IMOO #89, 90

November 24, 2013: #89 – Ken Aldcroft’s Convergence Ensemble – cd release: Saskatoon

• Ken Aldcroft- guitar
• Karen Ng- alto saxophone
• Nicole Rampersaud- trumpet
• Scott Thomson- trombone
• Wes Neal- bass
• Joe Sorbara- drums

Saxophonist Paul Newman will be playing a solo saxophone set as an opener.

This six-piece group, featuring the instrumentation of a fairly conventional modern jazz ensemble, is the primary conduit for Ken Aldcroft’s compositional and conceptual work. In performance, a set list serves less as a road map for the execution of Ken’s varied and dynamic pieces and more like a menu of possibilities; the group’s members can, individually or collectively, spontaneously arrange any of the available material. Employing a system of aural and gestural cues, the group playfully and creatively reshapes each piece in the spirit of free improvisation, the approach that underpins the ensemble’s composite musical experience. The current personnel of the Convergence Ensemble is the result of the amalgamation of various Aldcroft ensembles of and, with numerous recordings and national tours under their collective belt, the sextet is a thoroughly cohesive musical unit. Each player is as dynamic a soloist on his or her instrument as they come not only in Toronto’s lively creative music scene, but Canada-wide as well. Saskatoon is their fifth CD release, all on the Trio Records and Production label: Sneaky Pete-Slugs’ (2012) Our Hospitality (2009), Trolleys (2008) and The Great Divide (2006).

December 1, 2013: #90 – Fire Moss

• David Parker – double bass, electronics
• K. L. Sealegs – synthesizers, pedals
  

live improvisational soundscapes, blending elements of synthetic drones, melodic dirges and freaked-out noise.