Clavius Productions is proud to present the return of original Sun Ra Arkestra member Marshall Allen to DC. Joining the 83-year-old legend will be Philly stalwart Elliott Levin (sax/flute/vocals), Kohoutek members Scott Verrastro (percussion) and Damian Languell, and upright bassist Brit Powell of Barkitecture. Space will be the place Friday night in DC:
Friday, January 18
Velvet Lounge
915 U St NW WDC
http://www.velvetloungedc.com 202-462-3213
$10, doors at 9pm, 18+
Marshall Allen (of Sun Ra Arkestra!) w/ Extra Terrestrial Guests Elliott Levin, Scott Verrastro, Brit Powell, and more
Mind Over Matter Music Over Mind (DC free-jazz)
Marshall Allen After joining the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1958, Marshall Allen (alto saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, arranger) led Sun Ra Arkestra's formidable reed section for over 40 years. As a featured soloist with the Arkestra, he pioneered the avant-garde jazz movement of the early 60s. Marshall was one of the first jazz musicians to play traditional African music and what is now called "world music." He is featured on over 200 Sun Ra releases, as well as appearing with Phish, Sonic Youth, Digable Planets, Medeski Martin & Wood, et al. Marshall assumed the helm of the Sun Ra Arkestra in 1995 and continues to reside at the Sun Ra Residence in Philadelphia, composing, writing and arranging.
Elliott Levin Elliott Levin (flutes, saxophones, words) was born and raised in Philadelphia, pursuing early studies with Michael Guerra (legendary saxist/clarinetist of Philadelphia Orchestra under Stokowski); and composer/flutist Claire Polin (collaborator with flute innovater William Kincaid). For Elliott, studies with masters- pianist/improvisor/composer Cecil Taylor; and later with saxophonist/improviser/composer Odean Pope-led to long time relationships of performing and recording with their ensembles. A member of many groups in Philly/NYC area over the past 30 years, he has continued to work with his own ensembles as well.
Scott Verrastro Drummer/percussionist Scott Verrastro utilizes a plethora of sticks, brushes, bells, shakers, cymbals and gongs, metal, contact mics, and household items -- in addition to a traditional drum kit -- to coax a wide palette of sounds. Verrastro received a degree in music literature from Northeastern University in Boston and continues to examine many forms of music, including all styles of improvisation and traditional folk. His main percussion influences are Milford Graves, Rashied and Muhammed Ali, Sunny Murray, Han Bennink, Jaki Liebezeit, Bill Bruford and Jamie Muir on Larks' Tongues in Aspic, and yes, even John Bonham, Bill Ward, Keith Moon, and Nick Mason. His improv psych band Kohoutek explores all of this territory, veering from drony Krautrock-inspired psych to abstract noise freak-outs and everything in between. Verrastro also plays in a guitar/drums duo with Chris Grier called Thee Ultimate VAG, often accompanies guitarist Jeff Barsky in Insect Factory, and has collaborated with saxophonists Paul Flaherty and John Dikeman, as well as multi-instrumentalists Mike Tamburo and Little Howlin' Wolf.
Mind Over Matter Music Over Mind Bobby Hill â?? record players
Chris Downing â?? laptop, keyboards, samples
Thomas Stanley (a/k/a Bushmeat) â?? electronics
Our medium is sound. Sound generated. Sound borrowed and relocated. With this sound we create places and we create events. Some of these events are music. Many are not. To the extent that the places and events we create are extraordinary and the manner in which the events are allowed to occur within these places is extraordinary, our work product is extraordinary. This is the critical dimension of MOMMOM. The semantic dimension of the project is a bit more nuanced. First point of order: Our work is not a text. By intention, the sounds that we have generated, collected and brought into conjunction are not to be taken as a socially conditioned statement to be decoded or read, nor as an instance of personal or cultural expression to be felt. MOMMOM seeks to change minds not fiddle around with their contents. The political dimension of MOM2 is rooted in the distinction between these two approaches. Art can do many things. It need not be limited to making additions to the clutter of facts, beliefs, ideological warrants, and emotional tropes within which our attention flutters like debris in a strong wind. MIND OVER MATTER MUSIC OVER MIND is directed at the function of consciousness, not at its contents. For the mind, morphology is physiology and MOMMOM seeks to redraw the boundaries of mental health. This radical re-normalization of mental possibility is inherently political, challenging as it must, the most basic premises of social organization and order. It is only with new minds that we will first dream, and then build the new world that is implied by the tide of political frustration that has engulfed our age. Then MOM2 is a timely mental prosthesis, similar in quality if not degree to prosthetic agents found in the chemistry of certain plants and fungi, agents that have been employed for thousands of years to expand human consciousness beyond its personal and cultural containments. MIND OVER MATTER MUSIC OVER MIND is emancipating sonic medicine.
