Friday November 22 * 7pm * $10-20 * TICKETS
Bark Culture is a Philadelphia-based trio led by vibraphonist Victor Vieira-Branco, featuring Joey Sullivan on drums and John Moran on bass. The group just released their first album “Warm Wisdom” on Vieira-Branco’s label Temperphantom, with an accompanying 20 date tour through the United States. Warm Wisdom was included on Bandcamp’s “Best Jazz of September 2024”.
Opening the evening will be a duo performance by DC musicians Abe Mamet (french horn) and Alex Hamburger (flute, voice).
Victor Vieira-Branco is a Brazilian/American vibraphonist, having spent the 2010s in the vibrant São Paulo music scene. While Bark Culture is Vieira-Branco’s primary vehicle as a leader, his performances include work with Rob Mazurek’s Exploding Star Orchestra, the Chad Taylor Quintet, and as active as an improviser in the northeast region of the United States.
Joey Sullivan is a drummer and organizer based in Philadelphia focusing on free improvisation. He plays drums in groups like Bark Culture, The Ghost, Florry, Violet Salon III, and often works with improvisers such as Michael Foster, Webb Crawford, Victor Vieira-Branco, Brandon Lopez, TJ Borden, and others.
John Moran is a Philadelphia-based bassist and multi-instrumentalist whose projects include Bark Culture, The Ghost, Terracotta, and others. He often works with Ben Hall, Webb Crawford, James McKain, and many others.
“On a cold night last month, I walked into a show at the warm Lower East Side venue, Nublu, to a bass/drums/vibraphone trio ravenously bowing–the double bassist in arco arches; the vibes player, a bow in each hand, coaxing a tuned and resonant metallic hum out of the vibraphone’s keys; the drummer bowing a cymbal. It wasn’t noise per se, but a drone-y extramusical interlude, a sonically adventurous respite, before the trio edged back into a torrent of high-paced improvisation. So is this jazz in 2024? Bark Culture ripped through a seismic set of rhythmic improvisation and jazz voicings recalling the great improvisers of the NYC ‘90s when jazz improvisation slid untethered back and forth from song structure and abstract form. I can’t wait to hear what this trio does next.” - Scott McDowell, Aquarium Drunkard.