Thursday January 9th, 2020

MARK GUILIANA BEAT MUSIC, YMUSIC WITH EMILY KING, TAYLOR MCFERRIN

$25 ADV, $35 DOS // 7pm Doors

Mark Guiliana Beat Music

Guiliana’s forward-leaping BEAT MUSIC is more than a band – it’s a community. Over the last decade the drummer has gathered around him a family of like-minded artists who share a passion for the limitless possibilities of electronic music combined with an in-the-moment creativity rooted in jazz improvisation.

Guiliana’s third recording with his BEAT MUSIC cohort is a bold and vigorous exploration of window-rattling grooves, cinematic imagery, ecstatic atmospheres and a captivating tapestry of textures and voices. BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! BEAT MUSIC! doesn’t feature improvisation in the traditional sense that Guiliana’s previous release, the acoustic quartet album Jersey, did. The music was composed entirely by Guiliana, albeit drawn from his extensive interactions with each of these musicians. But each of his collaborators brings a distinctive voice and attitude to the mix, so that even when playing a thoroughly written line they imbue each note with an individual essence.

yMusic

yMusic, "six contemporary classical polymaths who playfully overstep the boundaries of musical genres,” (The New Yorker) performs in concert halls, arenas and clubs around the world. Founded in New York City in 2008, yMusic believes in presenting excellent, emotionally communicative music, regardless of style or idiom. Their virtuosic execution and unique configuration (string trio, flute, clarinet, and trumpet) has attracted the attention of high profile collaborators—from Paul Simon to Bill T. Jones to Ben Folds—and inspired original works by some of today’s foremost composers, including Nico Muhly, Missy Mazzoli and Andrew Norman.

Taylor McFerrin

With Love’s Last Chance, his brilliant new studio album and first solo release in five years, Taylor McFerrin has emerged as the “complete artist” he’s always dreamed of becoming, writing and singing his own lyrics and vocals on top of his dazzling instrumental and production work for the very first time. Recorded in his recently adopted hometown of Los Angeles, the collection finds McFerrin working with more freedom and spontaneity than ever before, tapping into the moment with captivating performances that blur the lines between old-school R&B, classic funk, experimental electronic music, and progressive jazz. Vintage synthesizers and keyboards dominate the sonic landscape, propelled at every turn by hypnotic percussion grooves and breezy melodies, and an adventurous sense of improvisation infuses the songwriting with an air of infinite possibility. It’s McFerrin’s voice that steals the show here, though, warm and tender with a gentle confidence. His vocals convey both deep intimacy and unsparing self-reflection, and their very presence on the album signals the start of a brand new chapter in an already-impressive career.

“Something deeper happens when you sing, something that lets listeners feel like they’re truly getting to know you,” McFerrin explains. “Singing brings me closer than ever to being able to share everything that’s going on inside of me.”