Firehouse 12 to Present Taylor Ho Bynum & Spidermonkey Strings November 21st

On Friday, November 21st, cornetist/composer Taylor Ho Bynum and his improvising chamber jazz ensemble, SpiderMonkey Strings, will present the New Haven premiere of his innovative secular oratorio, Madeleine Dreams, at Firehouse 12. Inspired by the novel Madeleine is Sleeping (Harcourt), a 2004 National Book Award finalist written by his sister, Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, the piece draws text from the book while further exploring its theme of “the logic of dreams.” SpiderMonkey Strings, which takes its name from two mythical tricksters, Anansi the Spider of West Africa and the Monkey King of China, features Kyoko Kitamura (vocals and electronics), Jason Kao Hwang (violin), Jessica Pavone (viola), Tomas Ulrich (cello), Pete Fitzpatrick (guitar), Joseph Daley (tuba) and Luther Gray (drums).

“Cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum is at the forefront of a younger generation of creative musicians in New York,” writes AllAboutJazz.com’s John Sharpe. “He combines thrilling improvisation with stealthy composition, unconfined by genre.” Other critics agree, calling him “one of the most exciting figures in jazz’s new power generation” (Steve Dollar, Time Out Chicago), “a strong cornetist and serious-minded composer with experimental tendencies” (Nate Chinen, New York Times) and “an agile and creative improviser who sounds like no one but himself” (Chris Kelsey, JazzTimes). Jazzwise reviewer Kevin Le Gendre adds, “Bynum is thinking outside of the jazz box without getting trapped inside another in the process.”

Bynum’s expansive resume includes a wide variety of work with both his contemporaries and legendary figures alike, most notably the iconic saxophonist/composer Anthony Braxton, with whom he has performed and recorded extensively over the past decade. His most recent recordings as a bandleader include The Middle Picture (Firehouse 12, 2007), featuring his trio/sextet, and True Events (482 Music, 2007), a recording of cornet/percussion duets with Fujiwara that veteran jazz writers Howard Mandel, Brian Morton and K. Leander Williams, among others, included on their top 10 lists for the year. In addition to leading his own bands, Bynum is a member of such groups as Jason Kao Hwang’s Edge and the large ensembles of creative music legends Bill Dixon and Cecil Taylor. He is also a curator for the annual Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT) in New York and a partner in the Firehouse 12 Records label.

2008 Fall Jazz Series Schedule:

09/19: Steve Lantner Trio
09/26: Conference Call
10/03: Ned Rothenberg's Sync
10/10: Shakers n' Bakers
10/17: Josh Roseman's Execution Quintet
10/24: Bad Touch
10/31: Magic
11/07: George Schuller's Circle Wide
11/14: Jamie Baum Septet
11/21: Taylor Ho Bynum & SpiderMonkey Strings
12/05: The Flatlands Collective
12/12: Donny McCaslin Trio