Wayne Horvitz by Daniel Sheehan
Wayne Horvitz
Based in Seattle, WA, composer, pianist and electronic musician Wayne Horvitz, a stalwart of the NYC downtown scene for many years. His genre-busting approach gained notoriety through his membership in John Zorn's Naked City, but has also fed potent artistic relationships with luminaries such as Elliot Sharp, Butch Morris, Sara Schoenbeck, Fred Frith, Julian Priester and many more.
As a composer he's been commissioned by the Kitchen, Kronos Quartet, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and New World Records and has various created string quartets, piano works and concertos for improvising soloists. In describing his disc Sweeter Than The Day the Wire said “on piano, Horvitz is economical yet lyrical, never venturing far from the strong melodic hooks which characterize his compositions, but constantly working small surprises. An irresistible antidote to grey days.”
In addition to his celebrated duo with Robin Holcomb, this year's Something Else! Festival will feature him as a dynamic contributor, in ad hoc groups and other existing projects by others, plus Sweeter Than The Day, one of his most exciting projects from previous years with a special Something Else! line up.