Elliott Sharp is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer and central figure in the avant-garde music scene in New York City for over thirty years. This is a new quartet that will be playing for the second time following their debut at Cafe Oto in June 2010

Elliott Sharp (guitar, sax)
John Edwards (contrabass)
Tony Marsh (full percussion)
John Butcher (reeds)


Elliott will also open the show with a short solo set and a duo with Kay Grant.

ELLIOTT SHARP

A major figure in New York's downtown scene for years, Elliott Sharp has experimented relentlessly with electronics over the course of his career. He's more recently started using computers and invented instruments, the most well-known of which is the guitarbass. He's a multi-instrumentalist who also plays percussion and saxophone -- but don't let any of that intimidate you.

Sharp's work is pretty accessible. His innovative efforts have concentrated on producing unusual textures and timbres, but he employs familiar devices too: infectious rhythms, steady tempos. His works, for all their newness in some areas, are lucidly constructed, logically paced, and full of interesting dynamic and textural contrasts. On this multilayered disc, Sharp plays all of the instruments. He's got a huge palette from which to choose, given the electronic equipment at his disposal. But Sharp isn't just experimenting. He's making music and is selective about what he puts into it. In fact, his orchestration, if it can be called that, is pretty lean, and he builds his pieces gradually, creating ambiences rather than jumping abruptly from one thing to another. Some of these tracks have a hypnotic quality, something like Indian music. There's also a free jazz influence here. If you haven't heard Sharp's work, you should. He's created his own style, and although he continues to refine it, his achievements to date have already had considerable impact and will continue to do so for some time. -- Harvey Pekar