Spires That in the Sunset Rise with Michael Zerang + Brandon Lopez | Arts + Literature Laboratory | Madison Contemporary Arts Center

Spires That in the Sunset Rise with Michael Zerang + Brandon Lopez

Join us for a concert featuring Spires That in the Sunset Rise with Michael Zerang, and a solo set by NYC bassist Brandon Lopez on Sunday, May 21, 2017, 8:00pm (doors at 7:30pm). $10 at the door.

Beginning in January of 2011, composer, percussionist and improvisor Michael Zerang joined Spires That in the Sunset Rise for a year-long collaboration to explore a broad range of sonic and textural improvisations in a series of live concerts throughout the year. The collaboration culminated in residency at the Experimental Sound Studio in Chicago, as a part of their Artist Residence Program, where the trio was able to perform and record a massive amount of material. The partial result of this effort is the Illinois Glossolalia LP released through Feeding Tube Records in January 2017.

Spires That in the Sunset Rise

Since 2001, Spires That in the Sunset Rise have been unsettling and thrilling audiences with their brand of sonic alchemy. Described by Jack Rose as a “female Sun City Girls,” they contributed a different slant to the New Folk movement by incorporating various avant-garde and world music influences into their sound. They have been compared to artists ranging from the Raincoats to Meredith Monk to Comus to Harry Partch. Their most recent album, Beasts in the Garden, was described by Marc Masters  as “some kind of long-lost Terry Riley/Angus MacLise collaboration, equally devoted to divine repetition and center-seeking ritual.” They have eight full length albums, a few side releases, and several solo efforts. The band is now the duo of multi-instrumentalists Kathleen Baird and Taralie Peterson. They have toured the United States, Canada, and Europe many times and have recently pushed their evolution into the territory of woodwinds. They have collaborated with musicians in the realm... Read More

Michael Zerang

Michael Zerang was born in Chicago, Illinois and is a first generation American of Assyrian decent. He has been a active musician, composer, and producer since 1976, focusing extensively on improvised music, free jazz, contemporary composition, puppet theater, experimental theater, and international musical forms. He has been a long-standing member of The Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet, Friction Brothers, Brötzmann/McPhee/Kessler/Zerang Quartet, and Survival Unit III with Joe McPhee and Fred Lonberg-Holm. He has collaborated extensively with contemporary theater, dance, and other multidisciplinary forms and has received three Joseph Jefferson Awards for Original Music Composition in Theater, in 1996, 1998, and 2000. He has over one-hundred titles in his discography and has toured nationally and internationally to 34 countries since 1981 with and ever-widening pool of collaborators. He was the artistic director of the Link's Hall Performance Series from 1985-1989 where he produced... Read More

Brandon Lopez

Brandon Lopez is a composer and bassist devoted to the exploration and execution of the creative musics. Since moving to NYC in 2013, he's found himself working with a myriad of the cities finest players and outfits (Nate Wooley, Peter Evans, Marshall Allen, Gerald Cleaver, William Parker, Chris Corsano, Tyshawn Sorey, Joe Morris, Ingrid Laubrock, Tony Malaby, Tom Rainey, Mike Pride, as well as many others).

He currently leads the trio The Mess (Chris Corsano on drums and Sam Yulsman on piano) and performs as a soloist.

As a sideman, he's been dubbed "the ubiquitous." Some current work is with the Nate Wooley 4tet, William Parker's Little Huey Orchestra, Weasel Walter Large Ensemble, Leila Bordreuil Quartet for Bass trio and Cello Solo, The Jaimie Branch Trio, Amirtha Kidambi's Elder Ones, amongst many others.

He was recently awarded a grant by the Foundation for Contemporary Art for his guitar trio piece "Movement."

He attended New England Conservatory... 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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