Monday, July 31, 2017

The Bleeding Edge: 7/31/2017

After the comparative quietude of the month of July, August promises to be a more active month. Two events at the Center for New Music have already enjoyed the benefit of advance announcement. Opera on the Spot will present its double bill of one-act operas by Samuel Barber (“A Hand of Bridge”) and Gian-Carlo Menotti (“The Old Maid and the Thief”) on the evening of Friday, August 4, followed by an encore performance at Caffe Delle Stelle on Monday, August 7. Then, on the afternoon of Sunday, August 6, Michael Tan will bring his adventurous program of solo piano music to C4NM. That leaves time for a satisfying diversity of other adventurous activities during the coming week. Specifics are as follows:

Wednesday, August 2, and Thursday, August 4, 8 p.m., SAFEhouse Arts: This will be a program presented by RAW (Resident Artist Workshop), a residency program run by the SAFEhouse for the Performing Arts. The theme of the program will be the human body, and Arina Hunter will present a new solo utilizing her body as the source of all sounds. There will also be a choreographic exploration of the body by Rayla Meshawn, as well as other new work by Hunter and Katarina Countiss.

SAFEhouse Arts is located at 1 Grove Street at the corner of Market Street. Admission will be $15. Tickets may be purchased in advance online through Vendini event pages for the Wednesday and Thursday performances.

Thursday, August 3, 8 p.m., Luggage Store Gallery: This week the Luggage Store Creative (LSC) Music Series will present two sets of solo improvisations. The first set will be taken by guitarist and vocalist Owen Stewart-Robertson. He will be followed by a solo trumpet improvisation set by Brad Henkel, currently visiting from Germany. The Luggage Store Gallery is at 1007 Market Street, directly across from the Golden Gate Theatre at the corner of Golden Gate Avenue and Taylor Street. As always admission will be on a sliding scale between $6 and $15.

Sunday, August 6, 7:30 p.m., The Musicians Union Hall: This will be a double-header week for Outsound Presents, since the LSC gig on Thursday will be followed by the next program in the SIMM (Static Illusion Methodical Madness) Series. This will also be two sets. However, while LSC offerings tend to go for free improvisation at its freest, SIMM offerings generally explore jazz practices that include both composition and improvisation.

The opening set will be taken by the Hung Professionals, a trio let by Tom Weeks on alto saxophone with rhythm provided by Nathan Corder on guitar and Scott Siler on drums. For the second set Rent Romus, who runs Outsound, will lead his own Life’s Blood ensemble, paying alto saxophone and flutes. The group will also include Joshua Marshall on tenor saxophone, Heikki Koskinen on flutes and e-trumpet, Safa Shokrai and Max Judelson on bass, and Timothy Orr on percussion. The Musicians Union Hall is located at 116 9th Street, near the corner of Mission Street. Admission is on a sliding scale between $10 and $15.

Monday, August 7, 8:30 p.m., Make Out Room: One week from today will be the first Monday of the next month. That makes it is the night of the Monday Make-Out at the Make Out Room, three sets of adventurous jazz that are scheduled for presentation on that monthly occasion. The first set will be a solo by percussionist Jon Arkin, supplementing his instruments with electronics. He will then return in the second set to perform in the modern jazz quartet (note the lower-case letters) IJKL. Those letters are the initials of the four performers, Arkin being the J of the group. The leader is trumpeter Ian Carey. The other letters are accounted for by Kasey Knudsen on saxophone and Lisa Mezzacappa on bass. The final set will be free improvisation by the Brian Pedersen Trio. Pedersen leads on saxophone, joined by Sung Kim on ozukuri, an instrument of his own creation, and Robert Lopez on drums.

Doors open at 8 p.m., and the music starts half an hour later. The Make Out Room is located at 3225 22nd Street in the Mission, near the southwest corner of Mission Street. The Make Out Room is a bar. That means that tickets are not sold, nor is there a cover charge. Nevertheless, a metaphorical hat is passed between sets; and all donations are accepted, not to mention welcome!

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