BHOB RAINEY soprano sax
Boston, MA

Bhob Rainey’s music has become a model in the world of experimental sound.  He is the founder of both nmperign (with trumpeter Greg Kelley) and the BSC, which he also directs; Collaborations with musicians such as Ralf Wehowsky, Le Quan Ninh, Gunter Mueller, and Lionel Marchetti, dancers Nicole Bindler and Yukiko Nakamura, and filmmakers Loren Boyer, Harvey Benschoter, and William Pisarri highlight Rainey’s broad experience and outline a complex body of work that continues to expand and surprise.  His music occupies a charged space between synthetic and organic sound, bringing forth improbable sensual and narrative experiences through virtuosic extended techniques, homemade synths and sound processors, found recordings, and a kind of living silence that is apt to wreak havoc with the perception of time. Recordings of Rainey’s music have been released on labels such as Selektion, Grob, Sedimental, Rossbin, Twisted Village, and Siwa. They number in the dozens and have garnered a wealth of international accolades; Festival appearances have included Musique Action, Instal, Amplify, Densites, Fruits d’Mhere, High Zero, and Improvised and Otherwise;Rainey has also performed the works of Christian Wolff (with the composer), John Cage, and Cornelius Cardew and is the orchestral arranger for pop artists Damon and Naomi.

DAVID GROSS alto sax
Boston, MA

Called One of Boston’s steadfast explorers, by the Boston Globe, saxophonist David Gross has been performing for more than a decade. Among a slew of others whose names are perhaps not as recognizable, Mr.Gross has performed with Phil Minton, Eddie Prevost, Steve Roden, John Olson, Gino Robair, Martin Tetreault, Tom Carter, Glenn Spearman, Raphe Malik and many members of the Boston free-improv scene including Bhob Rainey, Greg Kelley, and Laurence Cook. Currently, Gross is transforming the saxophone into exactly what it is: a metal tube with keys, mouthpiece, and a reed. Reviews of his recordings have been as varied as the range of textured noise that he cajoles from his instrument is impressive to lengthy episodes of fingernails ripping at a blackboard and recently the intimacy with which he approaches the saxophone, each screw in each latch, every fiber in the reed, every pad or valve, and all the negative space in between, is simply astounding. Gross has performed throughout the US and Europe including at festivals as diverse as The KNOB (Wichita, KS), Big Sur Festival of Experimental Music (CA), High Zero (Baltimore, MD), Improvised and Otherwise (NYC), The No Idea Fest (Austin, TX) and Autumn Uprising (Boston, MA) which he created in 1997. His most recent disk, ‘untitled(or not yet)’ (1pt8 seconds) a studio recording with James Coleman(theremin), Mike Bullock (contrabass) and Steve Roden (electronics) was just released. Future releases include a live re-issue of his band FETISH, with bassist Mike Bullock and percussionsit Tatsuya Nakatani (Weirdo Records) as well as his second solo disk ‘this is the grizzle’ (1pt8 seconds).

ASHLEY DEEKUS marimba
Philadelphia, PA

Ashley Deekus (b.1987) A percussionist and composer who holds a dynamic approach to her marimba playing. A career beginning with Canadian rock artists, to a place in the NY/PA improvising community, to the local anything goes scene. Beautician by day, musician by night, she currently pursues her studies in various traditional folk musics without excluding jazz, classical, or contemporary dance. Her principal mentors have been Tony Miceli, Khan Jamal, Matt Moran, and Danny Gorlin. Some artists she has worked with are; Pauline Oliveros, Neil Feather, Matthew Welch, Katt Hernendez, Jack Wright, Evan Lipson, Dustin Hurt, Do Make Say Think, Broken Social Scene, Feist, Gina Fererra, Nicole Bindler, and Susie Ibarra. Performs with: Alokli (West African ewe drumming ensemble) West Philadelphia Orchestra (traditional Balkan explosions) The Old Goats (traditional Brazilian).

CHANDAN NARAYAN autoharp
Philadelphia, PA

Chandan Narayan (b.1975, Alameda, CA) plays the autoharp. His initial approach to the instrument was guided by complete naivety. Over the years he has refined his non-idiomatic techniques in the hopes of fooling the listener (and himself) with the autoharp as source of acoustic anomalies. He performs and records regularly with the all-acoustic Canadian power trio, Glass Plates (with Jeffrey Allport and Robert D. Pedersen) and the Philadelphia quintet, Benito Cereno. He has shared the stage and living room performing and recording alongside the likes of Kenny Roux, Tomas Korber, Gunter Muller, Jesse Kudler, Lee Hutzulak, Christine Sehnaoui, Angharad Davies, Chris Cogburn, Jonathan Sielaff, and Gust Burns among others. Chandan owns and operates the Simple Geometry (www.simplegeometry.org) label. Current releases include a trio with Angharad Davies (violin) and Jeffrey Allport and by Benito Cereno.