THE BOX IS EMPTY’S TOP PICK:

Table and Chairs’s Cry Roar Festival. Cafe Racer, Seattle, WA. January 18-20, 2013.

It feels like the Racer Sessions have been around forever.  They are an absolute staple of Seattle new music.  The devoted artists of the Racer Session build musical bridges between almost any imaginable genre: jazz to contemporary classical, electro-pop to burlesque, free improv, chance composition, noise, eye music, and avant-whatever.  And to top it off, there is no more welcoming community of musicians in the American Northwest, no better place to just play and see what happens, and no better venue for composers and improvisers to philosophize, experiment, and wander the reaches of their own imaginations.

This week, the Racer Sessions celebrates its third birthday with an exemplary line-up of music and musicians spread over three nights.  Friday night, hear Insistent Caterpillars, Neil Welch’s Sleeper Ensemble, and Wand.  Saturday, hear Christian Pincock’s Live Composition Ensemble, Syrinx Effect, and Japanese Guy.  Sunday, make sure you bring your axe (in whatever form) to the Racer Session curated by King Tears Bat Trip, followed by an after party with a secret guest artist.

This should be a fantastic weekend of sounds and exploration. Go to as much of it as possible.  In addition, the Racer Sessions have titled this years celebration after baritone saxophonist Andrew Carrico’s quip about his sound, it’s “somewhere between a cry and a roar.”  Carrico passed away last year, and so this year’s festival has been titled in his honor.  His was not the only tragically early death to befall Cafe Racer this year, nor to affect it’s community of Seattle artists, musicians, and neighborhood residents.  This weekend’s festival–aside from being a stupendous collection of wacky, beautiful, spare, delicate, loud, and fun sounds–is sure to be a triumph of music over tragedy, and a beautiful tribute to those lost too soon.

Schedule:

Friday, January 18th

8:30pm: Insistent Caterpillars | 9:30pm: Sleeper Ensemble | 10:30pm: Wand

 Saturday, January 19th

8:30pm: Christian Pincock Live Composition Ensemble | 9:30pm: Syrinx Effect | 10:30pm: Japanese Guy

Sunday, January 20th

8:00pm: King Tears Bat Trip curates the Racer Sessions | 10:15pm: Super Secret After Party Guest Artist!

 *  *  *

HAPPENING THIS WEEK – 10/29/2012-11/4/2012 – Seattle:

• Nat Evans – Narrow Aisle to the Deep North World Premiere. The Wulf, Los Angeles, CA.  January 16, 2013 8:00 p.m..
• Table and Chairs – Cry Roar Festival. Cafe Racer, Seattle, WA. January 18-20, 2013.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK – 10/29/2012-11/4/2012 – Elsewhere:

• Jamie Jordan – Angels in America by Peter Eötvös.  Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, CA.  January 15, 2012, 8:00 p.m..
• Nat Evans – Narrow Aisle to the Deep North World Premiere. UCSD San Diego, CA.  January 19, 2013.
• Marc Yeats – Quarter-Sounds World Premiere.  European Clarinet Association, Gent, Belgium. January 20, 2013.

HAPPENING SOON:

• Amy Beth Kirsten – Two Monologues.  The Red Hedgehog, London UK. January 26, 2013, 7:00 p.m..
• Nat Evans/John Teske – Sound Installation at ONN/OF Festival. The Sweater Factory, Seattle, WA. January 26-27, 2013.
• Lauren Husting – BrassChix Annual Forum.  University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN. January 27, 2013.
• Amanda DeBoer Bartlett – Dal Niente presents Voices. Music Institute of Chicago, Evanston, IL. January 31, 2013.
• Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra – Chamber Music. The Chapel, Seattle, WA. February 2, 2013, 2:00 p.m..
• Amanda DeBoer Bartlett – I Vapor Breath CD release party.  The Mastercroft Building, Omaha, NE.  February 6, 2013, 7:00 p.m..
• Seattle Modern Orchestra – Delirious Serialists!. Poncho Hall, Seattle, WA. February 8, 2013, 8:00 p.m..
• Leah Maria Villareal – Hotel Elefant: Experiments in Opera.  Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, NY.  February 9, 2013
• Kate Maroney – Liebeslieder Waltzer.  Sprague Hall, New Haven, CT. February 9, 2013, 8:00 p.m..
• Seattle Modern Orchestra – Derlious Serialists: Music by Maderna, Nono, and Boulez.  Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA.  February 9, 2013, 8:00 p.m..
• Amanda DeBoer Bartlett – Deer Hoof and Dal Niente at the Ecstatic Music Festival.  Merkin Concert Hall, New York, NY.  February 20, 2012, 7:30 p.m..
• Leah Kardos – New work premiered by Kelly Lovelady and Ruthless Jabiru.  London, UK.  March 2013.
• Nat Evans/Evan Smith – Solo Recital and Two Old Ghosts World Premiere. Aasen-Hull Hall, Eugene, OR. March 2, 2013.
• Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble – Guest Artist at Cadre’s Annual Concert.  Columbia College, Chicago, IL.  March 8, 2013.
• People Inside Electronics – Electric Virtuosity. Monk Space, Los Angeles, CA. March 9, 2013, 8:00 p.m..
• Lindsay Kesselman/Kate Maroney – Einstein on the Beach.  Hong Kong Cultural Center, Hong Kong. March 8-10, 2013.
• Parnassus Project – Music at Covington Library. Covington Library Covington, WA.  March 24, 2013, 2:00 p.m..
• Lindsay Kesselman – Violations by Hannah Lash.  Yale University, New Haven, CT.  March 28, 2013, 8:00 p.m..
• Byron Au Young – Stuck Elevator World Premiere. American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco, CA.  April 4-18, 2013.
• Evan Smith – The Box Is Empty Solo Recital. The Chapel, Seattle, WA. April 12, 2013, 7:30 p.m..
• Amy Beth Kirsten – The Gift World Premiere.  Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh, PA. April 16, 2013, 8:00 p.m..
• Kate Maroney – St. John Passion. Concordia College, NY.  April 21, 2013, 4:00 p.m..
• Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble – Workshop with Dal Niente and Robert Honstein.  High Concept Labs, Chicago, IL. May 10-11, 2013.
• Kate Maroney – Quagmires and the Known Knowns World Premiere. Galapagos Art Space, Brooklyn, NY. May 21, 2013, 8:00 p.m..
• Amanda DeBoer Bartlett – Dal Niente presents Jesse Langen, guitar. Unfamiliar Music Series, Chicago, IL. May 22, 2013.
• Seattle Modern Orchestra – Music in Space. The Chapel, Seattle, WA. June 1, 2013, 8:00 p.m..
• Parnassus Project – Music at Everett Public Library.  Everett Public Library, Everett, WA.  June 2, 2013, 2:00 p.m..
• Marc Yeats – Pathos World Premiere. Lumin, London, UK. June 8, 2013.
• Amy Beth Kirsten – Kiss to the Earth World Premiere. Missouri Chamber Music Festival, St. Louis, MO. June 17, 2013.
• Kate Maroney – All Night Vigil. New Haven Festival Arts and Ideas, New Haven CT. June 21, 2013.
• Byron Au Young – Party Pieces with Cage 100.  Leipzig and New York.  July 2013.
• Ryan Keebaugh – Frequency: New Music in the Valley.  Shenandoah Valley, VA.  Summer 2013.
• John Teske – Broken Bow Ensemble. Rainer Valley Cultural Center, Seattle, WA. September 21, 2013.
• John Teske – Broken Bow Ensemble. The Chapel, Seattle, WA. September 28, 2013.