The Bleeding Edge: 1/7/2019

Things are gradually coming back up to speed out on the bleeding edge. This week will see three events that have already been announced and three new ones, all at “usual suspects” venues. The previously announced offerings are the following:

1. Solos and duos by musician Pamela Z and dancer Christine Bonansea at Space 124 in the Project Artaud building on January 9
2. Usufruct and [ruidobello] at the weekly LSG Creative Music Series concert on January 10
3. Haley Fohr’s Wordless Music concert at The Lab on January 12

Specifics for the remaining three events during the coming week are as follows:

Monday, January 7, 8:30 p.m., Make Out Room: This is the first Monday of the month, meaning that it is time for the first Monday Make-Out of the New Year. As usual, the evening will offer three sets of cutting-edge Bay Area jazz and improvisation. The opening set will consist of modern jazz improvisations by the David Dvorin Group. This is a quartet led by Dvorin on guitar. The other players are Randy McKean in reeds, Clifford Childers on trombone, and Tim Bulkley on drums. The second set will be led by drummer Dave Mihaly, whose influences include such adventurous sources as Jack DeJohnette. Mihaly will perform with his Shimmering Leaves Ensemble, saxophonist David Boyce and guitarist Michael Cavaseno, who will also provide electronic effects. The final set will be taken by the Revenant quartet, whose members are Tom Djll on electronics, Karl Evangelista on guitar, Brett Carson on keyboards, and Nava Dunkelman on percussion.

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! Doors will open at 8 p.m.

Sunday, January 13, 4:30 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books and Records: The Sunday concert series at Bird & Beckett will present a program entitled which way west? performed by the Social Stutter Quartet. This group is a saxophone quartet led by Beth Schenk, who plays alto and also serves as the group’s composer. She is joined by alto saxophonist Kasey Knudsen with Phillip Greenlief and Cory Wright both playing tenor. Wright also doubles on baritone. This makes for instrumentation that provides a more homogenous sound than would be encountered in a soprano-alto-tenor-baritone quartet. Bird & Beckett is located at 653 Chenery Street, a short walk from the Glen Park station for both Muni and BART. Admission will be by donation with a suggested amount between $10 and $20.

Sunday, January 13, 7:30 p.m., Musicians Union Hall: The first SIMM (Static Illusion Methodical Madness) Series concert of the New Year to be offered by Outsound Presents will follow the usual two-set format. The first set will be taken by the Cartoon Justice quartet led by Mika Pontecorvo on guitar and electronics. He will be joined by Kersti Abrams on alto saxophone and African instruments, Mark Pino on percussion, and Elijah Pontecorvo on bass. The program will consist of sketches from the composition Elegy Da Amazona. The second set will involve a live “confrontation” between Skatch and Buchla. The T.D. Skatchit duo of Tom Nunn and David Michalak, both playing Nunn’s invented Skatch instruments, will improvise with Thomas Dimuzio improvising on a Buchla device. The “continuo” for this encounter will be provided by Scott Looney on piano and electronics. The Musicians Union Hall is located at 116 9th Street, near the corner of Mission Street. Admission will be on a sliding scale between $10 and $20.