Paul Metzger Interviews Improvisers

An easily confused and very shy individual, Charlie Parr has been traveling around singing his songs ever since leaving Austin Minnesota in the 1980’s in search of Spider John Koerner, whom he found about 100 miles north at the Viking Bar one Sunday night. The experience changed his life, made him more or less unemployable, … Continue reading "Charlie Parr, guitar"

JT Bates has worked with artists from the ends of the spectrum.  Equally at home improvising with Paul Metzger, as well as delicately rumbling under a Pieta Brown song, the drums are an extension of his daily life.   Exposure and experience into improvised and creative music through a high school friendship with Ben Vida … Continue reading "JT Bates, drums"

Davu Seru is a drummer and composer. He has worked with numerous improvising musicians and composers throughout the United States and France. He is composer and bandleader for the ensembles Motherless Dollar and No Territory Band. For the year 2017-2018 he served as the first-ever composer-in-residence at Studio Z in Saint Paul. Davu has also … Continue reading "Davu Seru, percussion"

Pat Moriarty and Phil Hey began playing together in 1973. They have been dedicated jazz musicians and teachers ever since, performing in ensembles medium-sized and small. But their sax-drum duos make for a refreshing, intrepid, tightrope walk — always tricky and unpredictable, yet at this stage in their careers, well within their collective grasp, even … Continue reading "Pat Moriarty"

Sarah Larsson, anthropologist by training, likes to say that her day job is listening to people’s stories.  Sarah’s outreach work with the Somali Museum of Minnesota means that she gets to talk with fascinating community members every day, while helping to start a new cultural resource in Minnesota.  Sarah studied in Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia, … Continue reading "Sarah Larsson, vocalist, instrumentalist"

Shaped by 1960’s free jazz and the implications of composers like John Cage, Ornette Coleman and Captain Beefheart, the music of Visitor is chaotic, spiritual and oddly comforting in tumultuous times. It reflects our past, present and future in a real-time sound experience. The trio features Timothy Kane (drums and woodwinds), Keith Miller (tuba and … Continue reading "Curt Wenzel, trumpet, electronics"

George Cartwright is a Minnesota-based composer, performer, bandleader, producer and musical collaborator, with a prolific career spanning over 30 years. His career began in his home state of Mississippi, shaped by a childhood woven through with early memories of singing in church and learning songs at his grandfather’s knee. He grew up on rock-n-roll and … Continue reading "George Cartwright, saxophone"

Sean Hamilton is a percussionist, composer, improviser, and audio engineer whose interests primarily lie in the intersections of new music, electroacoustic music, free improvisation, experimental music, and interdisciplinary projects. Sean has presented performances throughout North America and in Europe, with featured performances including WKCR-FM New York’s Afternoon New Music, the Interference Series, the Red Room … Continue reading "Sean Hamilton, drums and electronics"

Alden has played in Twin Cities and elsewhere. Some of the great Musicians he has worked for include Douglas Ewart, Stephen Goldstein, Carei Thomas,  Benny Weinbeck,  Pat Patrick,  Billy Bang,  Roscoe Mitchell,  Julius Hemphill,  John Devine,  Bill Lang,  Adam Linz,  Chris Bates,  Tommy O’Donnell,  Ronnie Castrato,  Christine Rosholt,  Gene Adams,  Frank Hooks,  Don Cherry,  Dave Maslow, … Continue reading "Alden Ikeda, drums"

Noah Ophoven-Baldwin is an American cornetist and composer and a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Bill Brovold is an educator, visual artist, and composer/musician. He has performed with Rhys Chatham, Arthur Russell, and Glenn Branca; and led the New York band Strange Farm (feat. Billy Ficca of Television and Ernie Brooks of the Modern Lovers) and the six-to-thirteen-member Detroit post rock band Larval, which features his twangy guitar alongside a … Continue reading "Bill Brovold, guitar"

Patrick Marsche, percussion

“The bewitching and virtuosic vocalizing of Ndosi spans genres, ethnicities, species, continents, and likely galaxies, too.” – Greg Tate Of Tanzanian and African American heritage, Mankwe Ndosi is celebrated for a sound and practice that spans genres and disciplines: celebrating influences from Jazz and African legacies, Hip Hop and Soul, performance art, theater, public art … Continue reading "Mankwe Ndosi, vocalist"

Rick Ness. Reeds and percussion free improviser with Aerosol Pike.

Cory Healey’s unique drumming has led to collaborations with artists from many different genres. He has toured North America and Europe and had the privilege of performing with Kenny Wheeler, Dr Lonnie Smith, John Abercrombie, and David Berkman. While living in Chicago, he performed and recorded with Algernon, Fareed Haque’s Flat EarthEnsemble, W.W. Lowman, Ike Riley, … Continue reading "Cory Healey, drums"

Adam Zahller (b. 1988) is an American composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and improviser. As a composer, his concert works have received premieres from ensembles such as Loadbang, Duo Gelland, the 113 Collective, Eclipse Quartet, TAK, and Zeitgeist, as well as many acclaimed soloists. He holds a B.M. in music composition from the Chapman Conservatory, where he studied under … Continue reading "Adam Zahller, multi-instrumentalist"

Peter Goggin graduated in jazz studies at the University of Michigan, performed at the Detroit Jazz Festival with the university jazz orchestra. Peter was a three-year member of the Dakota Combo.

Matt Blair is a pianist and composer from Mpls, MN. He performed new solo work for Fender Rhodes, electronics, and found objects. This new work is an extension of ideas from his 2018 release “Shadow Sets”. https://mattblair.bandcamp.com/releases

Improvising guitarist in many ad hoc groups. Frequent collaborations with Milo Fine, Jaron Childs, and Davu Seru. Bass and guitar in Take Acre. Multi-instrumentalist in Brown Rainbow and Tall Walls. Guitarist in Tuning The Pulse, a short documentary about Jandek’s 2012 performance in Mankato, MN. Discography: Senilita with Milo Fine, Viv Corringham and Davu Seru … Continue reading "Charles Gillett, guitar"

Percussionist Kevin Cosgrove.  His musical projects include Transitional Species and Psychomantic the Ritual Death Cult.

Sam Worthington, Bass

Adam Linz joins us once again for part two. Adam is a well-known bass player in the Twin Cities jazz scene. He co-leads the internationally award-winning group Fat Kid Wednesdays with childhood friends Mike Lewis and JT Bates, touring extensively throughout Europe and North America. Adam has taught at Macalester College, Augsburg College, Minnesota Institute … Continue reading "Adam Linz, bass, Part Two"

Adam is a well-known bass player in the Twin Cities jazz scene. He co-leads the internationally award-winning group Fat Kid Wednesdays with childhood friends Mike Lewis and JT Bates, touring extensively throughout Europe and North America. Adam has taught at Macalester College, Augsburg College, Minnesota Institute for Talented Youth and EDAM Music outreach in Paris, … Continue reading "Adam Linz, bass, Part One"

Renowned reed player and music educator Donald Washington was born in Mobile AL, where he spent most of his childhood before migrating to Chicago with his family. In the windy city Donald took his first serious step towards becoming a musician after his father bought him a clarinet. Upon the completion of two hitches in … Continue reading "Donald Washington, saxophones"

Levi Schwartzberg (vibraphone) is a 2014 graduate of Minneapolis Southwest High School, where he played for school ensembles, including the combo Cosmic Troubadours. As a vibraphonist, Levi performed with the Dakota Combo and PipJazz Youth All-Stars for two years each. He studied piano for about ten years, and took up the vibes in middle school, … Continue reading "Levi Schwarzburg, Vibraphone"

Clay Pufahl, saxophone 1998 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, saxophonist/educator Clay Pufahl has performed with the Wolverines Classic Jazz Orchestra, Cedar Avenue Big Band, Skyway Big Band, Five by Design, B4 (swing band), the Minnesota Orchestra, the Four Tops, Lou Rawls, Franki Valli, and Minneapolis-based groups the Senders and Soul Tight Committee, as … Continue reading "Clay Pufahl, saxophone"

Chris Weller is a tenor saxophonist and composer living in Forest Park, IL. He attended Berklee College of Music on scholarship from 2007-2010 where he received his bachelors degree in saxophone performance. During that time, Weller performed in jazz groups across the nation. Since college, he has performed internationally as a bandleader, established a reputable … Continue reading "Chris Weller, tenor saxophone"

Byron Johnson-Blanchard is a drummer, composer, bandleader, and music educator based out of the Twin Cites. Since graduating from McNally Smith College of Music in 2008, Byron has performed with renown Twin Cites musical acts such as High & Mighty, Tom Hunter, The Dap Squad, Sam Kuusisto, Vintage Raggs, Zacc Harris, Mill City Hot Club, and Papa John Kolstad. … Continue reading "Byron Johnson-Blanchard, drums"

Crystal Myslajek is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and sound artist who blends looping, ethereal vocals, and effects with minimalism, classical piano, and pop. She collaborates across disciplines including experimental film, performance art, theater, and dance. In 2016 she composed and performed music for Rachel Jendrzejewski’s play, ENCYCLOPEDIA. In 2015 she debuted multimedia compositions commissioned by the … Continue reading "Crystal Myslajek, Keyboard, Voice"

Born in New York City, he grew up in Philadelphia and the St. Paul suburb of Roseville, Minnesota. He started his music study with mentor and legendary jazz drummer Ed Blackwell at the Creative Music Studio in New York in 1975. His relationship with Blackwell continued until Blackwell’s death in 1992. He has also studied … Continue reading "Phil Hey, drums"

Jay Afrisando uses music and sound-based art to share awareness of human-nature-technology relationships; this includes building a better relationship between people and technology, promoting a healthier symbiosis between human & nature, and inducing consciousness of our senses (and its critical appraisal)—especially the auditory one—towards the surrounding. To communicate these vision to public, broad range of approaches … Continue reading "Jay Afrisando, saxophone"

Matt Rahaim – Hindustani vocalist accompanied by, Abhinav Sharma – tabla and Abhijit Kshirsagar -harmonium Matt has been performing Hindustani vocal music both in India and North America since 2000. His other performance experience includes oud, Afro-Cuban drumming, simulogue, shape-note singing, experimental vocal performance, Thank-You-Play, and Javanese gamelan. Matt also studies and teaches Middle Eastern … Continue reading "Matt Rahaim, Hindustani vocalist"

Michelle’s career began in Minneapolis, MN when she returned after undergraduate school in Evanston, IL, after receiving a BA in music from Northwestern University. During this early phase in her career, she was recognized and frequently funded as a composer, collaborating with Twin Cities choreographers, filmmakers and theater artists, in addition to composing for her … Continue reading "Michelle Kinney, cello"

Steve Kenny, trumpeter, composer and bandleader is a founding member of ‘the illicit sextet’, “Group 47”, “What Would Monk Do?” and his own Quartets, and he is the creative force behind the production company “illicit Productions”, (www.illicit-productions.com) which produces well over one hundred live shows a year and has a growing yearly catalog of Jazz … Continue reading "Steve Kenny, trumpet"

Cole Pulice is a saxophonist and improvisor based in the Twin Cities. He’s been fortunate to work, collaborate, and learn from a beautiful and diverse array of musicians and artists from across disciplinary boundaries. Cole co-runs the brass and woodwind horn choir ‘drone band,’ writes and performs solo compositions for saxophone and electronics as ‘Cole,’ … Continue reading "Cole Pulice, saxophone"

David King (born June 8, 1970) is an American drummer and composer from Minneapolis. He is known for being a founding member of the jazz groups The Bad Plus (with Reid Anderson and Ethan Iverson) and Happy Apple (with Michael Lewis and Erik Fratzke) although he is active in many other projects including free jazz … Continue reading "Dave King, drums"

2019 marks Milo’s 50th year working exclusively in the field of free jazz/improvised music. More to the point (and co-opting bassist/composer Kent Carter’s autobiographical liner note to the 1966 LP ‘Jazz Realities’), he states: “I was born January 22, 1952 (Minneapolis, Minnesota) and am not yet dead.” https://milofine.com/aesthetics-2/ https://milofine.com/introduction-to-oogleplex/ https://milofine.com/background/

Jamal Moore, founder of Organix Trio, has self-released a new collection of music, Psalms Of Baltimore, which explores the migration and historic experience of African Americans, specifically people who called Baltimore home.

Named in reference to a metaphorical hound-dog, Shep and Me is the experimental folk project of Matthew Himes. A next door neighbor once remarked that his singing voice sounded like that of a cat being strangled. Born of solitude and anonymity in Austin, TX in summer 2001 using two broken boomboxes, a portable AM radio … Continue reading "Matthew Himes"

Michael Lewis is a saxophonist from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a founding member of contemporary jazz groups Happy Apple and Fat Kid Wednesdays.