Recording: Ken Aldcroft Emergents Ensembles

Artist: Ensembles containing Karen Ng/Emily Denison/Andrew Furlong/Mark Zurawinski/Daniel Kruger

Songs: East of Baghdad + A Country Mile + Threads III [composer: Ken Aldcroft]

Recorded at The Music Gallery @ 918 Bathurst (Emergents III:The Music of Ken Aldcroft), April 6, 2018.

Karen Ng/Andrew Furlong/Mark Zurawinski - East of Baghdad

Daniel Kruger + Emily Denison - A Country Mile

Karen Ng/Emily Denison/Andrew Furlong/Mark Zurawinski/Daniel Kruger - Threads III

This evening in the MG's Emergents series was dedicated to the music of the much-missed Ken Aldcroft, presented by a group of musicians who were Aldcroft's bandmates and students. The first half split the group into two smaller sub-units before bringing everyone on stage to tackle music from several sections of Ken's diverse songbook, all of which explore different ways to combine an improvisatory spark with structured composition. So, here we have a piece written for rebetiko rockers Alaniaris, as well an acoustic re-interpretation from his Threadgill-inspired Threads unit. There was also some Convergence-style sign-flashing as well as a new composition offered in remembrance by saxophonist Karen Ng.

Recording: Temporary Ensembles

Artist: Temporary Ensembles, composed of Emily Denison, Ben Grossman, Eric Hofbauer, Daniel Kruger, Matt Miller, Jason Robinson, Joe Sorbara, Kristen Theriault, and Paul Newman.

Songs: [excerpts form various improvisations]

Recorded at Array Space (Somewhere There's Second Sunday Series), March 11, 2018.

Daniel Kruger/Ben Grossman/Kristen Theriault/Matt Miller - [excerpt from temporary ensemble #1]

Paul Newman & Joe Sorbara - [temporary ensemble #2]

Emily Denison/Jason Robinson/Eric Hofbauer - [temporary ensemble #3]

Daniel Kruger & Eric Hofbauer - [excerpt from temporary ensemble #4]

Kristen Theriault/Paul Newman/Jason Robinson - [temporary ensemble #5]

Ben Grossman/Joe Sorbara/Matt Miller - [temporary ensemble #7]

Jason Robinson & Ben Grossman - [temporary ensemble #8]

Kristen Theriault - [temporary ensemble #13]

Emily Denison & Joe Sorbara - [fragment from temporary ensemble #14]

"Temporary Ensembles are born, live short and potentially magical musical lives, and then sublimate into thin air." Once again, Joe Sorbara's dice determined the size and composition of a series of recombinant brief encounters, giving each of these musicians several chances to interact with different musical conceptions and textures.

[This month's Second Sunday (May 13th) offers two sets of improvised music, one from Bea Labikova, Kayla Milmine, Diane Roblin and cheryl o, followed by a (possibly quiet) pairing of Brian Abbott and Tomasz Krakowiak]