On August 28, 2019, Sound / Simulacra presented violinist, Kip Jones of ETHEL Quartet at Jazz Central Studios. Kip started off the evening with a beautiful solo set of violin and voice. The second set includes the addition of Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics), and John C.S. Keston (piano, Rhodes, synthesizers, electronics).
On July 24, 2019 Sound / Simulacra featured Terrell Woods AKA Carnage the Executioner at Jazz Central Studios. Carnage started off the evening with an amazing solo set of looped beat boxing and virtuosic rapping. Afterward we joined together and improvised for thirty minutes. Please enjoy the recordings of our trio set below!
On June 26, 2019 Sound / Simulacra’s very special guest was drummer, Jay Epstein. Jay played duets with Cody McKinney on bass/electronics and John C.S. Keston on Piano, Rhodes, and Prophet REV2. In the second set Cody, Jay, and John joined together as a trio for a final 29 minute opus.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019 Sound / Simulacra is pleased to present electronic music artist and producer, Jesse Whitney at Jazz Central Studios. Music starts at 8:30pm.
Jesse Whitney is a synthesist and composer. HIs work encompasses a wide variety of endeavors, including noise improv trio The Blight & production for the witchy art-pop of Scinnlæce, as well as solo works for modular synthesizer. His solo work is primarily concerned with the effects of sound on consciousness and how that might be utilized to affect positive changes in humanity. He lives in Minneapolis.
Set I – Jesse Whitney (modular synthesizers)
Set II – Jesse Whitney with John C.S. Keston (piano, Rhodes, synthesizers) and Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics)
On August 22nd, 2018 Sound / Simulacra presented Kaleena Miller, co-director of the Twin Cities Tap Festival and director of Kaleena Miller Dance. Miller is a founding member of Rhythmic Circus, and toured extensively with the group from 2009-2017.
On October 23rd, 2019 Sound / Simulacra will feature multi-instrumentalist Tasha Baron at Jazz Central Studios, Minneapolis, MN. Music starts at 8:30pm.
Tasha Baron plays and composes on keyboards, trombone, flute and computers in hopes of getting out what is inside her head for the enjoyment of others. She grew up playing classical piano, composing free improv music, playing flute in woodwind choir and trombone in jazz big bands. She continued her musical journey studying South African Township music, Afrobeat and salsa and experimental live dub music. She joined live hip hop band Heiruspecs and accompanied Atmosphere as well as playing with Jamaican reggae band Gullibanque and hip hop artist Toki Wright. She started her own collaborative vision with the band Black Blondie which went on to tour the country and chart on CMJ. Most recently she debuted singer Dizzy Fae with co-producer Marc Rice and released an album “Laughing at Ghosts” with Sarah White, as well as producing two film scores with Rice, one with over one million views on YouTube. Her vision and direction with music is all about artistic honesty, positive social change, community collaboration and pushing creative boundaries.
Set I – Tasha Baron (solo)
Set II – Tasha Baron (piano, keyboards, etc.) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics) + John Keston (Rhodes, synthesizers, electronics)
On September 25, 2019 Sound / Simulacra is pleased to present bassist, guitarist, and composer Erik Fratzke at Jazz Central Studios, Minneapolis, MN. Music starts at 8:30pm.
Erik Fratzke is a composer/performer/educator based in St. Paul, Minnesota. Best known for his work as the bassist of Happy Apple, he also plays bass in Craig Taborn’s Junk Magic, and Cory Healey’s Beautiful Sunshine Band. As a guitarist, Erik is a member of The Dave King Trucking Company, Scott Miller’s Fifth Column Ensemble, The Gang Font, as well as the leader of the instrumental rock group Zebulon Pike. His compositions have been performed and recorded by the new music group Zeitgeist. Erik has performed/recorded with Tim Berne, Michel Portal, Rhys Chatham, Airto, Benoit Delbec, and Yoshida Tatsuya (Ruins).
Set I- Erik Fratzke (solo)
Set II- Erik Fratzke (bass, guitar) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics) + John Keston (piano, rhodes, synthesizers, electronics)
Sound / Simulacra featured electronic music artist Darwin Grosse on May 22, 2019. These recordings include a wonderful solo set followed by three trio pieces based on graphic scores by Darwin. These graphic scores were beautifully printed on laminated postcards as shown in the images below.
August 2019, Sound / Simulacra presents special guest: violinist, Kip Jones of ETHEL Quartet.
Kip Jones is a violinist and composer from Duluth, Minnesota. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, he performs full-time in ETHEL, a modern string quartet based in New York City. His music, described by the New York Times as “buoyantly songful”, has been heard at BAM Harvey, Merkin Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Grand Canyon Music Festival, Chom Ong Tai cave (Laos), Tsetserleg valley (Mongolia), and the Jordan Nisja school of music (Albania). Acclaimed as “indefatigable and eclectic” (The New York Times), “vital and brilliant” (The New Yorker), and one of the most exciting quartets around (Strad Magazine), ETHEL invigorates the contemporary music scene with exuberance, intensity, imaginative programming, and exceptional artistry. ETHEL has collaborated with such luminaries as David Byrne, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Kaki King, Todd Rundgren, Philip Glass, Julia Wolfe, Phil Kline, Svjetlana Bukvich, David Lang, John Zorn, Missy Mazzoli, Anna Clyne, Steve Reich and Terry Riley. Over the past five years, ETHEL has premiered 150+ new works, many of them commissioned by the quartet.
Set I- Kip Jones (solo violin)
Set II- Kip Jones (violin) + Cody McKinney (bass, voice, electronics) + John Keston (piano, rhodes, synthesizers, electronics)
These recordings from December 26, 2018 @ 8:30 pm – 10:30 pm Sound / Simulacra feature Sound / Simulacra guest artists Don House and Al Church. Cody McKinney hosted the evening and performed with them for the second set.
