Thursday March 14th * 7PM * $25

“Politics as Usual” - Saxophonists Jeff Lederer and Brad Linde explore ideas of dialogue, both functional and dysfunctional in this new project, a musical exercise in bi-textuality premiering at Rhizome. These new compositions and improvisations will address the issues of monologue and dialogue, truth telling and lies, artificial intelligence and lack of intelligence, and whether we know the difference any more. Brad and Jeff will be joined by Dave Ballou, trumpet; Liz Prince, tuba; and Mike Kuhl drums.

Opening the show will be two duo performances: Jeff Lederer and Dave Ballou playing duo music from the iconic John Carter/Bobby Bradford album “Tandem”; and Byron Asher, (sax) sax and Bashi Rose (drums).

Jeff Lederer is a New York based saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and educator whose work crosses the genres of jazz, latin and creative improvised music. Since 2014 he has been consistently named in both the critics and Readers Polls of Downbeat and JazzTimes Magazine recognizing his work on tenor and alto saxophones and clarinet. He has worked for many years in the Matt Wilson Quartet and the Grammy nominated ensembles of Bobby Sanabria and Salsa trombonist Jimmy Bosch. He has recorded for Gunther Schuller's GM Recordings, CIMP Records, Palmetto Records and his own Little (i) Music label. His quartet "Sunwatcher" made it's debut in 2011 on the Jazzheads label featuring Buster Williams on bass, Jamie Saft on piano and Matt Wilson, drums. His longstanding ensemble "Shaker n' Bakers" performs modern jazz interpretations of the Vision songs of the Shaker religious sect and has released two recordings of Shaker music and performed at the World Festival of Sacred Music in Los Angeles. His new group "Brooklyn Blowhards" examines the repertoire of traditional Sea Shanties and Whaling Songs through the lens of the free jazz of Albert Ayler. Lederer was recently named as a "Musician to Watch" in the 2017 JazzWise (UK) Magazine

https://littleimusic.bandcamp.com.

Hailed as "the capital city's contemporary cool king" (Giovanni Russonello, Capitalbop), Brad Linde is a saxophonist, educator, bandleader, and impresario in the Washington DC metro area. He is the director of Jazz and Creative Music at Georgetown Day School and founder of the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra.

https://bradlinde.bandcamp.com

Trumpeter/Composer Dave Ballou can be heard in a variety of settings; from solo trumpet improvisations to large ensembles. His recordings can be found on the Steeplechase, CleanFeed and pfMentum record labels. Ballou has performed or recorded with Rabih Abou-Kahlil, Steely Dan, Michael Formanek, Mary Halvorson, Woody Herman, Andrew Hill, John Hollenbeck, Sheila Jordan, Oliver Lake, Dave Liebman, Dewey Redman, Maria Schneider and Gunther Schuller.

https://daveballou.bandcamp.com

Liz Prince started out playing tuba in a trad jazz combo at Roosevelt High School. She played tuba in the band from 2003-8 while studying tuba performance and music history at the University of Maryland. Liz went on to play trad jazz gigs in New York City, Baltimore, and D.C., with bands and ensembles such as Grandpa Musselman and the Syncopators, Dix Out, Sac Au Lait, and the Capital Focus Jazz Band.

Drummer, recording artist, educator, Mike Kuhl hails from the musical diverse city of Baltimore MD. Kuhl had studied and performed in numerous genres allowing him to be a first call drummer for any situation. A graduate from Towson University, Kuhl has performed locally and throughout the globe alongside jazz greats Dave Liebman, Tony Malaby, Michael Formaneck, Dave Ballou, Ellery Eskelin and Claudio Roditi. Outside of jazz, Kuhl has shared the stage with many international acts such as Beach House, Arboretum, Cigarettes After Sex, Tom Tom Club, and The Ravonnettes. As a leader, Kuhl performs with his trio every Tuesday night at Bertha’s in Fells Point, Baltimore.

https://arbouretum.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-two-rooms

https://outofyourheadrecords.bandcamp.com/album/kraft

Byron Asher is a saxophonist and clarinetist and composer based in New Orleans and working at the intersection of broadly experimental composition and jazz and improvised music.

Raised in Howard County, Maryland, he has performed across Europe and the US at major art centers and festivals as well as at dive bars and DIY spaces. He is a 2022 OneBeat Fellow, a program of the US State Department. As a composer, Byron’s work has been supported by MacDowell (NH/NYC), South Arts, A Studio In The Woods (NOLA), the Jazz And Heritage Foundation (NOLA), the Foundation for Contemporary Arts (NYC), the Marigny Opera Ballet (NOLA), and the Puffin Foundation (Teaneck, NJ).

Based in Louisiana since 2011, Byron leads Skrontch Music, an award-winning experimental large ensemble, and Basher, a “free jazz party band,” and is an equal collaborator in Flaxan, a brass and woodwind chamber quartet, among many other projects. Basher's 2022 release Doubles was called "unbearably beautiful" by Pitchfork Magazine. Also an educator, Byron teaches in the music department at the University of New Orleans.

https://byronasher.bandcamp.com

Bashi Rose is a theater artist, musician, and filmmaker. He was raised in West Baltimore and was nurtured, inspired, and trained in his craft by the Baltimore Arts Community. As a musician, Bashi uses the drum-kit as a creative tool for mental/spiritual healing and as a bridge between the spirit and physical worlds. He is the co-founder of Konjur Collective, a multidisciplinary group using music, video, and spoken word to create radical, experimental, and spiritual Black art. He has performed and had work produced in numerous venues including: the High Zero Festival of Experimental Improvised Music, Baltimore Rhythm Festival, San Francisco Black Film Festival, Black Femme Supremacy Film Fest, Black Panther Party Film festival, HipHop Theatre Festival, Creative Alliance, Arena Players, The Ottobar, Mind on Fire, Rhizome DC, New York International Fringe Festival, and the Schomburg Center.

https://konjur-collective.bandcamp.com/album/blood-in-my-eye-a-soul-insurgent-guide