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Progressive Projections 2001: |
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New Progressive Rock and Projected Arts Festival
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Azigza
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2 stages - 5 bands on the cutting edge of musical exploration and aural limits - all choreographed to mindblowing surrealist projected imagery on 3 screens! Benefit for KUSF! |
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Azigza: For those already familiar - and those not - this performance promises to showcase the group in their fullest possible form and regalia. Their full cadre of 3 drummers - set, talking drums, tablas, djembes, dumbeks and an arsenal of other nameless percussive instruments - will be on hand. And, if that is not all, Azigza will debut their new, 2 electric violin mini-orchestra line-up. For those who have not yet heard and seen Azigza before, and have waited for a great opportunity, this is it!
Ashpool was originally formed in 1994 in a short-lived setup involving a female vocalist. Described as a true post-punk, jazzy frenzy of manic musical genius, Ashpool honed its unique brand of melodic instrumental rock-fusion as a casual project for many years before settling down as a full-time band early in 2000. The band's sound combines melodically soaring compositions with an ability and willingness to stretch out into pure improvisational space at any time. Patrick's hypnotic guitar overlays the solid foundation of Klik's fluid bass and Xochi's frenetic prog/punk drumming.
Merge is a power trio. whose music fuses world ,jazz, and progressive rock. Lead by virtuoso Chapman Stick and MIDI Stick player Nima Razai and Dan Heflin on soprano and tenor saxophone, and Murray Gusseck on drum set and drumKAT this group "merges" the sounds of West African, South American, and western rhythms and melodies held within the new expressions in the jazz tradition. Fans of progressive rock music will appreciate its influences in the attitudes of power chords, elaborate drum fills, and virtuosic soloing find their place in compositions that contain a wide variety of movements, time signatures, and associated visual imagery -ultimate and original mood music. Think Tony Levin, Jan Gabarek set as a film score.
Savant Guard, an electro-acoustic instrumental trio, plays chops-intensive, no-holds barred progressive rock; with homages to Baroque, finger-style jazz-funk, Latin, Middle-Eastern and wildly improvisational craziness. A power house in the style of the best of King Crimson and Bill Bruford.
Headshear (formerly Churnbliss) is a guitar drenched neo-minimalist funk and groove orientated ensemble. Cycles of churning phased and looped polyrythmic guitar riffs ala Steve Reich, harmonic textures ala David Sylvian all laid over solid techno-drum neo-industrial grooves and surreal improvisatonal solos in the style of Alan Holdsworth and Daevid Allen establish this group as exploring one of the new frontiers in the realm of progressive rock.
kce