DON BYRON (NY)
• clarinets, saxophones

New York’s Don Byron is a true virtuoso— effortlessly traversing various musical roles (clarinetist, pianist, composer, arranger) and a broad stylistic scope (from free-jazz to classical, hip-hop to klezmer) with poise and charisma. His powerful and magnetic imagination will undoubtedly inspire Something Else! audiences.

EAR-CAM (Toronto)
Christine Duncan • voice
John Oswald • alto saxophone
Tomasz Krakowiak • percussion
Glen Hall • woodwinds, percussion, Kyma X, cataRT

Transducing ambient sounds as a means of sonically ‘photographing’ environments, EAR-CAM’s works layer tenor sax & bass clarinet, trumpet and electronic wind instruments, turntables, guitar, bass and drums, vocals, as well as algorithmic sources from sound design software, all to elusive and unsettling effect.

SOURPUSSY (Hamilton)
Victoria Alstein, Becky Katz, Jessica Somers, Heather South • all various instruments, vocals

Hamilton’s own Sourpussy generate fantastic, poetic, and utterly surreal streams of consciousness. Their dadaesque (mamaesque?) performances are as befuddling as they are awe-inspiring. Variously mining invented narratives, lists of ingredients, doctor’s warnings, repetitions, hallucinatory humour, and feverish confabulation, they take you on a journey that you never knew you needed.

Tickets: $20 advance $25 door (student, senior, artworker, underwaged) $35 door (regular)

Passes:
$100 (student, senior, artworker, underwaged)
$125 (regular)

SAM NEWSOME (NY)
soprano saxophone

Nominated in 2018 as Soprano Saxophonist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists’ Association, Newsome experiments to acclaim with the prepared saxophone, wedding it with an already-prodigious knowledge of the instrument’s sonic anatomy. Newsome’s dazzling deployment of multiphonics, slap tonguing, circular breathing and other alternative means of activating the instrument, displays an urgency, insight and dexterity that’s both peerless and wholly personal.

EUCALYPTUS (Toronto)

Brodie West • alto saxophone
Ryan Driver • clavinet
Rebecca Hennessy • trumpet
Kurt Newman • guitar
Mike Smith • bass
Blake Howard • percussion
Nick Fraser • drums
Evan Cartwright • drums

Brodie West was in the midst of a decade-long association with The Ex and Ethiopian saxophone legend Getatchew Mekuria when he formed Eucalyptus in 2009. Now in their own tenth year, the all-star octet remains a distinct and beloved presence in Toronto. Languid, poppish melodicism rides a polyrhythmic web of eclectic rhythms inspired by various global traditions. All-out groove and freeform impulse conspire secretly to produce volatile, but radically accessible, hybrid forms.

JOANNA DUDA (PL)
piano, electronics

Joanna Duda’s music moves nimbly back and forth between acoustic and digital polarities. Her uncompromisingly sonic mosaic juxtaposes the processed and synthetic (voice recordings, pop leftovers, skittery micro-clicks) against divergent acoustic hues summoned from all corners of the piano.

Tickets: $20 advance $25 door (student, senior, artworker, underwaged) $35 door (regular)

Passes:
$100 (student, senior, artworker, underwaged)
$125 (regular)

INDIGENOUS MIND + DON BYRON (Chicago/ NY)

Hamid Drake • drums, percussion
Joshua Abrams • double bass, guimbri
Jason Adasiewicz • vibraphone
Don Byron • reeds

The title of Alice Coltrane’s 1971 album Universal Consciousness speaks to the metaphysical impetus behind this trio. Comprised of three of Chicago’s most vibrant musical imaginations, Indigenous Mind is an homage to (Ms.) Coltrane’s legacy of innovation, as well as that of Pharoah Sanders. The collective aim of Hamid Drake (William Parker, David Murray, Herbie Hancock), Joshua Abrams (Town and Country, Natural Information Society) and Jason Adasiewicz (Sun Rooms, Living by Lanterns) is also to render the oneness of our shared primordial energy tangible through sound.

Indigenous Mind welcome Don Byron into the fold for a very special first-time/ one-time collaboration. The endlessly-compatible Byron is just as likely to integrate into the trio’s reverent spiritual-jazz as he is to instigate a plunge toward unknown intersections. It’s a partnership that is sure to offer attendees an invigorating balance of surprise and satisfaction.

IVA BITTOVA (CZ/NY)
violin, vocals

The exuberant avant-folk icon Iva Bittová offers the culminating performance of her tenure at this year’s festival. Something Else! 2019’s guest of honour Iva Bittová has a rare, ineffable two-fold gift. She’s versatile enough to have collaborated with esteemed artists across the spectrum of musical expression, yet her sonic signature remains deeply imprinted, no matter what the context. Best described as storyteller who seldom uses discernible language, her intimate, engrossing narratives unfold in a unique personal folk idiom of her own deriving—inspired by her northern Moravian roots and countless other traditions.

EGUILUZ TRIO (QC)

Géraldine Eguiluz • voice, guitar, pocket trumpet, Bulgarian flute, kalimba
Jean René • viola, voice
Stéphane Diamantakiou • double bass, voice

Géraldine Eguiluz’s eponymous trio offers an additional perspective on one this year’s latent thematic through-lines. The Mexican-born, Montreal-based multi-instrumentalist joins Stéphane Diamantakiou, and Jean René to spontaneously and collectively pose questions regarding their respective musical/ cultural heritages as well as the nature of existence. Embracing the lyrical intimacy of chamber music, the grounded visceral quality of folk instrumentation, and both the power and vulnerability that are innate to the human voice, their secret, less-audible ingredient is harnessing the freedom of listening without intention.

TIDAL POOL (Hamilton)
Connor Bennett • saxophones, electronics

Tidal Pool is Hamilton resident Connor Bennett’s solo foray into the saxophone’s nether regions and beyond. Starting from a strictly instrumental base, he augments his palette of unfamiliar acoustic colours with electronic treatments or simple amplification. As a musician, craftsperson, and arts organizer, Bennett as ubiquitous as he is indispensable within the local arts ecosystem. He plays saxophone in Haolin Munk, Eschaton, Lee/Palmer/Bennett and was a founding member of HAVN.

Tickets: $25 advance $30 door (student, senior, artworker, underwaged) $35 door (regular)

Passes:
$100 (student, senior, artworker, underwaged)
$125 (regular)

SARA SCHOENBECK (NY)
bassoon

Sara Schoenbeck makes her anticipated return after having played our inaugural festival in 2014. As an integral member of what the Wire aptly terms the “tiny club of bassoon pioneers” at work in contemporary music today, she’s carefully mapped out her own terrain on the unwieldy double reed instrument. It’s a sound that’s been heralded as “riveting, mixing textural experiments with a big, confident sound,” by the none other than the New York Times.

HARRIS EISENSTADT’S POSCHIAVO 50 ENSEMBLES

Harris Eisenstadt • drums, conductor, composition (NY)
Sara Schoenbeck • bassoon (NY)
Yves Charuest • alto saxophone (QC)
Sam Newsome • soprano saxophone (NY)
Don Byron • reeds (NY)
Géraldine Eguiluz • voice, guitar, trumpet (QC)
David Lee • double bass (Hamilton)
Connor Bennett • saxophones (Hamilton)
Chris Palmer • guitar (Hamilton)
Nick Fraser • drums (Toronto)

NYC drummer Harris Eisenstadt leads a special Something Else! edition of his ambitious Poschiavo 50 project. The name references a book of 50 compositions written for small and large ensembles during a 2017 residency in Switzerland—works that have been debuted around the world by the likes of Erik Friedlander and Ikue Mori. This iteration draws upon our esteemed roster spanning internationals, such as frequent-collaborator Schoenbeck, to some of our finest local talents.

JOSHUA ABRAMS (Chicago)
double bass, guimbri

Joshua Abrams has been a multifaceted mainstay of the Chicago scene for almost thirty years. In addition to leading his own acclaimed project Natural Information Society, he co-founded Town and Country, who traded in what All Music Guide dubs a “homespun minimalism.” He’s also member of Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble, Mike Reed’s Loose Assembly among others, was the in-house bassist for Fred Anderson’s Velvet Lounge. Abrams’ seemingly insatiable curiosity anchors in numerous stylistic realms from jazz to various more elusive experimentalisms.

NO SILENZ (FR/QC)

Susanna Hood • voice (QC)
Jason Sharp • bass saxophone (QC)
Fredéric B Briet • double bass (FR)
Christophe Rocher • clarinets (bass, Bb, Eb) (FR)

Nestled firmly in the bass register, No Silenz springs from a clash of cultures that have been nourished by minimalist music, alternative rock and African-American rhythms. Celebrated movement artist and vocalist Susanna Hood, and Constellation Records’ Jason Sharp join Magma sideman Fred B. Briet and Ensemble Nautilus founder Christopher Rocher for an excursion in pulse, melody and abstraction.

Tickets: $25 advance $30 door (student, senior, artworker, underwaged) $35 door (regular)

Passes:
$100 (student, senior, artworker, underwaged)
$125 (regular)

IVA BITTOVA & HAMID DRAKE (CZ/ NY/ Chicago)

Iva Bittova • violin, vocals
Hamid Drake • drums, percussion

These revered, kindred souls—both known for their deft mixture of free-spiritedness and bold musical identity—meet again to perform for unsuspecting Hamiltonians for the very first time. These two fearless aural omnivores will rediscover the pidgin language they’ve honed in several prior encounters, each bringing with them the array of sounds and traditions they have made their own.

HOOKER/ CHARUEST/ NEWSOME/ EGUILUZ (NY/ QC)
William Hooker • drums, percussion
Yves Charuest • alto saxophone
Sam Newsome • soprano saxophone
Geraldine Eguiluz • voice, various instruments

A gathering of great minds, open hearts, and unique instrumental personalities, this quartet has been assembled specifically for Something Else! 2019. Listeners will witness a unique convergence of these master improvisers —their varied sonic dialects coalescing into a fresh and unpredictable configuration of energy.

GILLIAM/ MILMINE/ POTTIE (Toronto)
Bill Gilliam • piano
Kayla Milmine • soprano saxophone
Ambrose Pottie • drums

The string of surnames may read like they’re a one-off collaboration, but this Toronto trio is anything but. Blending spontaneous invention and composition since 2015, their music simmers with quiet, transparent possibility, even in its densest moments. In addition to having been featured at the TD Toronto Jazz Festival and as part of Zula’s past season, they’ve documented their lucid ensemble identity on the recording Entangled Pathways.

PICASTRO (Toronto)
Liz Hysen • guitar, piano, vocals

As fractured as it is stubborn, as vulnerable as it is assertive, Picastro’s catalog of broodingly textural songs stretches back to 1998 and features a number of notable contributors surrounding bandleader Liz Hysen. As Stuart Berman of Pitchfork says of their recent effort Exit, “Picastro aren’t interested in working themselves up into volcanic crescendos; instead, they conjure those early moments of a windstorm, where the dead leaves and street debris start to coalesce into circular patterns, though everything could drift off at any moment.”

Tickets: $25 advance $30 door (student, senior, artworker, underwaged) $35 door (regular)

Passes:
$100 (student, senior, artworker, underwaged)
$125 (regular)

IVA BITTOVA (CZ/NY)
violin, vocals

Something Else! 2019’s guest of honour Iva Bittová has a rare, ineffable two-fold gift. She’s versatile enough to have collaborated with esteemed artists across the spectrum of musical expression, yet her sonic signature remains deeply imprinted, no matter what the context. Best described as storyteller who seldom uses discernible language, her intimate, engrossing narratives unfold in a unique personal folk idiom of her own deriving—inspired by her northern Moravian roots and countless other traditions.

BRODIE WEST & HAMID DRAKE (Toronto/ Chicago) Brodie West • alto saxophone
Hamid Drake • drums, percussion

Following two turbulent and beautiful West Coast encounters, this duo of lauded Canadian saxophonist West (Eucalyptus, the Ex, Han Bennink) and master percussionist Hamid Drake (Don Cherry, Fred Anderson, William Parker, Peter Brötzmann, David Murray) continues their inspired, multifaceted dialogue in their long-anticipated Ontario debut.

JASON ADASIEWICZ (Chicago)
vibraphone

A rare solo set by the great Chicago vibraphonist, his first time back since his unforgettable performances with Sun Rooms at our inaugural festival five years ago! “Jason Adasiewicz’s vibes shimmer in the ether. A Chicago mainstay, Jason is a true original with a deep sensibility for sound vibration that can be heard through his innate and idiosyncratic approach to harmony and melody. Jason’s musical history is spiked with fervent free improvisation and tight melodic rendering” — Rob Mazurek

THE ARCHIVES OF ETERNITY (Toronto) Mark Hundevad • vibraphone, composition
Mike Gennaro • drums
Patrick Smith • tenor saxophone
Andrew Furlong • double bass

The Archives of Eternity features stalwart Toronto improvisers Mike Gennaro and Mark Hundevad in vigorous conversation with emergent voices Patrick Smith and Andrew Furlong. The quartet conjures the spirit of early 60’s jazz experimentalism through an urgent hybridity that’s irrefutably of the now.

FREE/ BY DONATION EVENT
Admission is free, donations are appreciated!

WILLIAM HOOKER (NY)

Drums, percussion, poetry (& film)

Iconoclastic drummer and poet William Hooker’s single-minded explorations of the drum kit have made him one of the most vital musicians of the past 40 years. Hooker has found fertile ground to cultivate moving music in a startling variety of settings. Similarly, his relentless expressivity, travels along multiple channels, offering a much-needed statement of social optimism in the arts.

INDIGENOUS MIND (Chicago)
Hamid Drake • drums, percussion
Joshua Abrams • double bass, guimbri
Jason Adasiewicz • vibraphone

The title of Alice Coltrane’s 1971 album Universal Consciousness speaks to the metaphysical impetus behind this trio. Comprised of three of Chicago’s most vibrant musical imaginations, Indigenous Mind is an homage to (Ms.) Coltrane’s legacy of innovation, as well as that of Pharoah Sanders. The collective aim of Hamid Drake (William Parker, David Murray, Herbie Hancock), Joshua Abrams (Town and Country, Natural Information Society) and Jason Adasiewicz (Sun Rooms, Living by Lanterns) is also to render the oneness of our shared primordial energy tangible through sound.

YVES CHARUEST (QC)
alto saxophone

Prolific Montreal-based alto saxophonist “Yves Charuest runs counter to expectations for free jazz saxophonists, his playing consistently lyrical, often understated, his brief, sometimes elliptical lines conveying intense passion and thought, but rarely cascades of notes or distorted timbres. Charuest, began his career in the 1980s and spent a creative stretch in Europe, long ago sublimated his influences into a distinctly personal style.” – Stuart Broomer, The Whole Note .

EARTH WIND & CHOIR (Hamilton)
Sarah Good • conductress Vocalists: Amy Mcintosh • Beth De Jong • Biljana Vasilevska • Sahra Soudi • Jennifer Green • Karijn De Jong • Alexandra Zaralis • Katie Penrose • Heather South • Jess Carey • Bailey Duff • Molly Merriman • Carly Mary Mcleod • Christine Urquhart • Mac Kenzie • Jon Dalton • Ian Chalanger • Lee Skinner • Jeff Bakalar • Mark Raymond • Kieran Commanda

This ever-evolving local vocal institution introduced their fun, adventurous sound some ten ten years ago. Conductress Sarah Good plays the choir of 15-20 dedicated creative vocalists like an instrument, presenting idiosyncratic takes on the most beautiful, ugly and/or interesting music the group can find—from early polyphony to avant-pop.

Tickets: $25 advance $30 door (student, senior, artworker, underwaged) $35 door (regular)

Passes:
$100 (student, senior, artworker, underwaged)
$125 (regular)