Gerrit Hatcher //sax & Julian Kirchner //drums - (Chicago) "Improvised solo saxophone performance isn’t the kind of thing you’d expect a 26-year-old newcomer to the scene to jump into with both feet. But Gerrit Hatcher makes a convincing case that he’s ready on his new cassette, Good Weight (Amalgam), a succinct offering that keeps the focus on basic ideas. The album begins with a pair of dedications to two often overlooked heavies of the free-jazz era—fellow tenor saxophonists Frank Lowe and Frank Wright—on which Hatcher reveals a flair for motific improvisation, uncorking a richly marbled tone spiked with leaps into his instrument’s extreme upper register. The pieces reflect the way their dedicatees bridged the gap between postbop propulsion and outward-bound exploration...Each little melodic, rhythmic, or coloristic scheme flows naturally into the next, with the saxophonist moving into more tender passages as easily as he blows down walls. " - Chicago Reader http://www.amalgamusic.org/catalog/physical/good-weight-gerrit-hatcher https://juliankirshnerjakirecords.bandcamp.com/releases
Heterodyne (DC/Balt) is an improvisational collaboration between Ted Zook and Maria Shesiuk, sometimes joined by other musical improvisers including Bob Boilen, Patrick Whitehead, Doug Kallmeyer, Jerry Busher, and Sarah Hughes.
Maria Shesiuk "is an experimental improviser from Baltimore. She uses vintage Casio keyboards manipulated through various effects for live experimental music improvisations. Recently she also started composing electronic music using Moog synthesizers, manipulated vocals, and field recordings." Ted Zook is "primarily a nylon-string guitarist; however, in live performances he more commonly plays an NS Design Omni Bass, set up as a basscello, through digital signal processors." He has frequently performed at the Sonic Circuits Festival in DC. More info on Heterodyne's performers: https://the-heterodyne-project.tumblr.com/; links to free downloads of Heterodyne's sessions and performances: https://soundcloud.com/the-heterodyne-project.
Sandy Ewen (Houston) - has released several albums, including a duo with guitarist Tom Carter, a trio with bassist Damon Smith & drummer Weasel Walter, and a rock album with Austin’s Weird Weeds. Ewen’s visual work is closely tied to her work in sound; she uses both mediums to explore texture, composition and materials. https://sandyewen.bandcamp.com/album/in-between-the-known-and-the-unknown
