DEBUT PERFORMANCE
OF “LAWSON”

Saxophonist Jacob Zimmerman will lead the debut performance of his newest musical project “Lawson” on Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 8:00 PM, at the Oakopolis Gallery (The cost is a $5-15 sliding scale donation). Local guitarist ChuckJohnson will also perform a short opening set of fingerstyle acoustic guitar.

Zimmerman, (b. 1986) is currently a 2nd year Masters Composition student at Mills College in Oakland, where he currently studies with Roscoe Mitchell, James Fei, and Fred Frith. In May of 2008 he graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Jazz Saxophone Performance. There he studied primarily with Anthony Coleman, Jerry Bergonzi, and Joe Morris. Zimmerman has performed at a variety of prominent venues and festivals including the North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, and Avery Fisher Hall in New York. As a performer Jacob demonstrates a firm knowledge of the history of the alto saxophone in jazz, classical, and improvised music. Recently his creative energies have been focused on a collection of solo pieces that highlight the various techniques and improvising strategies that have comprised his musical vocabulary over the years.

The newly formed “Lawson” ensemble performs original music inspired by the rich cultural heritage of the Lawsonite people. Comprised of an exceptional cast of eight Bay Area improvising musicians, the project is focused on the “navigation” of a unique pitch network system recently developed by Zimmerman in his solo work. In performance the Lawson ensemble often utilizes sustained sounds to collectively improvise complex, slowly shifting counterpoint. Through the use of pre-composed material, as well as a specific vocabulary of conducting cues for improvisation, the performers are also encouraged to discover new formations of melody and phrasing, with an emphasis on shapes and collective improvisation. Notable influences for the project include Karlheinz Stockhausen’s opera music, Bill Frisell, Sun Ra, Anthony Braxton, and the improvisations of Lee Konitz and the “Tristano School.”

Please visit www.jacobrexzimmerman.com and http://www.cirrusoxide.com for more info.