Improvisations Now Series at Real Art Ways

HARTFORD - On Sunday, April 2nd at 2:30pm, four renowned musicians - saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, percussionist Tom Rainey, bassist Brandon Lopez, and guitarist Joe Morris, will appear in Real Art Ways' music series Improvisations Now. Tickets are $15 general admission, $12 for Real Art Ways members, and $5 for full time students. Real Art Ways is located at 56 Arbor Street in Hartford.

Ingrid Laubrock (b. 1970) is a German jazz saxophonist, who primarily plays tenor saxophone but also performs and records on soprano, alto, and baritone saxophones. She has played and recorded with Brazilian singer Monica Vasconcelos’ band NÓIS and the Brazilian quartet NÓIS4 of which she is a founding member. Other musicians she has made guest appearances with include Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone, Polar Bear, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Scott Fields, and Anthony Braxton.

To learn more about Ingrid Laubrock, please visit her website.

Tom Rainey (b. 1957) is an American jazz drummer. He has played with Tim Berne, Nels Cline, Drew Gress, Mark Helias, Fred Hersch, Tony Malaby, Simon Nabatov, Tom Varner, and Kenny Werner. Rainey worked with Berne in the 1990s and 2000s in the bands Big Satan, Hard Cell, Paraphrase, and Science Friction. He released his first album, Pool School in 2010 in a trio with guitarist Mary Halvorson and saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock.

Brandon Lopez (b. 1988) is a composer and bassist. His music has been praised as “brutal” (Chicago Reader) and “relentless” (The New York Times).
Lopez has worked beside Fred Moten, John Zorn, Okkyung Lee, Ingrid Laubrock, Tony Malaby, Tyshawn Sorey, Bill Nace, Chris Potter, Edwin Torres, Tom Rainey, Cecilia Lopez, Sun Ra Arkestra, Susan Alcorn, Mette Rasmussen, and many others.

For more information on Brandon Lopez, please visit his website.

Joe Morris (b. 1955) is a composer/improviser multi-instrumentalist who plays guitar, double bass, mandolin, banjo, banjouke electric bass and drums.

Morris has performed and/or recorded with many of the most important contemporary artists in improvised music including, Anthony Braxton, Evan Parker, John Zorn, Ken Vandermark, Tomeka Reid, Fay Victor, Tim Berne, William Parker, Sylvie Courvoisier, Peter Evans, David S. Ware, Joe Maneri, Dewey Redman, Wadada Leo Smith, Leroy Jenkins, Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris, Marshall Allen, Barre Phillips, Barry Guy, Matthew Shipp, Gerald Cleaver, and many others.

To learn more about Joe Morris, please visit his website.

About Improvisations Now
Improvisations Now is a monthly series of concerts programmed by Joe Morris. Joe invites a diverse group of dynamic, innovative musicians, all important members of the global improvised music scene, and performs with them. The music is completely improvised. Every concert is different.

The 2021-22 Improvisations Now series included Mary Halvorson, William Parker, Tyshawn Sorey, Joe McPhee, Rob Brown, Jerome Deupree, Fay Victor, Sam Newsome, Reggie Nicholson, Patricia Brennan, James Brandon Lewis, Tomeka Reid, Taylor Ho Bynum. Kyoko Kitamura, Stephen Haynes, Mat Maneri, and Peter Evans.

The 2022-23 season included Ken Vandermark, Matthew Shipp, Anna Webber, Angelica Sanchez, Hery Paz, Juan Pablo Carletti, Kenneth Jimenez, Matana Roberts, and Melanie Dyer. Still to come: Daniel Carter, Michael Wimberly, Jamie Saft, Ingrid Laubrock, Tom Rainey, Brandon Lopez, Tony Malaby, and Nasheet Waits.