. Golia has won numerous awards as a composer, including grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, The Lila Wallace Commissioning Program, The California Arts Council, Meet the Composer, Funds for U.S. Artists and the American Composers Forum. In 1982 he created the on-going 37 piece Vinny Golia Large Ensemble to perform his compositions for chamber group and jazz orchestra.

A multi-woodwind performer, Vinny's recordings have been consistently picked by critics and readers of music journals for their yearly "ten best" lists. In 1990 he was the winner of the Jazz Times TDWR award for Bass Saxophone. In 1998 he ranked 1st in the Cadence Magazine Writers & Readers Poll and has continually placed in the Downbeat Critic's Poll for Baritone Saxophone. In 1999 Vinny won the LA Weekly's Award for "Best Jazz Musician". Jazziz Magazine has also named him as one of the 100 people who have influenced the course of Jazz in our Century.

Golia has also contributed original compositions and scores to Ballet and Modern Dance works, video, theatrical productions, and film. As an educator Vinny has lectured on music, improvisation, Jazz History, CD & record manufacturing and self-production throughout the United States, Europe and Canada. He currently teaches at California Institute of the Arts & Art Center College of Design. In 1998 Golia was appointed Regent's Lecturer at the University of California at San Diego.

Vinny has been a featured performer with Anthony Braxton, Henry Grimes, John Carter, Bobby Bradford, Joelle Leandre, Leo Smith, Horace Tapscott, John Zorn, Tim Berne, Bertram Turetzky, George Lewis, Barre Phillips, The Rova Saxophone Quartet, Patti Smith, Harry "the Hipster" Gibson, Eugene Chadburne, Kevin Ayers, Peter Kowald, John Bergamo and the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band amongst many others.