May 20, 2012: #52 – Craig Pedersen’s Grey Areas album launch

Craig says:

On May 20th, I am proud to release my solo trumpet disc, Grey Areas, in an extremely limited artist edition of 25 discs. The recording was my prime focus for the month of March, where each day I wrote, recorded and refined a new piece until I arrived at these compositions. The music of Grey Areas draws heavily on contemporary practice in trumpet playing and improvisation and explores the integration of non-binary intellectual discourse in every day life. They strive to get to the core of traditional song forms, while at the same time blowing them wide open to show how, like in life, the most interesting parts are the in-between areas, or the shades of grey, where more is alike than different.

Since recording, I have been designing and manufacturing the package. All the packaging has been painstakingly hand-crafted, from hand-folding the envelopes, to unique hand-painted watercolour covers, individually handwritten tracklistings and individually hand-written scores/notes for each piece on the album. Each package also comes with printed liner notes explaining the project. Once all 25 packages are gone, they will be gone for good.

I’m extremely excited for this project, and hope that you can make it out.

Check out this great video documenting the project, made by my good friend Pixie Cram.

Click here to RSVP on facebook and let us know you’re coming to concert #52.

May 6, 2012: #51 – Heather Segger & Mark Segger

Mark Segger is a drummer, composer, and bandleader actively involved in the jazz and improvised music scenes in Toronto. Regularly performing with the Kyle Brenders Quartet, Fern Lindzon, Lightsweetcrude, and the Parker Abbott Piano Duo, Mark leads the Mark Segger Sextet (which released “The Beginning” in 2011), plays solo, co-leads the improvising duo Segger vs. Segger, and is a member of Blunt Object, the Robin Jessome Quintet, Rhinosaurus, Ken Aldcroft’s Alien Life Bomb, and Holy Blue Ghost. Originally from Edmonton Alberta, where he completed the Grant MacEwan Music program, Mark studied at St. FX (BMus) in Antigonish Nova Scotia, the University of Toronto (MMus), attended the Vancouver Creative Music Institute in 2008, the Banff Jazz Workshop in 2009, and the School for Improvised Music in Brooklyn in 2010.

Heather Segger is an active member of the Toronto jazz and improvised music communities as trombonist, composer, bandleader, and curator. Currently, Heather is a member of the “Mark Segger Sextet,” “Blunt Object,” the “DanJam Orchestra,” “Radiant Brass,” “Lowlands,” composer and bandleader for her own ensembles, and performs in projects involving improvisation and movement. Heather has had the pleasure of performing with an eclectic group of artists including Sylvie Courvoisier, Dave Douglas, members of the ICP Orchestra, and Owen Pallett. She has attended the Banff International Jazz and Creative Music Workshop, the University of Toronto, StFX University, and MacEwan College.

Click here to RSVP on facebook and let us know you’re coming.

April 1, 2012: #49 - Where is thy sting, bee?

• Pixie Cram – video projection
• Rory Magill – percussion
• Jennifer Giles – accordion
• Mark Molnar – cello, electronics
• John Higney – guitar, electronics
• David Broscoe – reeds
• Ryan Purchase – trombone
• Craig Pedersen – trumpet
• Linsey Wellman – reeds

A collection of some of Ottawa’s finest join forces to explore the many iterations and possibilities of drones and drone inspired music.  Expect more than you would expect…

Click here to RSVP on facebook and let us know you’re coming to concert #49.

April 15, 2012: #50 - James Annett

• James Annett – viola
• Jamie Gullikson – drums
• Craig Pedersen – trumpet
• Linsey Wellman – saxophone

James Annett is an improvising violist currently based in Montreal. His music explores the intersections between diverse styles of music such as jazz, avant-garde, rock, folk and traditional music in an improvisational setting. He has performed alongside Ellwood Epps, Eric Chenaux and Rainer Wiens, as well as in myriad ad hoc co-operative bands. He performs regularly at improvised music events and festivals in Montreal, Ottawa and New York, including the Mardi Spaghetti and IMOO concert series. Recent activities include workshops at the Banff Centre and at SIM New York, where he studied privately with the violists Mat Maneri and Eyvind Kang. He has also studied privately with violinist Josh Zubot.

Click here to RSVP on facebook and let us know you’re coming to concert #50.

March 4, 2012: #47 – Jeff Morton

• Jeff Morton – electronics

Jeff Morton is a composer and performer currently based in Regina, SK. His music and media art are playful, experimental explorations of sound, sound-making, and compositional processes using found and musical objects and materials. His work includes traditional and graphic notation for instrumental chamber music, DIY audio building and bending, and electroacoustic performance. Jeff has a Masters Degree in Music Composition from the University of Victoria in 2008, and he has performed in festivals, concert halls, and off-site locations around Canada and Europe. Find Jeff Morton online at: www.nuthre.ca

Click here to RSVP on facebook and let us know you’re coming to concert #47.

March 18, 2012: #48 – Land of Marigold

• Elwood Epps – Trumpet
• Josh Zubot – Violin

Land of Marigold is the mysterious convergence of two of Montreal’s weirdest and busiest improvisers, Josh Zubot and Ellwood Epps. Originating in rural Saskatchewan and Toronto respectively, the two have played together in Nicolas Caloia’s Ratchet Orchestra, Mecha Fixes Clocks, Matana Roberts’ Coin Coin, Sam Shalabi’s Land of Kush, and have with international visitors Marshall Allen, John Butcher and Myra Melford. They are also two of the founders of the weekly Mardi Spaghetti series, a mainstay in Montreal’s improvised music scene which wil celebrate its 4th birthday just weeks after this Ottawa performance.

The music they make in Land of Marigold is foot-tapping for ghosts, seeing the northern lights from underwater; it’s music that engages the psyche as well as the soul and the body. It’s music that moves fast enough to get up a good sweat following it, or being followed by it. This will be only their second performance off the island of Montreal, following a late night performance at the Guelph Jazz Festival in 2010. They will be releasing their first recording very soon.

Find Land of Marigold online at www.ellwoodepps.blogspot.com and www.joshzubot.ca

Click here to RSVP on facebook and let us know you’re coming to concert #48.

February 19, 2012: #46 – Instant Places

• Laura Kavanaugh – electronics
• Ian Birse – electronics

Laura Kavanaugh and Ian Birse create intermedia artworks on location using
software instruments they design. In their work Laura and Ian focus on the
moment of creation, combining improvised actions in performance with sound
and image sequences generated in real time. In 2003 they began Instant
Places, a series of location-specific works which they have realized
across Canada, Australia, Japan, the United States, and South America. A
full project archive is available at www.instantplaces.ca

Click here to RSVP on facebook and let us know you’re coming to concert #46.

March 4, 2012: #47 – Jeff Morton

• Jeff Morton – electronics

Jeff Morton is a composer and performer currently based in Regina, SK. His music and media art are playful, experimental explorations of sound, sound-making, and compositional processes using found and musical objects and materials. His work includes traditional and graphic notation for instrumental chamber music, DIY audio building and bending, and electroacoustic performance. Jeff has a Masters Degree in Music Composition from the University of Victoria in 2008, and he has performed in festivals, concert halls, and off-site locations around Canada and Europe. Find Jeff Morton online at: www.nuthre.ca

Click here to RSVP on facebook and let us know you’re coming to concert #47.

January 29, 2012: #43 – Saul Goodman

• Beatlash (Théan Slabbert) – guitar
• Dolla Menu (Chris Burling) – percussion

Saul Goodman is an Ottawa-based musical duo comprised of Beatlash (guitar) and Chris “Dolla Menu” Burling (percussion). They met while studying composition at the University of Ottawa, and started playing together regularly. Their music is largely spontaneous, influenced by the sounds of folk, hip-hop and post-rock, with elements of noise, minimalism and experimental music. Find Saul Goodman online at: saulgoodman.bandcamp.com

Click here to RSVP on facebook and let us know you’re coming to concert #43

February 5, 2012: #44 – Gillian Kirkland and Brandon Wint

• Gillian Kirkland – accordion, voice
• Brandon Wint – spoken word
• Philippe Charbonneau – bass
• Michel Delage – drums

Brandon Wint is an Ottawa based writer and performer of spoken word poetry. Since discovering his aptitude for spoken word in March of 2008, Brandon has dedicated his life to uncovering the inherently beautiful and poetic elements that exist in every part of life. As a poet, he is also deeply influenced by the stories and images that explore the human condition. He is therefore often compelled to investigate the themes of mortality, confusion, love and fear in his writing. Brandon has been a member of two National Championship winning poetry slam teams, and has toured the country extensively as a performer.

Gillian Kirkland is a singer, composer and accordionist. Her music is sometimes described as Neo-Cabaret with influences ranging from classical European to American folk and jazz traditions. Before moving to Ottawa in 2009, she lived for many years in Montreal where she was a member of the experimental vocal ensemble Mruta Mertsi. She has been involved in collaborations with musicians of various persuasions as well as storytellers, poets, dancers and playwrights. She performs regularly across Ontario and Quebec and is very exited to exchange with other Ottawa area improvisers in this unscripted event. Find Gillian online at www.gilliankirkland.net

February 12, 2012: #45 – Vartan Mamagonian

• Patrick Breiner – tenor saxophone and voice

Patrick Breiner performs his solo saxophone works under the alias
Vartan Mamigonian, and fittingly so. His body remains intact, but it is inhabited by another type of being altogether. He and his saxophone are a conduit – piping the energies of the cosmos, geological time, and neurological impulse through seven pounds of conical metal. Find Vartan Mamagonian online at: www.VartanMamigonian.net

IMOO Orchestra at WinterJazzFest

The IMOO Orchestra (or IMOOO) will be performing at the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival’s WinterJazzFest in February. The IMOOO will be comprised of many artists who have participated in IMOO’s concert series and will be under the leadership of Jesse Stewart. Come see the IMOOO at Club Saw on Saturday, February 4, at 3pm. Tickets are $15. Click here to reserve your tickets.

Volunteer Opportunities at IMOO

IMOO is growing and we’re currently looking for volunteers to help with the following:

• Facebook and other social media
• Archiving (photographs and video)
• Working the door at concerts
• Postering
• Updating local arts listings
• French translation

All volunteers will receive a free IMOO t-shirt and CD, as well as acknowledgement of your help on the website and, where possible, at concerts. High school students can use IMOO volunteer hours towards their OSSD graduation requirements.

If interested please contact us.

IMOO in the News

Our press page has been updated with some awesome articles by OttawaJazzScene.ca about IMOO co-founder Craig Pedersen and his latest CD release, recent IMOO performers, A Very Aylmer Christmas!, and unusual instruments at IMOO. Keep checking our press page for more updates.

January 8, 2012: #41 – Bruce/Wayne: the other dynamic duo

• Wayne Eagles – guitar, loops
• T. Bruce Wittet – drums, percussion

Blending ambient textures with more melodic structures, this Ottawa-based duo recall musical influences including David Torn, Jon Christensen, John Abercrombie, Eddie Marshall, Allan Holdsworth, and Jim Keltner. Long-time collaborators, now prepping a BRUCE / WAYNE recording for early 2012 release, their most recent recording project is a double-duo collaboration with LA-based guitarist Ken Rosser & NYC-based drummer Ian Froman: REGALS. Find Bruce/Wayne online at: www.myspace.com/eagleswittet

Click here RSVP on facebook and let us know you’re coming to concert #41.

January 22, 2012: #42 – Titanium Trio

• Lina Allemano – trumpet
• Rob Clutton – fender bass
• Nick Fraser – drums

Titanium Trio is a unique ensemble with its own distinctive and somewhat unusual stripped-down-to-the-bone sound: trumpet, fender bass, drums. The group plays bandleader/trumpeter Lina Allemano’s new original “avant-prog-jazz” music, blurring the line between composition and improvisation. Although the trio is a relatively new group, the members have an 18 year history of close musical collaborations in various creative projects such as “N”, Lina Allemano Four, Cluttertones, Drumheller, and others. Lina Allemano trumpet; Rob Clutton fender bass; Nick Fraser drums. Find Titanium Trio online at: www.linaallemano.com

Click here to RSVP on facebook and let us know you’re coming to concert #42.

December 4, 2011: #39 – Warren/Charbonneau/Pedersen/Wellman

Four Ottawa regulars come together to create instant music.  These guys have played together a lot over the years and always come up with something great.  Expect an evening of creative, inspired music.  We’re looking forward to hearing what comes out!

• Scott Warren – drums
• Philippe Charbonneau – bass
• Craig Pedersen – trumpet
• Linsey Wellman – bass clarinet, saxophone

December 18, 2011: #40 – A Very Ayler Christmas!

Saxophonist Bernard Stepien and his little helpers introduce the music of Albert Ayler to that of the sweet baby Jesus. HO! HO! HO!

Discover the true meaning of Aylermas!

Here are some words from Bernard:

This year, our Albert Ayler – Christmas Carols concert is in a maturing phase.  Our last year released CD has had a warm welcome by the Ayler experts worldwide and landed some encouraging reviews.  Also, it did not take more than a few hours for out of town venues to accept our proposals and start sending promotion material to local mediu.  Thus, this year we are playing Montreal and Toronto as a start which means that we should be totally hot by the time we hit Ottawa.

November 20, 2011: #37 – Generator (Molnar/Gullikson/Higney/Broscoe)

This is going to be a great show – the resurrection of an Ottawa classic!
…Generator generates generations for the Generations….generally…

• John Higney – guitar, electronics
• David Broscoe – woodwinds, electronics
• Mark Molnar – cello, electronics
• Jamie Gullikson – drums

“generator reeks and grates. a kaleidoscope of calliopes.”  Rory Magill
“featuring tuning forks, selected cans, and a cello that once housed a poet,  this is a show not to miss, or to miss.”  Max Keeping
“what a bunch of shit.”  Paul Anka
“i friggin’ love these guys!” Hon S Harper
“wooah omma lahhhhhh ssssssss zap!”  R Murray Schaefer
“hey hey hey!” F Albert
“Let’s just make Generator a PR company…to hell with the “music”…we’re pretty ok at this!”  John Higney

November 27, 2011: #38 – Elwood Epps/John Geggie/Jesse Stewart

Boy – have we got a great show for you this week!  A fine, fine trumpeter from Montreal is going to be by, playing with two Ottawa heavyweights.  Not to be missed!

Born in Toronto in 1976, trumpeter Ellwood Epps lives and works in Montreal, where he is a leading light on the improised music scene. In addition to playing often with Montrealers Josh Zubot (Land of Marigold), Nicolas Caloia (Ratchet Orchestra), John Heward (Murray Street Band), Lori Freedman, and Jean Derome, Epps has made music with Steve Lacy, William Parker, John Butcher, Axel Dörner, and Marshall Allen. He is co-founder and artistic director of L’envers and co-founder and co-director of the Mardi Spaghetti series, presenting about 150 concerts each year. This will be Ellwood’s last Canadian performance for a while, as he will be taking an extended visit to New York City immediately following this trip to Ottawa.

Ellwood, John and Jessie play together in the David Mott Quintet, which played for a sold-out audience at the 2010 Off Festival de Jazz de Montréal. They look forward to this, their first performance as a trio.

• Elwood Epps – trumpet
• John Geggie – bass
• Jesse Stewart – drums