Racer Session #335 | Lisa Mezzacappa & Jason Levis | July 31, 2016
We're thrilled to welcome bassist Lisa Mezzacappa and percussionist Jason Levis to the Racer Sessions this Sunday for their debut performance at our series. The duo are currently touring an expansive and ambitious work, performing a live transcription of a Cecil Taylor solo piano piece. This promises to be a very unique and impactful performance. Read below for more information about this fantastic duo, and we'll see you Sunday, 8pm at Cafe Racer!
duo B.
Jason Levis, percussion
Lisa Mezzacappa, acoustic bass
“…mysterious, complexly textured improvisations that sometimes take shape as the aural equivalent of abstract expressionist paintings, whether the ethereal, mystical canvasses of Mark Rothko or the jittery, splatter techniques of Jackson Pollock.”
— Derk Richardson, KPFA
duo B., the San Francisco Bay Area improvising and composing ensemble of percussionist Jason Levis and bassist Lisa Mezzacappa, is a musical think tank of grand schemes and impossible scenarios. For more than ten years, the ensemble has developed and refined its singular approach to improvisation and composition, through cross-disciplinary projects with film, collaborations with improvising instrumentalists at home and abroad, study of repertoire by like-minded composers such as Jon Raskin, Aaron Bennett and Phillip Greenlief, and immersion in the improvised-composed musical worlds of masters Wadada Leo Smith, Anthony Braxton, Henry Threadgill, and others. duo B. has released two recordings, on the Evander and Edgetone labels, and has served as the crack rhythm section for West Coast reed heroes Cory Wright, Phillip Greenlief, and others.
This year, duo B. has embarked on a new journey in long-form improvisation with its latest project, an exploration of the musical vision of pianist Cecil Taylor, re-imagined for bass and drums.
Video:
Audio:
Improv 1: Evan Woodle (drums), Andrew Olmstead (piano)
Improv 2: Daniel Webbon (drums), John Broback (synthesizer)
Improv 3: Keeli McCarthy (drums), Schuyler Asplin (trumpet)
Improv 4: John Broback (synthesizer), Bill Kautz (trumpet), Brandon Herzberg (guitar)
Improv 5: Jason Levis (drums), Samantha Boshnack (trumpet), Lisa Mezzacappa (bass)
Improv 6: Daniel Webbon and Andrew Olmstead (piano)