Recording: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra

Artist: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra

Song: [2nd set, 2nd piece excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), June 11, 2023.

Toronto Improvisors Orchestra - [2nd set, 2nd piece excerpt]

Out in nonet strength this time, the TIO alternated between free group playing, duos/trios, and conducted pieces — here with Ryan Kinney guiding the ensemble.

[The TIO will be back in the Southern Cross on Sunday (July 9th) in their usual noon to two p.m. timeslot.]

Recording: The Birth of Troubling Forms

Artist: The Birth of Troubling Forms

Song: Genuine [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination Halloween Special), October 31, 2017.

The Birth of Troubling Forms - Genuine [excerpt]

Celebrating the season with costumes and a horror flick, Audiopollination brought together three sets of improvised sounds for a night of Halloween fun. This group of improvised soundtrack-makers was playing behind an abridged version of Robert Wiene's 1921 silent horror flick Genuine. The group this time 'round featured Alan Bloor (amplified metal), Ambrose Pottie (percussion), Michael Lynn (bass + clarinet) and Tina Kiik (accordion) and they vibed off the eye-popping expressionist sets (probably more than the famously elusive plot, which was all the more scattered in a short version of a short version of the film) with quite darkly-tasty results.

Recording: Gilliam-Milmine-Pottie

Artist: Bill Gilliam/Kayla Milmine/Ambrose Pottie

Songs: Improvisation + Creek Listening

Recorded at Array Space, October 18, 2017.

Bill Gilliam/Kayla Milmine/Ambrose Pottie - Improvisation

Bill Gilliam/Kayla Milmine/Ambrose Pottie - Creek Listening

A night of celebration for the Entangled Pathways album, this trio moved easily between through-composed and more loosely structured pieces as well as some guided duo improvisations and the "open" encounter leading off here. That's fitting as these three first connected through the Toronto Improvisors Orchestra. The night featured most of the album's pieces over two sets, ranging from stately textures to choppier sonic waters, with extended techniques from all three wending their way into the music.

Recording: Heraclitus Akimbo & friends

Artist: Allison Cameron/Kristel Jax/Heraclitus Akimbo / Brian Abbott/Heidi Chan/Laura Swankey/Heraclitus Akimbo + Ambrose Pottie/Andrew Furlong/Karen Ng/Heraclitus Akimbo + Ryan Kinney/Paul Newman/Heraclitus Akimbo

Songs: [excerpts from four improvised mini-sets]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination #53.2), April 25, 2017.

Allison Cameron/Kristel Jax/Heraclitus Akimbo - [excerpt]

Brian Abbott/Heidi Chan/Laura Swankey/Heraclitus Akimbo - [excerpt]

Ambrose Pottie/Andrew Furlong/Karen Ng/Heraclitus Akimbo - [excerpt]

Ryan Kinney/Paul Newman/Heraclitus Akimbo - [excerpt]

Fully aware of my own fungibility, I try not to go out of my way to score gigs for my alter ego Heraclitus Akimbo. This one was an exception. Inspired by Paul Newman, who always has a show on his birthday, I asked Audiopollination's Mike Lynn if he'd be interested in booking me on mine. In a blink, he had a full slate of peeps lined up, filling four twenty minute-ish mini-sets. The goal here was to have each half move continuously, with the musicians switching off seamlessly, and that worked out quite well. In fact, everything went off better than could be expected — but I guess that's what happens when you have so many A-1 talents on stage. Even if half of my stuff didn't work out as planned, there was enough going on to not leave a hole. Playing with others is an interesting experience on the heels of my (limited) career as a mostly-soloist, and it was rather interesting to see things take on their own shapes. The first half ended up being noisier than expected and the second a super-chill zone. Having tried it, I recommend that everyone should play a show on their birthday. Getting older is already the thing you're best at.

[Audiopollination is on hiatus until September, when its self-curation series will return. Heraclitus Akimbo has two shows coming up: a collaboration with Paul Newman on Sunday, June 4th as part of Ratio's "Decreation" series, and a solo set on Sunday, June 18th at Handlebar, with New Tendencies and Bachelard.]

[photo by Tom Beedham]

Recording: Davison/Gane/Pottie/Martynec

Artist: William Davison/Mark Gane/Ambrose Pottie/Eugene Martynec

Song: [excerpt]

Recorded at Array Space (Audiopollination #53.1), April 8, 2017.

William Davison/Mark Gane/Ambrose Pottie/Eugene Martynec - [excerpt]

Plenty of veteran savvy on stage, as William Davison crafted some scratchy noises from his table of bricabrac while Ambrose Pottie (taking a night off from rehearsals for Crash Vegas' comeback shows) added feedback and occasional rhythmic patter. Gene Martynec's electroacoustic soundscapes hovered in front of that while Mark Gane (the other M from Martha and the Muffins) added some guitar widdle-waddle, including some vocal outbursts courtesy of the somewhat-infamous Miku pedal.

[You can also check out some footage of this set over at Audiopollination's youtube page. Audiopollination is on hiatus until September, when its self-curated series will resume.]

Recording: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra + The Element Choir

Artists: Toronto Improvisors Orchestra + The Element Choir

Songs: [excerpts from three improvisations]

Recorded at Array Space, March 19, 2017.

Toronto Improvisors Orchestra - [excerpt]

The Element Choir - [excerpt]

Toronto Improvisors Orchestra feat. The Element Choir - [excerpt]

A special night convened by the TIO to pay tribute to The Element Choir and its leader Christine Duncan. Both groups showed up in force — I counted sixteen or so musicians and about twice that many choristers, although there were a few people that were members of both. In the first half, each ensemble performed on its own, and then after the break the whole conglomeration performed together.

The key question for large improvising ensembles is how to keep everyone on the same page and to provide a shape that goes beyond heaping one thing on top of another, and both groups have found a solution in their own similar conducting systems. Eugene Martynec and Christine Duncan led their ensembles in the first half, but Duncan held court in the second, at first leaving one group to improvise while she led the other before (as heard here) attempting to guide the whole thing.

[You can watch Array's archived version of the event's livestream over on their vimeo page.]

Recording: Gilliam-Milmine-Pottie

Artist: Bill Gilliam/Kayla Milmine/Ambrose Pottie

Songs: [two improvisations]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), May 29, 2016.

Gilliam-Milmine-Pottie - [second piece]

Gilliam-Milmine-Pottie - [fourth piece]

Subcontracted to fill in on a Sunday night for Steve Ward, this was a sort of FASTER presents side-projects kind of night. Kayla Milmine brought her soprano sax and was joined by Bill Gilliam (piano) and Ambrose Pottie (drums) for a series of explorations that saw tuneful jaunts prodded at the edges with some clamourous forays. The latter came especially from Pottie's percussive asides which gave some push/pull energy to the even-handed musical exchanges.

Recording: Polka Dogs

Artist: Polka Dogs

Songs: Beardy Boy + [unknown]^*

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (Somewhere There Creative Music Festival – Show 3 afterparty), February 27, 2016.

Polka Dogs - Beardy Boy + [unknown]

Polka might not be the first genre one'd expect to see at a festival dedicated to improvisation and exploration, but members of this longstanding group (including Tina Kiik and Ambrose Pottie) have done lots of work in improvising circles. Rounded out by Colin Couch (tuba) and Tom Walsh (trombone), this band can add either oompah party propulsion or sensitive colouring as needed to back the songs of vocalist/banjo player John Millard, whose meditations on life's silly and sublime moments were punctuated by vivid stories. Founded at the end of the 80's, Polka Dogs had a busy run through the mid-90's before going their separate ways. Reforming a year or so ago, they played two sets of vital and entertaining music, ending with this one-two punch with an audience shout-along followed by a meditative closing statement. [While you keep an eye out for further shows, you can explore the band's recorded legacy over at their Bandcamp.]

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: 416 Festival Spoken Word Band

Artist: 416 Festival Spoken Word Band feat. Brent Peers / John Oughton / John Evans

Songs: unknown^* / Elegy for Larry Dubin / A Thanksgiving Prayer [composer: William S. Burroughs]

Recorded at The Tranzac's Southern Cross Lounge (416 Toronto Creative Improvisers Festival – Night 1), November 4, 2015.

Brent Peers + 416 Festival Spoken Word Band - [track 3]

John Oughton + 416 Festival Spoken Word Band - Elegy for Larry Dubin

John Evans + 416 Festival Spoken Word Band - A Thanksgiving Prayer

This year's edition of the 416 Toronto Creative Improvisers Festival lead off by tacking a form of collective improvisation it had never attempted before, with a house band (Bill Gilliam, Ambrose Pottie, Michael Lynn, Glen Hall) playing behind a series of poets and spoken word artists. They quickly picked up on the vibe of each piece, whether meditative or frightening (or anywhere in between), effortlessly complementing the speakers' words. Though the night's performers were a little unbalanced, there was definitely a lot of range in the speakers' techniques and tones.

^* Does anyone know the title to this one? Please leave a comment!

Recording: The Birth of Troubling Forms

Artist: The Birth of Troubling Forms

Song: "Journey to Wisborg" [excerpt from a live soundtrack to Nosferatu]

Recorded at Cinecycle (Sounds & Silents series), October 26, 2014.

The Birth of Troubling Forms - "Journey to Wisborg"

A trip to CineCycle to see a foundational horror flick on the Sunday before Halowee'en was a tasty prospect, made even better by the chance to hear the movie with a live, improvised musical score. The Birth of Troubling Forms features Alan Bloor (violin, metal), Branko Dzinovic (accordion), Michael Lynn (bass), Ambrose Pottie (percussion), and John Creson and Adam Rosen (vocalisations) and was formed for a similar screening a year previously. The atmospheric mix was successful enough that the band has been playing since then, suitable to soundtrack any dread-inducing occasion.