West Oakland Sound Series
2201 Poplar Street Dresher Ensemble Studio Oakland
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BETH SCHENCK QUINTET
MATTHEW WELCH'S BLARVUSTER

The BETH SCHENCK QUINTET features BETH SCHENCK on alto saxophone, Kasey Knudsen on tenor saxophone, MATT WROBEL on guitar, Lisa Mezzacappa on bass, and Jordan Glenn on drums. Although these Bay Area improvisers have played together in different configurations for a decade, this quintet of musicians brings together their diverse backgrounds and influences to create boundary-pushing improvisation out of new compositional work from Beth. Inspired by the individual voices of each member of this ensemble, Beth set out to write music to specifically feature each one of these exceptional musicians. The result is music that is both challenging and accessible.


MATTHEW WELCH'S BLARVUSTER [MATTHEW WELCH (pipes, sax, vox), AARON GERMAIN (bass) and Jordan Glenn (drums, perc)] is a bagpipe-driven amplified ensemble dedicated to Matthew Welch’s unique compositions and bagpipe virtuosity. Blarvuster’s music merges Scottish pipes, Balinese gamelan, minimalism, improvisation and rock into a textural labyrinth of ecstatic sound. The ensemble was formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 2002 and is now based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Blarvuster has performed at notable venues and festivals including: National Sawdust (NYC), Celtic Connections (Glasgow), The Stone (NYC), Jazzwerkstatt and BeeFlat (Bern, CH), Roulette, Le Poisson Rouge, EMPAC, Western Front (Vancouver), Switchboard Festival (SF 2014), The Kitchen (NYC), Tonic, Issue Project Room, Zebulon, MOMA, Galapagos and CBGB’s, TAC and most recently the Piping Live Festival in Glasgow. The ensemble’s debut eponymous album "Blarvuster" appeared on John Zorn’s Tzadik Records in 2010, with a follow up record, The Finger Lock, released on Kotekan Records in 2018.
“The ensemble’s border-busting music is original and catchy” – The New York Times

Cost: $10-$25 sliding scale

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