Ancient to Future (NIGHT 1)
Thu, Mar 29, 2018 at 7:30pm
Doors at 6:30pm
Tickets: $12 adv/ $15 dos
This is part of a three day festival. Day two (Friday, March 30th) will be hosted at The Chapel Performance Space of Wallingford's Good Shepherd Center
7:30pm - Fanfare for the Warriors: The Art Ensemble of Chicago
Led by pianist Wayne Horvitz, Fanfare for the Warriors was a seminal recording for the AEC that includes some of their most muscular, and most whimsical, music during the period right after residing in Paris in the early 70’s. The record includes special guest Muhal Richard Abrams, mentor and founding father of the AACM. Feayuring Nathan Breedlove, Ayesha MusicBox Brooks, Jamal Nance and Levi Gillis.
8:30pm - Simon Henneman plays Sonny Sharrock’s “Ask the Ages”.
Sharrock, known for his incredible guitar work with Pharoah Sanders, Miles Davis, Last Exit, Herbie Mann, Linda Sharrock and Bill Laswell. “Ask the Ages” is considered by many to be Sharrock’s finest, and sadly was also his last. Produced by Bill Laswell, the original record featured Elvin Jones and Pharoah Sanders. With Chris Icasiano on drums!
9:30pm - Ruby Dunphy plays the music of Eric Dolphy.
Eric Dolphy bridges the moment between post be-bop and the “free jazz’ of the 60’s working with John Coltrane and Charles Mingus among others. His own albums are classics and utterly unique. Ruby Dunphy, a senior at The Cornish College of the Arts and the drummer for Seattle’s “Thunderpussy”, represents a whole new generation paying homage to, and re-imagining the music of this singular voice in American music.
“Ancient to Future”(*) was conceived in 2017 as a 3-day festival to celebrate the revolution in jazz and improvised music associated with the mid 60s - and that continues to this day.
This music found its earliest expression in the music of John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Cecil Taylor, and continued with the innovations of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (ACCM), the Black Artists Group (BAG) and onward.
This years festival features the music of Sonny Sharrock, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, the solo work of Steve Lacy, a tribute to John Carter and Bobby Bradford, and the large ensemble music of Henry Threadgill, plus a tribute to Muhal Richard Abrams, the founding father of the AACM, who passed away earlier this year.
This year’s featured artistwill be Alex Cline, a master percussionist who has performed in a career spanning forty years which a myriad of great artists in creative music, including Julius Hamphill, Myra Melford, Joseph Jarmen, his twin brother Nels Cline, Charlie Haden, Charles Lloyd, Tim Berne and John Carter and Bobby Bradford just to name a few.
In addition, this years festival will focus on local artists whose work pay homage to the tradition and its many evolutions. Ivan Artega’s Tiny Ghost, Crystal Beth’s Beth Boom Boom band, and a Cornish College of the Arts base band lead by drummer Ruby Dunphy-currently the drummer in Seattle’s own “Thunderpussy”- in a tribute to the music of Eric Dolphy
In 2018, the festival will be presented at the Royal Room and at The Chapel at The Good Shepherd Center in a partnership between The Royal Room, Nonsequitur and the Cornish College of the Arts.
Performances will be on Thursday March 29 and Saturday March 31st at the Royal Room and on Friday March 30th at the Good Shepherd Center. March 29 and 31 7.30 p.m. March 30th at 8 p.m.
(*) Ancient to Future comes from the phrase the Art Ensemble of Chicago used to describe their music. “Great Black Music: Ancient to Future.”
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Please note: Tickets do not guarantee seating during shows at the Royal Room. For sold out shows standing room may be the only available space. Please come early to ensure you get a table. Reservations can be made for those who are coming for dinner as well as the show. The Royal Room is All Ages until 10pm.