The Bleeding Edge: 6/19/2023

This will be a busy week with roughly the same number of new events as those previously reported. In the latter category, there are three events, one of which involves three performances. Specifics are as follows:

1. The only Outsound Presents concert to take place this month at the Luggage Store Gallery will begin at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 21.
2. This week’s three performances of “Audium V” will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 22, Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24.
3. The Five by Five concert at the Center for New Music will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 24.

That leaves five new events, one of which will be given two performances:

Tuesday, June 20, 7 p.m., Make-Out Room: This will be the usual three-set program for the monthly Jazz at the Make-Out Room concert. The first set will be taken by a definitely “bleeding edge” combo called the Diaspora Focii Collective. This is a quintet with rhythm provided by Mike Villarreal on drums, Elijah Pontecorvo on electric bass, and Mika Pontecorvo on both guitar and electronics. The front line consists of two wind players, Jaroba on both tenor saxophone and bass clarinet and Kersti Abrams playing alto saxophone, flute, and kalimba. The second set will begin at 7:45 p.m. with a performance by the David Lechuga-Espadas Duo. The final set at 8:30 p.m. will close out the evening with a quartet whose members are Kyle Bruckmann on clarinet, Brett Carson on a variety of keyboard instruments, Lisa Mezzacappa on bass, and Jordan Glenn on drums. The Make-Out Room is located in the Mission at 3225 22nd Street. Doors will open at 6 p.m. There is no cover charge, so donations will be accepted and appreciated.

Wednesday, June 21, 8 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books and Records: Tenor saxophonist David Murray and percussionist Kahil El’Zabar are currently touring as a duo, and this will be their first performance at Bird & Beckett since 2019. Both of them are highly popular; and, as a result, all advance tickets to this performance have been sold. However, admission will be available at the door for limited standing room.

Bird & Beckett is located at 653 Chenery Street, a short walk from the Glen Park station that serves both BART and Muni. Admission for standing room will be $30 in cash. Because this is not a Saturday evening performance, it will not be live-streamed. [updated 6/20, 2:30 p.m.: The June 22 Bird & Beckett event has been postponed, and the new date has not yet been announced.

Thursday, June 22, 7:30 p.m., Bird & Beckett Books and Records: The second Bird & Beckett event of significance this week will be a performance by the REO Trio. The name is taken from the last names of the three performers: Don Robinson on drums, Karl Evangelista on guitar, and Larry Ochs on tenor and sopranino saxophones. Admission is still available for a cash cover charge of $20 paid at the door. Given that only a limited number of people will be admitted, 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. Again, this event will not be live-streamed.]

Dohee Lee in performance (from the YBCA Web page her solo work for this weekend)

Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24, 7:30 p.m., Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA): “MU-Connector/When the land stands alone” is a solo performance by Korean performance artist Dohee Lee. Her work explores ancestral traditions transmuted through dance, singing, drumming, and storytelling, weaving together electronic soundscapes, an altar installation, and community participation to create a communal creative ritual experience. In addition, the Asian Refugees United’s Storytellers Group will present a performance entitled “Mero Geet Mero Yatra” (my song my journey). The performance will take place in the YBCA Forum. General admission will be $40 with a $20 rate for students and seniors. YBCA has created a Web page for online ticket purchases for this event.

Saturday, June 24, 2 p.m., San Francisco Public Library: Composer Thomas Dimuzio will give a live outdoor performance on a Buchla synthesizer. Don Buchla was one of the two leading inventors of the voltage-controlled modular synthesizer. (The other was Robert Moog.) This technology advanced electronic music beyond the limitations of the early efforts at computer-based synthesis (developed by Max Mathews at Bell Labs in the Fifties). Instead, Buchla’s device could be played (albeit with more than a little training) like most other musical instruments. Dimuzio’s performances involve genres such as classical electroacoustic, dark ambient, improvisation, and drone. This promises to be an engaging “real-time” encounter with the early days of electronic performance. This event will take place at the Library’s Richmond Branch, which is located at 351 9th Avenue; there will be no charge for admission.