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Spring 2013

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Ars Nova Workshop is thrilled to announce the second half of our 13th season! We have two more shows remaining this year – Unfold Ordinary Mind on December 9, and the Frode Gjerstad Trio with Ingebrigt Håker Flaten's The Young Mothers on December 14 – and then we take a month off, returning on January 14 with the Philadelphia debut of Barry Altschul's Threedom Trio.

ANW will be presenting many groups making Philadelphia debuts in the New Year, including The Whammies, Kris Davis's Capricorn Climber, the Billy Hart Quartet, the Craig Taborn Trio, Jason Adasiewicz's Sun Rooms, and a trio performance by Merzbow, Mats Gustafsson and Balázs Pándi. ANW will also welcome back to Philadelphia Ches Smith & These Arches, the ICP Orchestra and The Engines.

Check out a summary of our Spring 2013 season below. To purchase tickets, and for more information about the performers, please refer to the “Events” page of the website. And don't forget to follow Ars Nova Workshop on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news.

Monday, January 14, 8pm

BARRY ALTSCHUL'S THREEDOM TRIO
Jon Irabagon, tenor saxophone; Joe Fonda, bass; Barry Altschul, drums
Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street, $15

The Philadelphia debut of the drummer Barry Altschul's Threedom Trio featuring the tenor saxophonist Jon Irabagon and the bassist Joe Fonda. Tonight we celebrate the release of the group's debut album, The Threedom Factor, and Altschul's 70th birthday. The New York City drummer Altschul was a member of Circle, the innovative jazz ensemble featuring Chick Corea, Dave Holland and Anthony Braxton, which released several stunning albums in the early-1970s on Blue Note and ECM. The Threedom Trio brings together two musicians with whom he has collaborated on several occasions. Altschul played with Fonda on the classic Dave Holland album Conference of the Birds and in the FAB Trio with Billy Bang, and he most recently worked with Irabagon (a Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition winner) on 2010's Foxy.

Friday, January 18, 8pm

THE WHAMMIES PLAY THE MUSIC OF STEVE LACY
Jorrit Dijkstra, saxophone + Lyricon; Nate McBride, bass; Jeb Bishop, trombone; Mary Oliver, violin; Pandelis Karayorgis, piano; Hen Bennink, drums
Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street, $15

The first Philadelphia performance by The Whammies, an all-star sextet featuring leading voices from the improvised music scenes of Amsterdam, Chicago and Boston. Taking its band name from a Steve Lacy song, in 2012 the Whammies released The Whammies Play the Music of Steve Lacy on Driff Records, the label founded by Boston-based band members Jorrit Dijkstra and Pandelis Karayorgis. Dijkstra first saw Lacy perform with Whammies drummer Han Bennink (the co-founder of the Instant Composers Pool) in the early 1980s. The other three band members are the Chicago-based trombonist Jeb Bishop and the bassist Nate McBride (both frequent Ken Vandermark collaborators), and the Amsterdam-based violinist Mary Oliver (who, along with Bennink, is a member of the ICP Orchestra).

Saturday, February 9, 8pm

KRIS DAVIS'S CAPRICORN CLIMBER
Ingrid Laubrock, saxophone; Mat Maneri, viola; Trevor Dunn, bass; Kris Davis, piano; Tom Rainey, drums
Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street, $15

The Philadelphia debut of Capricorn Climber, the new ensemble led by the pianist Kris Davis featuring the saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, the violist Mat Maneri, the bassist Trevor Dunn and the drummer Tom Rainey. Davis has worked with Tim Berne, Andrew Cyrille, Mary Halvorson and Bill Frisell. She has recently worked on several albums released by Clean Feed, including her solo album Aeriol Piano, Tony Malaby’s Novela and, with the drummer Tyshawn Sorey and the saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, the critically-acclaimed Paradoxical Frog. Laubrock, Maneri, Dunn and Rainey have collaborated with Evan Parker, Jason Adasiewicz, Cecil Taylor, the Melvins, John Zorn and William Parker.

Friday, March 1, 8pm

CHES SMITH & THESE ARCHES Tim Berne, alto saxophone; Tony Malaby, tenor sax; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Andrea Parkins, accordion/electronics; Ches Smith, drums The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Free Admission

Led by the drummer Ches Smith, These Arches features the saxophonists Tim Berne and Tony Malaby, the guitarist Mary Halvorson and the accordionist Andrea Parkins. Smith, one of the most versatile drummers working in experimental music today, has played with Xiu Xiu, John Zorn, Wadada Leo Smith, John Tchicai, Marc Ribot, Iggy Pop, Terry Riley, and many others. For These Arches, Smith united several impressive voices in contemporary jazz and experimental music. Originally a quartet, Smith recently brought Berne onboard. The two have worked together in the past, most recently in Berne's group Snakeoil, which released an album in 2012 on ECM. Tonight These Arches will play music from Hammered, to be released in 2013.

Wednesday, March 20, 8pm

BILLY HART QUARTET
Mark Turner, tenor saxophone; Ethan Iverson, piano; Ben Street, bass; Billy Hart, drums
Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street, $15

The Philadelphia debut of the Billy Hart Quartet. Led by the drummer Billy Hart, the group includes the tenor saxophonist Mark Turner, the pianist Ethan Iverson and the bassist Ben Street. All Our Reasons, the quartet’s critically acclaimed album, was released in 2012 on ECM. The Washington, D.C. drummer Hart has worked with Otis Redding, Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Pharoah Sanders, Stan Getz, Dave Holland and Oliver Lake. He also played for several years with Herbie Hancock, as well as on Miles Davis’s classic 1972 album On the Corner. Iverson, a member of The Bad Plus, has worked with Tim Berne, Charlie Haden and Leek Konitz, and is the founder of the jazz blog Do The Math; Turner was a member of the Dave Holland Big Band and has played with Joshua Redman and Kurt Rosenwinkel; Street has worked with Holland, Rosenwinkel, Sam Rivers and Weather Report's Miroslav Vitous.

Tuesday, March 26, 8pm

MERZBOW / MATS GUSTAFSSON / BALAZS PANDI
Masami Akita, laptop + electronics; Mats Gustafsson, saxophones; Balázs Pándi, drums
International House, 3701 Chestnut Street; $15

The first Philadelphia collaboration between the Japanese noise artist Merzbow, the Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustafsson and the Hungarian drummer Balázs Pándi. With well over 300 albums since 1979, Merzbow has collaborated with many artists, such as Sunn O))), Boris, Keiji Haino, Mike Patton and John Wiese. In 2005, at the Roskilde Festival, Merzbow performed with Sonic Youth, alongside Gustafsson, a member of The Thing, Swedish Azz, Fire! and Sonore. Pándi (who played in duo with Merzbow in Philadelphia when ANW presented them in 2010), has worked Bill Laswell, Andrew WK, Thurston Moore, Lasse Marhaug, Flying Lotus and Venetian Snares.

Thursday, April 11, 8pm

ICP ORCHESTRA
Michael Moore, alto saxophone + clarinet; Tobias Delius, tenor saxophone + clarinet; Ab Baars, tenor saxophone + clarinet; Thomas Heberer, trumpet; Wolter Wierbos, trombone; Mary Oliver, violin; Tristan Honsinger, cello; Ernst Glerum, bass; Han Bennink, drums
International House, 3701 Chestnut Street, $15

ANW's excited to welcome the ICP Orchestra back to Philadelphia for the first time since 2011, when we presented the legendary Dutch ensemble for three consecutive nights. ICP is a collective of Dutch composers and improvisers (and instant composers) formed in 1967 by Misha Mengelberg, Han Bennink and Willem Breuker. The corresponding artist-run ICP Records has released over 40 albums, and is the longest running label of its kind. Over the years, the always-evolving ICP Orchestra has collaborated with giants of the experimental music world, such as Derek Bailey, Peter Brötzmann, Evan Parker, Anthony Braxton, John Tchicai and Alan Silva. The current line-up for the ICP Orchestra consists of nine of the most innovative voices from around the globe, including co-founder Bennink, Michael Moore, Ab Baars, and Wolter Wierbos.

Saturday, April 13, 8pm

THE ENGINES
Dave Rempis, saxophones; Jeb Bishop, trombone; Nate McBride, bass; Tim Daisy, drums
Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street, $15

The first Philadelphia performance since 2007 by Chicago improvising unit The Engines featuring the saxophonist Dave Rempis, the trombonist Jeb Bishop, the bassist Nate McBride and the drummer Tim Daisy. All leading players from Chicago's improvised music scene, the four have worked in various projects with Mats Gustafsson, Roscoe Mitchell, Hamid Drake, Jason Adasiewicz and Nels Cline, and in groups such as Ken Vandermark's Territory Band, Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchesra, Peter Brotzmann's Chicago Tentet, Ballister and Vox Arcana. A leader-less quartet, each member brings original compositions to the table in order to foster what the group calls an “equal music relationship.” The Engines' new album, out in 2013, is a live set performed at Hungry Brain with the late saxophonist John Tchicai.

Wednesday, May 1, 8pm

CRAIG TABORN
Craig Taborn, piano; Thomas Morgan, bass; Gerald Cleaver, drums
Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street, $15

The Philadelphia debut of this trio led by the pianist Craig Taborn featuring the bassist Thomas Morgan and the drummer Gerald Cleaver. Taborn has worked with Tim Berne, Dave Douglas, Steve Coleman, and many others. Among his recent recordings are three excellent ECM albums: Roscoe Mitchell and the Note Factory's Far Side, Taborn's solo piano album Avenging Angel and the Michael Formanek Quartet's Small Places. Cleaver has worked with Taborn in numerous configurations, including in trios with William Parker and Lotte Anker, and in the Michael Formanek Quartet; Morgan has worked with Paul Motian, Masabumi Kikuchi, Jim Black, Bill Frisell and Lee Konitz.

Saturday, May 25, 8pm

SUN ROOMS
Jason Adasiewicz, vibraphone; Nate McBride, bass; Mike Reed, drums.
Philadelphia Art Alliance, 251 S. 18th Street, $15

A season finale performance by Jason Adasiewicz’s Sun Rooms. This Chicago-based trio led by the vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz, with the bassist Nate McBride and the drummer Mike Reed, will be playing for the first time in Philadelphia. Adasiewicz, a fixture of the Chicago jazz scene for many years and the leader of Rolldown, has worked in Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchestra, Josh Berman's Old Idea, and Mike Reed's Loose Assembly. McBride, a member of the Whammies and the Engines, has worked with Joe Morris, Joe McPhee, Paal-Nilssen Love, Hamid Drake and Ken Vandermark; Reed is a member of the AACM and the leader of People, Places and Thing, and has worked with Roscoe Mitchell, Josh Abrams, Jeff Parker and Dave Rempis.

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