Instrument inventors BAD JAZZ from Oakland perform on idiosyncratic sound making devices with opening act CK Barlow / Sam Burt / Jeff Carey in trio.
Formed in late 2014, experimental improvisation trio, Bad Jazz, has been taking audiences on improvised auditory journeys that defy the normal explanations of musical theory. Their music is a stream of consciousness, ebbing and flowing from one texture to the next. Although the personnel of the group is variable, key members include Bryan Day, Tania Chen and Ben Salomon. The three met in San Francisco, California but come from a diverse geographic background. Tania is from London, England, Bryan hails from Omaha, Nebraska and Ben originates from Littleton, New Hampshire. Many of the noises emanating from the group come from hand made instruments designed and built by the performers. Other sounds are more traditional, such as piano, random percussion and analog synthesizers. No sound discrimination allowed, whether loud, soft, scratchy or melodic. The only rule is that there are no rules. This makes for new and fresh performances with performance. Bad Jazz’s second release, Tincture, is available on Oakland’s Friends and Relatives records.
https://badjazzmusic.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/badjazzsf/
Tania Chen is a performance and video sound artist, experimental musician and free improviser. She performs internationally on piano, keyboards, digital, vintage electronics and found objects. Tania has recorded and collaborated with Stewart Lee, Steve Beresford, Henry Kaiser, William Winant, Wadada Leo Smith, Thurston Moore, David Toop and with the bands Bad Jazz and Tender Buttons. Forthcoming recordings are John Cage’s “Electronic Music for Piano”. Her solo recordings include Michael Parsons & Cornelius Cardew’s Piano music, John Cage’s “Music of Changes” and a forthcoming recording of Andrew Poppy’s piano music.
http://taniachen.com/
Bryan Day is a sound artist, musical instrument designer and conceptual artist. His sound work focuses on the subtle textural interplay of natural recordings and amplified electronic sounds generated by his invented instrumentation. Using scavenged electronics, repurposed mechanical components, and amplified materials that you might find in your garage or your great uncle’s office, he re-imagines them into constructivist sound sculptures. In addition to his own audio work, he has run the Public Eyesore / Eh? labels since 1997.
http://www.bryanday.net/
Ben Salomon has been resigned to being a full fledged sound addict since birth. A constant fascination with musical practice has taken him around the globe to collaborate in numerous contexts from the excitingly noisy to unassuming cocktail muzak. Recent travels include performances and recording in the UK with Bill Baird. With Bad Jazz, Ben enjoys manipulating custom built acoustic feedback processes warped through time based effects, improvising his way from thought to thought, texture to texture. Home is New Hampshire, USA where he and family operate the best guitar store north of Boston.
http://www.bensalomon.com/