Nick Mazzarella + Tomeka Reid | Arts + Literature Laboratory | Madison Contemporary Arts Center

Nick Mazzarella + Tomeka Reid

On Tuesday, September 19, 2017, saxophonist Nick Mazzarella and cellist Tomeka Reid perform at Arts + Literature Laboratory in support of their recent release Signaling, a collection of improvised duets inspired by avant-garde music of the 1970s. The idea to record as a duo arose when the two discovered a mutual admiration for the music of saxophonist Julius Hemphill and cellist Abdul Wadud. Using this touchstone as a starting point, Mazzarella and Reid play with a "striking amount of originality" (Derek Taylor, Dusted Magazine), adapting the duo setting as a vehicle for their own unique voices. Tickets $15 in advance online at mazzarellareid.bpt.me or $18 at the door. Online sales end 1 hour before the show. Doors open at 7:30pm. Show starts at 8pm.

Critical praise for Signaling:

"On this captivating, fully-improvised duo recording by alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella and cellist Tomeka Reid, we find a superlative example of two leading-edge musicians who continue to draw vital inspiration from their forbears." (Troy Dostert, All About Jazz)

"Completely sublime duets between alto saxophonist Nick Mazzarella and cellist Tomeka Reid – working here together at a level that seems to both bring a whole new sense of energy to duo improvisation, and also put the record at the level of some of the most exciting work of the 70s!" (Dusty Groove )

Saxophonist and composer Nick Mazzarella has been described as a "student of jazz’s deep history and a freedom seeker unwilling to let rules hold back expression." (Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader). He has maintained a consistent presence in Chicago's music scene since the early 2000s, and his regular performances there represent an aesthetically unique contribution to the city's rich jazz and improvised music culture. His working trio and quintet have served as the primary vehicles for his endeavors as a composer and leader, while as a collaborator or sideman he has performed and recorded with such artists as Tomeka Reid, Makaya McCraven, Hamid Drake, Joshua Abrams, and Rob Mazurek. He has released recordings on Nessa Records, Clean Feed Records, and the International Anthem Recording Company imprint, among others, and has performed throughout the United States and Scandinavia. Mazzarella also curates two concert series: the Anagram Series, presented weekly at Elastic Arts in... Read More

Tomeka Reid by Mark Pallman, NY Times

Recently described as a “New Jazz Power Source” by the New York Times, cellist and composer Tomeka Reid emerged as one of the most original, versatile, and curious musicians in the Chicago’s bustling jazz and improvised music community over the last decade. Now based in New York, her distinctive melodic sensibility, usually braided to a strong sense of groove, has been featured in many distinguished ensembles over the years. Reid has been a key member of ensembles led by legendary reedists like Anthony Braxton and Roscoe Mitchell, as well as a younger generation of visionaries including flutist Nicole Mitchell, singer Dee Alexander, and drummer Mike Reed. She is also a co- leader of the adventurous string trio, Hear in Now, with violinist Mazz Swift and bassist Silvia Bolognesi. Reid released her debut recording as a bandleader in 2015, with the eponymous recording by the Tomeka Reid Quartet (Jason Roebke, Tomas Fujiwara and Mary Halvorson), a lively yet charged debut album that is... Read More

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Arts + Literature Laboratory is located at 111 S. Livingston Street #100, Madison, Wisconsin, 53703.

Our galleries are open Tuesday through Friday 10am-5pm and Saturday noon to 5pm, and other programs take place throughout the week. Please check the events calendar and education section for details.

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