Modern Art Music: a quartet of experienced music improvisors including, from Vancouver, internationally renowned Kenton Loewen on drums, Bruce Freedman on saxophones, and from Roberts Creek, James Meger on bass and Graham Ord on saxophones. Compositions from the pens of Graham Ord and Bruce Freedman and collective instant composed music.
Graham Ord
Multi instrumentalist Graham Ord is living on the unceded territory of the shíshálh swíya (Sechelt) Nation, Xwesam (Roberts Creek).
Graham performs regularly with groups on the Coast and in Vancouver currently including ANAGRAM, Groove Syndicate, Budge Schachte, the Moss Trio, Stefan Smulovitz, Lisa Cay Miller, Peter Van Deursen. Anna Lumière and many others.
Jazz, blues and improvised music are main influences in Graham’s playing but Choro and Celtic music have a strong influence as well.
Graham’s arsenal of instruments include tenor and sopranos saxophones, flutes, electronic wind instrument (EWI) and percussion including Bodhran, shakers, bells etc.
Graham’s musical career has spanned six decades working professionally starting in 1970.
Notable groups played and or recorded with include Hard Rubber Orchestra, N.O.W. Orchestra, Claude Ranger’s Jade Orchestra, Garbo’s Hat, Cathy Kidd’s Congo Mambo, Sumalao, Jack Duncan’s Shango Ashe, Rio Bumba and many others.
Bruce Freedman:
Saxophonist, composer, Bruce Freedman has been a part of the Vancouver creative music scene since 1972 when he immigrated to Canada from Los Angeles.
Over the years he performed with an array of Vancouver improvisors including the late Paul Plimley, Graham Ord, Gregg Simpson, Clyde Reed, Hugh Fraser, Bill Clark and many others. Rio Bumba was another creation, popular in particular with Vancouver dance enthusiasts.
As leader he led several incarnations of "Chief Feature", which included legendary drummer, Claude Ranger.
He was a core member for many years with the "NOW Orchestra", which included two international tours with George Lewis.
His most recent recording is an album, "Collage" available on Infidel recordings.
Kenton Loewen:
Juno award winning Kenton Loewen is an accomplished drummer and singer/ songwriter from Vancouver British Columbia. Alumni of VCC, his scope of work encompasses and crosses through experimental, modern, post bop and free jazz, folk, country, punk, Hip Hop, Arabic, Persian, African and rock music. His band The Crackling was his medium for songwriting. He has since released Petrol Matches Boom on the Drip Audio label produced by Jesse Zubot. He has worked with local music legend Gordon Grdina in many projects including the avant guard Arabic 10 piece Haram, modern jazz project Grdina/ Houle/ Loewen, the experimental boundary defying Gordon Grdina Trio and the Juno nominated free punk rock duo Peregrine Falls. He played in the enigmatic Paul Plimley's Trios and in celebrated west coast guitar player Tony Wilson's Longhand Trio. He is an original member of KneeJerk and was an original member of Dan Mangan + Blacksmith and Mother Mother.
Kenton has played and collaborated with Submission Hold, Josh Martinez and The Pissed off Wild, Po' Girl, Tanya Tagaq, the Sumner Brothers, The Now Orchestra, The Axelrod String Quartet, Marc Destrubé, Eugene Chadbourne, Damo Suzuki, Lee Ronaldo, Gino Robair, Mats Gustafsson, Ingebrigt Haker- Flaten, Fredrick Lunquist, Marc Helias, Tony Malaby, Evan Parker, Michael Moore, Wilbert de Joode, Eric Boeren, Samuel Blazer, Colin Stetson, Jerry Granelli, Benoit Delbeq,
Jeb Bishop, Eyvind Kang, Michael Blake, Luc Ex, Kent Kessler, Paul Plimley, Clyde Reed, Ken Vandermark, Wayne Horvitz, Darius Jones, Dave Rempis, Nate McBride, Jon Irabagon, Mat Maneri, Dr. Lisa Cay Miller, Ig Henneman, Ab Baars, Marc Ribot and many more.
As a leader and sideman, Loewen has recorded and toured extensively in Canada, The U.S., Europe, Australia and Mexico playing several different festivals, engagements and showcases. Some dates include Festival International de Music Actuelle de Victoriaville, Calgary Folk Festival, Glastonbury, Reeperbahn Festival, Ottawa Folk, Jazz and Blues Festivals, Guelph Jazz Festival, Hillside Festival, Natt Jazz Festival in Bergen Norway, The Bimhuis Amsterdam, Burning Eagle
Festival, Haldern Pop, Virgin Music Fest, Sasquatch Festival, CMJ Music Fest in NY, Pop Montreal, SXSW, CMW, Vancouver International Jazz Festival, Vancouver Psych Fest, Toronto Jazz Festival, Halifax Pop and Jazz Festivals, Osheaga in Montreal, The Zacatecas international Jazz and Blues Festival and Zinco in Mexico City, Mexico.
Kenton Loewen has produced and co produced The Crackling, Peregrine Falls, Marin Patenaude, Joline Baylis and several independent experimental jazz records.
James Meger:
James Meger is a bassist and composer whose work spans jazz, free improvisation, and rock, performing internationally with artists such as Darius Jones (fLuXkit Vancouver), Frazey Ford, Wayne Horvitz, Chris Speed, and Kris Davis. He is an active sideman and collaborator in diverse
projects—including Sick Boss, Josh Zubot’s Strings, The Bruno Hubert Trio, La Syrie Libre, NOW Society and Strange Worlds—that showcase his versatility as a player
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