This may be the busiest week on the “bleeding edge” that I have encountered over the course of writing these articles! There are a total of thirteen events, only four of which have already been reported. Those involve five performances at four different venues as follows:
- The Center for New Music will present a recital by Vocalverse on Friday, May 9.
- The Community Music Center will host the Ensemble for These Times performance of Mujeres Ahora (women now) as one of the events in the San Francisco International Arts Festival on Friday, May 9.
- The Lab will present two performances of Scales for the Living Under Duress on Friday, May 9, and Saturday, May 10.
- The San Francisco Contemporary Music Players will conclude their 2024–2025 concert season on Saturday, May 10, with a program of music by Latinx composers entitled Shared Rituals.
The remaining events will also be at familiar venues:
Thursday, May 8, Mr Tipple’s Jazz Club, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.: Drum work by Scott Amendola should be sufficient to classify this as a “bleeding edge” jazz gig. He and bassist Mat Muntz will provide rhythm for visiting vocalist Astrid Kuljanic. She leads the Transatlantic Exploration Company quartet in New York, as well as her Croatian-Slovenian band Mildreds.
Thursday, May 8, Peacock Lounge, 8 p.m.: As usual, the monthly gig at the Peacock Lounge will present four sets over the course of about three hours. Rova Saxophone Quartet alumnus Bruce Ackley will perform on both soprano and tenor saxophones, as well as clarinet, to lead the Dymaxion trio (named in tribute to Buckminster Fuller). He will be joined by percussionist Dave Brandt and Pete Schmitt on bass. Thea Farhadian will integrate contemporary field recordings from Armenia and Egypt with mechanical sounds from a letterpress and MRI Machine. Aaron Oppenheim will present a set of “sound vivisection” with his digital signal processing gear. Finally, there will be a solo set by Kevin Robinson, who describes himself as a “deep tone practitioner.”
Friday, May 9, Medicine for Nightmares, 7 p.m.: This week’s Other Dimensions in Sound program will present the Deciphering Broken Rhythms Collective. As always, the venue is located in the Mission at 3036 24th Street, between Treat Avenue and Harrison Street. There is no charge for admission, presumably to encourage visitors to consider buying a book.
Friday, May 9, Noe Valley Ministry, 7:30 p.m.: Once again, Earplay will return to Noe Valley to wrap up the current season. The highlight of the program will feature the winner of the 2024 Earplay Vibrant Shores Composition Competition. This will be “El bailongo,” scored for flute, cello, violin, and piano and composed by Edna Alejandra Longoria in 2023. The program will begin with the world premiere of Benjamin Sabey’s “Dream Suite” sextet. It will conclude with “Friction,” a duo for flute and viola, composed in 2009 on an Earplay commission by Mei Fang Lin. The program will conclude with a solo flute performance of Carolyn Chen’s “Stomachs of Ravens.”
As most readers probably know by now, the venue will be Noe Valley Ministry, which is located at 1021 Sanchez Street, between 23rd Street and Elizabeth Street. As usual, there will be a pre-concert talk at 6:45 p.m. General admission will be $32 with a $10 rate for students. They may be purchased online through a ThunderTix Web page.
Friday, May 9, Bird & Beckett Books and Records, 8:30 p.m.: Bassist Lisa Mezzacappa will lead her 5(ish) quintet. Aaron Bennett will take the front line on tenor saxophone. Mezzacappa will be joined in the rhythm section by Mark Clifford on vibraphone, keyboardist Brett Carson, and Jordan Glenn on drums. The venue is located at 653 Chenery Street, a short walk from the Glen Park station that serves both BART and Muni. The price of admission has not yet been announced, but it is usually a cover charge of $25. Given the limited space of the venue, reservations are necessary and can be made by calling 415-586-3733. The phone will be answered during regular store hours, which are between noon and 6 p.m. on Tuesday through Sunday. This performance will also be live-streamed through a YouTube Web site.
Saturday, May 10, 1 p.m., San Francisco Public Library, Golden Gate Valley Branch: Following up on his Luggage Store Gallery duo this past January, saxophonist Rent Romus will give another duo performance with keyboardist Elihu Knowles, who will also provide vocals. They have prepared a program of slow music, jazz ballads, and ambient improvisations. The venue is located at 1801 Green Street, between Laguna Street and Octavia Street. As usual, there will be no charge for admission.
Saturday, May 10, Bird & Beckett Books and Records, 8:30 p.m.: Mezzacappa will return to Bird & Beckett, this time playing bass for the Saki Minamimoto Sextet. The leader is the vocalist of the combo, performing her own original music, nostalgic pop songs, and familiar standards. The instrumentalists on the front line will be saxophonist Beth Schenck and Ian Carey on trumpet. The other rhythm players will be guitarist Matt Wrobell and Jon Arkin on drums.
Ben Davis with his cello (from his Bay Improviser Web page)
Sunday, May 11, 7:30 p.m., Musicians Union: Once again, the SIMM (Static Illusion Methodical Madness) Series program hosted by Outsound Presents will be a two-set evening. Romus will return to lead a set performed by the Otherworld Ensemble. He will again be joined by Knowles on keyboard and will share the lead with Heikki Koskinen, who alternates among e-trumpet, tenor recorder, and small percussion. The other members of this combo will be saxophonist Joshua Marshall, Joseph Noble on a diversity of wind instruments, and keyboardist Pete Schmitt. The second set will be taken by the Ghost Dub sextet, led by David Michalak, best known for his command of the skatch instruments invented by the late Tom Nunn. The other member of the combo will be percussionist Karen Stackpole, Ben Davis in cello, trumpeter Darren Johnston, Cindy Sawprano on musical saw, and wind virtuoso Kersti Abrams. As usual, the performance will take place at the Musicians Union, located in SoMa at 116 9th Street. Admission will be by donation with a sliding scale between $10 and $25.
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