Todd Harper, piano
Sarah Hughes, sax
Eric Kennedy, drums
Ian Rashkin, bass
In 1990-91, bassist Ian Rashkin and pianist Todd Harper played together in “The Seekers of Beauty”, a Minneapolis based jazz collective featuring original compositions emphasizing explorations in form, rhythm, and improvisation. When Ian left Minneapolis, the two kept in touch with their various musical adventures; for years, Harper and Rashkin have been planning a musical reunion, and at long last the plans have to coalesced to bring you this special event. Habitat brings together compositions and improvisatory skeletons created by Harper and Rashkin over the last 30 years — some revisited from their early collaboration, and some never yet performed. Joining them on this adventure are two of the Baltimore area’s most creative and talented musicians, saxophonist Sarah Hughes and drummer Eric Kennedy....
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Todd Harper, piano
Sarah Hughes, sax
Eric Kennedy, drums
Ian Rashkin, bass
In 1990-91, bassist Ian Rashkin and pianist Todd Harper played together in “The Seekers of Beauty”, a Minneapolis based jazz collective featuring original compositions emphasizing explorations in form, rhythm, and improvisation. When Ian left Minneapolis, the two kept in touch with their various musical adventures; for years, Harper and Rashkin have been planning a musical reunion, and at long last the plans have to coalesced to bring you this special event. Habitat brings together compositions and improvisatory skeletons created by Harper and Rashkin over the last 30 years — some revisited from their early collaboration, and some never yet performed. Joining them on this adventure are two of the Baltimore area’s most creative and talented musicians, saxophonist Sarah Hughes and drummer Eric Kennedy.
Since 1978, Todd Harper has established himself as a pianist, composer bandleader and collaborator in the Twin Cities Music scene. His compositions include large scale works for percussion ensemble, intimate art songs, chamber works for strings, woodwinds, jazz big band, works with text, rural community theatre, music for video installation, and dance work. While he has performed and written extensively in jazz settings, Harper crossed into the “deep 3rd stream” — a confluence of ecstatic jazz inventions, lyrical new “classical”, folkloric forms with an ecological mindset. He recently created the quartet “Musical Ecology” (piano, cello, drums, flute), which he leads with flautist/Noh flutist Jun Miyake, based in New York. They have recorded 3 albums. In this context Harper has included original poetic orations to guide his compositions.
After a youth playing punk and psychedelic rock in central California, Ian Rashkin moved to Minneapolis in the late 80s and began studying jazz and classical performance and composition. He soon met multi-instrumentalist Todd Harper who welcomed him into the jazz collective “Seekers of Beauty”, exposing him to free improvisation, folkloric rhythms and styles, and creative exploration beyond the scope of standard jazz changes or classical scores. Ian then moved to Seattle to study double bass and composition at the University of Washington, where he continued to play jazz, compose for large and small ensembles, and compose and perform for theater, dance, and film. He resides in Baltimore playing with groups such as Mike ‘n’ Ike and the Baltimore Philharmonia Orchestra, and serves on the Baltimore Jazz Alliance board, and is a new member of the Baltimore Composers Forum.
Sarah Hughes is an alto saxophonist, doubling on flute and clarinet, from Pasadena, MD. She is a composer of ensemble music and electronic music for solo artist. Sarah has been a music educator for over 10 years, but considers herself first and foremost a free improviser, creating within, on top of, and despite many genre frameworks including jazz, experimental composition and noise, swing, blues, folk, rap and hip-hop, and rock. Sarah prefers to emote onstage in the most expressive and readily available way possible.
Baltimore native Eric Kennedy is a drummer, vocalist, percussionist, educator and composer. His introduction to all styles of music and early music training was initiated by his musical relatives, who also cultivated his love of jazz. He is a bandleader and a member of the Bobby Watson Quartet/Quintet, Inside Out w/ Lafayette Gilchrist, the Todd Marcus Quartet, the Jeff Reed Trio, and is co founder of Dreamworld, Kinetic Sounds, and Simply Eric with Eric Byrd and Eric Wheeler.
$15 advance /$18 door /$10 full time student with ID
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