Last night Operation ID closed out Jazz: The Second Century, the July Series of concerts put on Earshot Jazz by at the Chapel Performance Space on Thursday nights. It ended with a buzz haircut of Ivan Arteaga as he continued to perform. See bottom pictures.

Operation ID consists of Jared Borkowski on guitar, David Balatero on bass, Rob Hanlon on keyboards, Ivan Arteaga on reeds, and Evan Woodle on drums.

Operation ID : Originally interested in the spontaneity of free-jazz, Operation ID’s open mindedness has guided them to embrace a position of willingness when experimenting with new sounds and musical approaches. They have grown from being exclusively instrumental to frequently incorporating group vocals. Some well-known influences include Steve Reich, Talk Talk, Hella, Prince, XTC, Richie Hawtin, and Deerhoof.

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Got to photograph and listen to jazz vibraphonist, Susan Pascal Quartet last Friday night at Tula’s. Susan’s Quartet has Dave Peterson on guitar, Chuck Deardorf on bass, and MArk Ivester on drums. They strike a dynamic balance between spontaneity and imaginative arrangements and it was beautiful first set of jazz classics I go to hear.put on. Here are a couple of pictures from the evening.

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Saturday Night, Earshot Jazz presented Kris Davis, Tyshawn Sorey, Ingrid Laubrock Trio at the Chapel Performance Space. Their creative collaboration in the unique venue was an wonderful event to witness.

“The trio is a truly collective effort. How and where it came about is a perfect reflection of the real world of working jazz musicians.

About two and a half years ago, shortly after Laubrock moved to New York, all three musicians got together for a session. Davis and Sorey had met earlier, playing together in another group. They were exploring a different context of collaboration, and Davis invited Laubrock to join them.

“It was an informal session,” Davis says in recent interview, “the kind of thing musicians do in New York possibly a couple of times a week as a way to meet people, have new music read, etc.” After improvising for almost two hours, it was clear the trio was something special and the music had to be explored further. Kris says there was “that instant connection and understanding, and we were excited to see where it could go.”

The trio met a few more times and began working with new music, each musician bringing original compositions. The music was written earlier for different groups, but the trio found new ways to make it their own. They soon began regular performances, interpreting the written material afresh each time.

In Davis’s words: “The way we play together … it feels like you can do no wrong – whether you are improvising or playing written music – it is wonderful.”

Continue reading story by Greg Pincuson on Earshot Jazz‘s website

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Here are some more pictures from last Saturday’s Earshot Jazz Concert at Tula’s, In the Country. The trio featured pianist Morten Qvenild (formerly of Jaga Jazzist), bass player Roger Arntzen, and drummer PÃ¥l Hausken.

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