Deli Crashing: Because that Indie band at Studio B can wait

Have anything planned for Friday night? Of course you don't, you're a procrastinator like the rest of us! Well, here's your chance to set yourself right in the eyes of Jesus:

The Hoover Dam Collective Presents: DeliCrash

Get ready for the premiere of Brooklyn's most aesthetically attractive free jazz trio, "Little Drake". They will be accompanying Theo Boguszewski's interpretation of that ever-so-catchy Ornette Coleman song you heard had a hip title to name-drop.

Mokaad will be fighting the elements of tension to bring you a set to dance your problems away.

Bot Jiz will bring you face-to-face with these problems, only to disorient you so heavily you'll forget about whats-her-name and whos-his-face.

Along with Melissa Ahern, Andy Smart, Stimpy Lockjaw, and the infamous NYU dubstep duo Hirshi and Phlegm, how can you say no this night? It's impossible, you can't!

Take the J or M train to Lortimer St. or Flushing Ave. and find this Broadway Bodega between Manhattan or Graham. If you enjoy free stuff, get there at 8 and utilize the wine and cheese assortment we will present you with.

Senior Recital!

Last Wednesday was the one and only performance of Zach Koeber and David Cutler Present: Escape From the Burn Zone. Both of our recitals went very well: attendence was high and the music sounded great. After doing a bit of makeshift mixing and track cutting, I have a presentable version of my recital recording. I placed the recorder a bit too close to my saxophone, making the levels a bit uneven. However, it's a decent overall recording.

Download it HERE

Cosmic Inventions

I've been working on this electronic piece for a few months now. It started with the idea of having several different bell sounds/timbres interacting and eventually branched into a truly meditative work. The time artificially slows down at one point, which is controlled by accenting every 5 16th notes instead of the standard 4. I also used a sample from a Carl Sagan video I found on youtube. Here's the video, and then my song. Enjoy!

Soul and the Literal Truth

Last weekend I had the pleasure of playing on my friend Spencer Murphy's recital. A video of his finale, a cover of Etta James' "I'd Rather Go Blind". It featured Jarad Lippi on drums, Davy Levitan on guitar, Devon Dixon on piano, Adrienne Mack-Davis and Gabe Garzon-Montano on vocals. Here's a clip from the song, featuring my solo:

If you enjoyed it, check out all 3 parts of the video!

ZaDaza: Doing it Live

This Thursday, my good friend Zach Marks will be playing his senior recital at Purchase college. It will feature David Cutler on bass, Colin Gordon on Alto, Nick Llerandi on guitar and yours truly on Tenor. Our trio will be premiering a composition of Zach's, which I posted in beat form here. It starts at 8 pm in room 0081 at the music conservatory.

For the Sake of Art - This Wednesday and Thursday @ 8 PM!

One of the greatest things about an arts school is the amount of talent contained on campus. From Visual Arts to Dance, Film to Music, SUNY Purchase seems to have a myriad of artistic capability. A goal/dream of mine has been to participate or be involved in a large-scale multimedia event that features artists from all mediums collaborating on a project.

This week will be a realization of this aspiration.

For the Sake of Art was conceived by dancer Theo Boguszewski and made possible by a grant from the state of New York.

Alex Mackinnon (aka Doc Brown) and I have been working on a beat for a choreographed dance number. It's a dubstep track that features Spencer Murphy reading a TS Eliot poem. We cut up some Iannis Xenakis samples, as well as some King Tubby drums and some live clips of Bot Jiz!

Rachel Pazdan did an excellent write-up on the event that you can read here:

Motion Manifesto - For the Sake of Art

Remember to come to the Dance Theater Laboratory on Wednesday and Thursday at 8 pm. This is a show you definitely do NOT want to miss!

Facebook event here:

For the Sake of Art

RIP Nujabes

I'm extremely saddened to report that one of my favorite contemporary hip-hop producers, Nujabes, has died. His death was made public yesterday, but apparently he died from a car accident on February 26th.

To me, Nujabes was one of the more tasteful sampling artists out there. I always respected his choices of jazz to sample, and his beats were never overproduced. He stayed true to the original samples, while still managing to transform them into his own phrasing and expression. Here are two of my favorite tunes of his:

Aneurhythmic

Fellow zaDaza bandmate Zach Marks and I have been working on some electronic music as of late. This idea came from a sketch that Zach wrote for the band and we expanded from there. Enjoy, and remember to turn your bass UP!

Charlie Phillips enters the beat realm

Charlie Phillips is a name to remember.

I've known him since freshman year and I must say that the musical direction that he has traveled in these past 4 years is remarkable. I had the pleasure of playing on Charlie's debut cd, as well as playing in his current live band. For you those who are new to his music, imagine the combined sounds of D'Angelo, Hendrix, Prince, and Jeff Buckley as interpreted by an individual with his own direction in mind.

Yesterday, he put out a new song called "Sweat/Make it My World", a digitized whirlwind of echoes and cowbells. If Fela Kuti was into Joy Division and Radiohead, the outcome would be a bit like this song. It remains both energetic and chilled, layered yet melodic. Definitely give it a listen, you won't regret it.

Download Here

You can also follow him at his blog:

Blog by Charlie Phillips

Emotions through Sound

Music speaks louder than words.

I decided to record a freely improvised piece this morning. I just pressed "record" and started to play the sax without any prior preconception or warm up. Here it is, "Passive Aggressor":

Five on Twelve: Dance meets Avante-Garde

"Ghosts" by Albert Ayler, a cornerstone of free jazz:

Feeling a bit freaked out? Now imagine watching a choreographed dance to a live performance of this music:

This, along with music by Charles Mingus and Sun Ra, will be premiered by Theo Boguszewski on February 26-27th at the Dance Conservatory at Purchase College. It is being held in the Dance Theatre Lab and starts at 8:00 pm.

I will be playing tenor saxophone and will be joined by Reed Stewart (drums), Spencer Murphy (bass), Alex Eckstein (alto sax), Andy Roninson (piano), and Tristan Napoli (trumpet). For more information, check out the facebook link:

Five on Twelve

zaDaza

The feature of this week is a mysterious power trio that goes by the name of zaDaza. The group is comprised of David Cutler on bass, Zach Marks on drums, and yours truly on saxophone and effects. While focusing mainly on creative improvisation and groove, the group never takes themselves that seriously and there is always a sense of humor present. The music style ranges from party-driven music to catchy indie hooks, and can stretch all the way into doom metal and noise territory.

The band will be performing Friday night at the Humanities theater in conjunction with WA(i)STED, which has been described as "a violent, multi-media solo performance by Constance Tarbox focused on American consumption and self-destruction." Rumors are floating around about the intensity of this show (as well as the free beer policy once one pays for entrance). If you find yourself complaining that there is never anything weird enough on campus, this may be your night.

You can listen to zaDaza at their myspace:

zaDaza music

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Mokaad and the Flexpoints: Funkify Your Life

The first post on this blog will be dedicated to the funkier side of things.

If you are a SUNY Purchase student, there's a good chance you have consciously or subconsciously heard the barrage of funk coming from the Stood or the Hub walkway at some time. This experience has been brought to you by none other than Mokaad and the Flexpoints, a 9-piece outfit dedicated to bringing the funk back into your life.

They're just starting up again for the semester, but get ready for some extremely high-energy gigs in the next few months. This Saturday, Mokaad will be gracing the stage of NYC's own Crash Mansion. The one-hour set will start at 12:30 AM; this is one you don't want to miss!

For evidence, check out the 10-minute whirlwind funk tease from Saturday's Haiti Benefit:

Mokaad and the Flexpoints live at the Stood 2-8-10 from Aural Material on Vimeo.