duo B.

duo B. is an ensemble of acoustic bass + percussion that plays ethereal chamber music wrapped in dense improvised soundscapes. Drummer Jason Levis uses gongs, Tibetan singing bowls, bowed cymbals, marimba and drumset to create lush, delicate textures and abstract noise grooves. Bassist Lisa Mezzacappa draws on a palette of sinister drones, punchy vamps and acoustic bass manipulations to weave storylines through gnarly rhythms, pointillistic shapes and ecstatic melodies.
mp3s from our 2006 CD these things seem natural to us:

Phonological

Phonological is a collaboration with artist Deborah Aschheim, and musicians Katy Stephan and Michelle Amador. It is one component of a large-scale, long-term project by Deborah called On Memory, based on her investigations of the invisible and elusive subject of her own memory. Some neurobiologists believe that sound and speech are encoded via separate synaptic pathways in the brain, and aphasia patients can often recall song lyrics long after they have lost the ability to form sentences. Phonological is one of several artistic “experiments” designed to help Deborah retain aspects of her personality and memory in the event of memory loss — a part poetic, part scientific way of “backing up” her semantic pathways into song. For this project, I have worked with Katy, Michelle and nearly a dozen local musicians to compose and record twenty songs based on words Deborah selected for their personal, practical, potent or nostalgic associations. Deborah, who has a pronounced history of Alzheimer’s in her family, is learning the songs so she will later be able to recall the words and be able to express key concepts in the event of stroke or dementia. The project is slated to go public later this year, with possible exhibitions in Reno and St. Louis.

Gold Record Studio

Every Sunday in April 2007, extending into early May, Jon Brumit and I bring our portable recording studio and improvisation lab to the Laney College Flea Market in Oakland. People of all musical abilities and experience are invited to participate, and contribute a recording to the CD we are compiling in the recording van each week. An exhibition of artifacts and sounds from the flea market residency will be on display at 21 Grand in Oakland June-July 2007. Please check the NEWS page for more information about guest musicians and schedule. The project is funded by the City of Oakland Cultural Funding Program.

Heftpistole Trio

Scott Hill, Jason Levis and I had a tantalizingly brief collaboration for about five months in 2005-2006. There was amazing group chemistry and the communication was at a very high level. Scott now lives in the UK, but we recorded some pieces at CNMAT in Berkeley January 2006 before he left.
mp3s: