A pleasure to welcome back legendary saxophonist and bandleader Marshall Allen to Cafe OTO for two evenings of exploratory music. The first night will be a presentation of James Harrar's Cinema Soloriens project with Gong's Daevid Allen joining Marshall, James Harrar and percussionist Rogier Smal. The second night reunites Marshall Allen with Decoy. The trio had previously joined the Arkestra original for extended dawn and dusk sets at the Sun Ra Arkestra festival in Nickelsdorf last summer. Look forward to another all nite flight at OTO!

CINEMA SOLORIENS
featuring Marshall Allen (Sun Ra Arkestra)
& Daevid Allen (Gong/Soft Machine)

Since beginning this ambitious project 18 years ago with Marshall Allen, leader of The Sun Ra Arkestra, filmmaker/musician James Harrar sees Cinema Soloriens as a constantly evolving creative and spiritual learning center.

Cinema Soloriens is a multi-media performance consisting of James Harrar’s experimental and highly personal film and video images with a live musical rendering of soundtracks for each film. The musical concepts are created, directed and performed by Harrar (tenor sax, flute, bulbul tarang, reeds, voice and effects) with Marshall Allen (alto sax, flute, keyboards, EVI and effects), Daevid Allen (guitar, effects and voice) and Rogier Smal (percussion and electronics) plus a stellar changing line-up of gifted musicians.

The project places attention on Artist collaboration, exploring the moving image with live performance and when combined, an attempt to reveal deeper levels of interpretation within Harrar’s visceral film poems. These presentations also celebrate the early beginnings of cinema, providing live music to support and elevate the silent movie experience.

Any musical incarnation of Cinema Soloriens reveals a group possessing a penchant for psychedelic rock, outre ethnological improvisations and Marshall Allen approved jazzy stomps of which these performances deliver in equal measure.

www.cinemasoloriens.com



DECOY

Decoy is the 'organ' trio of Alex Hawkins, John Edwards and Steve Noble. Hawkins - whose early training as a pipe organist encourages him to exploit the full potential of the Hammond Organ and Leslie speaker is joined by arguably one of the greatest rhythm sections in music who combine a gift for unstoppable rhythmic propulsion and beguiling sonic abstraction - from furious swing to metallic klang and slapped strings..

"this…might just be the best new band to emerge this year…a band that redefine the words “shock and awe”… this is an improvising trio that rocks and swings so hard it’s dangerous…it made me want to dig out all those records, watch those films and set the controls for the heart of the sun. That’s how good it is." - Duncan Heining, Jazzwise

Alexander Hawkins - Hammond Organ
Steve Noble - Drums
John Edwards - Double Bass



ALEXANDER HAWKINS

Although better known as a pianist, Alexander Hawkins was called in a recent review ‘[t]he most interesting Hammond player of the last decade and more’, where it was commented that he had 'already extended what can be done on the instrument’ (Brian Morton, Point of Departure). In 2010, he was named on the official ballot for the 75th Annual Downbeat Reader’s Poll in the organ category. Writers in the Spanish journal El Intruso voted him #1 in the keyboard category, and #5 in the piano category, in their end of year poll for the same year.

His first album as leader, 'no now is so' (FMR), met with critical acclaim, featuring in various 'top ten albums of the year' lists; its sequel, 'all there, ever out' is due for release shortly on Babel. He also co-leads the collaborative Convergence Quartet, featuring American Taylor Ho Bynum, Canadian Harris Eisenstadt, and fellow Briton Dominic Lash, whose second album, 'Song/Dance', recently appeared on the Clean Feed label.

He has performed with the likes of Evan Parker, Louis Moholo-Moholo, Joe McPhee, Sonny Simmons, and many others, and is the pianist in the band of the master Ethiopian composer, Mulatu Astatke. He has performed across the UK, Europe, and beyond.

STEVE NOBLE

Steve Noble is London’s leading drummer, a fearless and constantly inventive improviser whose super-precise, ultra-propulsive and hyper-detailed playing has galvanized encounters with Derek Bailey, Matthew Shipp, Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith, Stephen O’Malley, Joe McPhee, Alex Ward, Rhodri Davies and many, many more.

From playing with Nigerian master drummer Elkan Ogunde ,Rip Rig and Panic ,Brion Gysin and the Bow Gamelan Ensemble, Noble went on to work with the pianist Alex Maguire and with Derek Bailey (including Company Weeks 1987,89 and 90) and was featured (along with Alex Ward) in the TV series based on Baileys book ‘Improvisation; its nature and practise’. He has toured and performed throughout Europe , Africa and America. Currently leads the groups ‘4tet’ - ‘Say What’- ‘Shakedown Club’- ‘Harry Love All Stars’ and a trio with Lol Coxhil / Edwards - he also fills the drum chair in the following groups ; SFQ, Badland , Gannets , Aethenor, Freebase and Tim Hills group Tongues of Fire.

Noble has also been MD for the Spanish dance company MAL PELO since 1998. He also runs the record company PING PONG PRODUCTIONS.

"An engaging mix of jazz time, free–rock and abstract improv , Noble is one of the country’s most creative drummers” (the Guardian)

" If you want to turn some friends on to improvised music take them to see one of Noble’s bands. The chemistry makes for explosive, exhuberant playing, seemingly endless creativity and- shocking though it may seem to some - fun” (Phil England, the Wire)

JOHN EDWARDS

John Edwards is a true virtuoso whose staggering range of techniques and boundless musical imagination have redefined the possibility of the double bass and dramatically expanded its role, whether playing solo or with others. Perpetually in demand, he has played with Evan Parker, Sunny Murray, Derek Bailey, John Wall, Joe McPhee, Lol Coxhill, and many others.