MATA Festival: Darius Jones & International Contemporary Ensemble
$25
- Darius Jones, saxophone
- Hajnal Pivnick, violin
- Ledah Finck, violin
- Josh Henderson, viola
- Issei Herr, cello
- Sean Conly, double bass
- Gerald Cleaver, drums
- Aviva Mitchell, voice
National Sawdust partners with Music at the Anthology (MATA) to present their celebrated annual spring festival. Critically acclaimed and broadly respected, The New Yorker has hailed MATA as "the most exciting showcase for outstanding young composers from around the world." The performances at National Sawdust will be curated by and feature their season artist-in-residence Darius Jones and ensemble-in-residence International Contemporary Ensemble.
Over the past decade, Darius Jones has created a recognizable voice as a critically acclaimed saxophonist and composer by embracing individuality and innovation in the tradition of African-American music. "Jones' concept is proudly his own," writes Philip Clark in The Wire. "[His music] poses big questions about the relationship between the African-American tradition of spirituals, blues and gospel, and now."
Music at the Anthology (MATA) is an incubator for adventurous emerging artists experimenting with composition, multimedia, collaborative performance art, and every imaginable sound in between. MATA presents, supports, and commissions the music of early-career composers, regardless of their stylistic views or aesthetic inclinations. Founded by Philip Glass, Eleonor Sandresky, and Lisa Bielawa in 1996 as a way to address the lack of presentation opportunities for unaffiliated composers, MATA has since developed into the world’s most sought-after performance opportunity for emerging composers and sound artists.
Doors open at 6:30pm; performance begins at 7:30pm.
Please review National Sawdust's COVID-19 safety protocols before attending this event: https://nationalsawdust.org/covid-safety-protocols
About Music at the Anthology (MATA)
Music at the Anthology (MATA) is an incubator for adventurous emerging artists experimenting with composition, multi-media, collaborative performance art, and every imaginable sound in between. We present, support, and commission the music of early-career composers, regardless of their stylistic views or aesthetic inclinations. Founded by Philip Glass, Eleonor Sandresky, and Lisa Bielawa in 1996 as a way to address the lack of presentation opportunities for unaffiliated composers, MATA has since developed into the world’s most sought-after performance opportunity for young and emerging composers.
https://www.matafestival.org/About International Contemporary Ensemble
With a commitment to cultivating a more curious and engaged society through music, the International Contemporary Ensemble – as a commissioner and performer at the highest level – amplifies creators whose work propels and challenges how music is made and experienced.
https://www.iceorg.org/About Darius Jones, saxophone
Over the past decade, Darius Jones has created a recognizable voice as a critically acclaimed saxophonist and composer by embracing individuality and innovation in the tradition of African-American music. “Jones’ concept is proudly his own,” writes Philip Clark in The Wire. “[His music] poses big questions about the relationship between the African-American tradition of spirituals, blues and gospel, and now.” With New York City as his base since 2005, Jones has brought his unique sound to dozens of cities around the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Jones early on established himself as a powerful voice in the jazz community and was nominated in 2013 for Alto Saxophonist of the Year, and for Up & Coming Artist of the Year two years in a row for the Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards. More recently The New York Times named Jones among the Best Live Jazz Performances of 2017 for his Vision Festival performance with Farmers by Nature.
Jones has collaborated with artists including Gerald Cleaver, Oliver Lake, William Parker, Trevor Dunn, Branford Marsalis, Steve Lehman, Sun Ra Arkestra, and many more. Signed to AUM Fidelity records in 2009, Jones has released a string of diverse recordings which comprise his Man’ish Boy Epic, featuring music and images evocative of Black Futurism. Darius’ 2012 release, Book of Mæ’bul (Another Kind of Sunrise) was listed among NPR’s Best Top 10 Jazz Albums of that year.
Jones graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelors in Jazz Studies in 2003, earning a Master’s Degree in Jazz Performance/Composition from New York University in 2008, where he also taught New Music Improvisation for a year as an adjunct professor. Jones taught saxophone and improvisation at Columbia University in 2017.
http://www.dariusjonesmusic.com/