After a period of working on other projects, local musician and promoter Gerard Cox has jumped back into planning unique jazz events. His latest show is called ART OF SOLO, and it will take place on Sunday, September 21st, from 8 to 11pm, at Wild Goose Creative, 2491 Summit Street. The show is part of the Outward-Sound series, which is dedicated to “highlighting local and regional musicians who are doing anything unusual and expressive in the realm of outside jazz and improvised music.” This particular show will feature four separate, and very distinct, solo performances from four talented musicians of varying backgrounds: L.A. Jenkins (electric guitar), Adam Smith (synths), Tony Zilincik (tuba), and Andrew Meyer (saxophones). More details about the musicians are available below.
As Cox said about the show/series, “We brought in some really great touring artists and bands with Icebox [Music Series, Cox’s previous long-running series of shows], but I think at that time I was still too in awe of New York and international players and so always based the shows around some touring headliner with ‘local openers.’ Pretty standard practice, but the more I’ve gotten to hear and know some of the original people in our own area, the more I’ve seen that as rather lame. I believe the best thing I can possibly do with programming now is to give local and regional players a showcase of their own. I don’t abide by the whole Midwestern modesty/inferiority complex, and I think there are creative people here that are quiet giants, they just need some real opportunity to be heard and for the stakes to get higher over time.” Sunday night’s performances should help further Cox’s mission of showing that there are special local musicians who are devoted to improvised music that is outside of the norm.
The show is BYOB and there’s a suggested donation of $5 to $10. Wild Goose has a parking lot in the back of the building that is available to all attending its events.
More about the musicians on ART OF SOLO:
L.A. Jenkins is a modern jazz guitarist and composer. His relaxed approach to his art is always about the music itself and the collaboration he forges with other like minded musicians. Originally a self-taught guitarist, he eventually studied music composition – specifically the harmolodic approach of Ornette Coleman. His compositional work follows in the legacy of Anthony Braxton, Bill Frisell, Bill Laswell, Leroy Jenkins, Ornette Coleman and David Torn. L.A’s, current interest is playing in the genre of modern jazz/free improvisation, ambient/ experimental, avant-garde, and film compositions. He has collaborated with percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani, bassist Tom Abbs, and saxophonist Michael Cary/ Gary Thompson, drummer Ryan Jewell and multi-instrumentalists Hasan Abdur-Razzaq and Adam Smith.
Adam Smith’s musical journey is one of many different destinations and directions. Adam has thrust himself into almost every musical situation imaginable. He is most known locally for his involvement with Eye and Deadsea, but has also engaged deeply in free jazz, jazz fusion, and musique concrete projects. Notable collaborations have included guitarist Stan Smith, trombonist Jason Branscum and saxophonists Hasan Abdur-Razzaq and Nicole Rachelle. Solo performance is something he has actively cultivated over time. After spending many years developing his skills with musique concrete and modular synthesizers, his awareness of how psycho-acoustics affect a listener became an important module in his definitive sound-vision. In recent years Adam has done a number of live stereo and quadraphonic solo performances for prepared 8-track tapes & synthesizers, including a recent club engagement at Ace of Cups and at the OSU Urban Art Space.
Tony Zilincik is a unique voice on the tuba and he too has broad musical horizons. He’s as at home playing classical music as he is to playing second-line New Orleans music or in a new music/avant-garde setting. He can often be heard playing with New Basics Brass Band and as the principal tubist with the Central Ohio Symphony. As a tuba soloist he’s fascinated with the many distinctive timbres and sounds that can be produced by the instrument, and eager to explore new techniques. Solo or chamber improv performance allows him to show what an expressive and wonderfully odd instrument the tuba can be. Recently, Tony has collaborated with Ryan Jewell and Aaron Quinn in different improvised music settings, and also has performed two solo features at the Whatyouwill festival of improvised music.
Andrew Meyer (Youngstown) is a multi-reed player but focuses primarily on soprano saxophone. He cites Steve Lacy as a major influence, and his own background includes extensive experience with jazz, chamber music, blues, and Latin music. He has twice toured the U.S. as part of the Ohio chamber-improv group Giants of Gender.