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08/28 Saturday
7:30 PM Ben Syversen's Cracked Vessel and Elbow Room
"This album is wildly entertaining, creative at the same time, and the guy's have something to tell. A band to watch. And to enjoy.” -FreeJazz Blog
The anything goes, eclectic mentality of the musical melting pot of Brooklyn, NY is the perfect setting for trumpeter and composer Ben Syversen’s first album as a leader, Cracked Vessel. Making the most of the broad palette available to three musicians, the pieces in this album range from rocking vehicles for free improvisation to ethereal tone poems and long form narratives. The band builds on but quickly departs from ideas pioneered by such creative music luminaries as Tim Berne, Ellery Eskelin, and Jim Black, while drawing in sounds from seminal rock bands such as Sonic Youth, twisted takes on Americana, and sly, just beneath the surface references to Eastern European folk music.
During the nearly 3 years he has lived in Brooklyn, Ben has immersed himself fully in all that the city has to offer. In addition to performing with a number of improvising musicians including Reuben Radding, Russ Flynn, Jessica Lurie and many more, he has been an active participant in the Balkan music scene, performing regularly with several groups including Raya Brass Band and Ansambl Mastika. He has toured throughout the US and Japan, and has performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands and the Newport Jazz Festival.
Elbow Room (a Peter Negroponte project)