“Few musicians in any category combine violinist Billy Bang's intrinsic understanding of his instrument's tradition with the adventurousness associated with the New York City loft scene of the 1970's," wrote AllAboutJazz.com's Jeff Stockton in a recent review. “After 30 years," adds Village Voice music columnist Tom Hull, “he's reached a pinnacle where everything he does takes your breath away." Critics have called his music “both accessible and creative" (Scott Yanow, All Music Guide), “emotionally stirring and spiritually uplifting" (Charles J. Gans, AP) and “beautiful and emotionally affecting" (Barry Witherden, Jazz Review).
Bang has enjoyed a long and illustrious career in improvised music as one of the most recognizable players on his instrument. A former student of renowned violinist Leroy Jenkins, he has collaborated with Don Cherry, Kahil El'Zabar, Ronald Shannon Jackson, Bill Laswell, Frank Lowe, David Murray, William Parker, Sun Ra, Sam Rivers and James 'Blood' Ulmer among many others. Perhaps best known as a co-founder of The String Trio of New York, he has also helped found groups such as The Survival Ensemble, Tri-Factor and the FAB Trio with Joe Fonda and Barry Altschul. Most recently, he has earned widespread critical acclaim for a pair of recordings, 2001's Vietnam: The Aftermath and 2005's Vietnam: Reflections on Justin Time, that explore his experiences as an Army draftee in Vietnam.
2007 Fall Jazz Series schedule:
09/21 :: Erik Friedlander
09/28 :: Ted Poor Trio
10/05 :: Michael Musillami Trio with Mark Feldman
10/12 :: The Claudia Quintet
10/19 :: Will Holshouser Trio
10/26 :: Marty Ehrlich/Myra Melford Duo
11/02 :: Rob Brown Trio
11/09 :: Billy Bang Quartet
11/16 :: Andrew Rathbun Quartet
11/30 :: Dave and Barre Phillips
12/07 :: Daniel Levin Trio
12/14 :: Angelica Sanchez Quintet
For more information contact Improvised Communications.
