Event

Subtle Degrees

On Tuesday, September 18, ALL presents SUBTLE DEGREES, a new two-musician ensemble consisting of Travis Laplante (tenor saxophone) and Gerald Cleaver (drums). The duo's uncategorizable sound evokes everything from contemporary classical music, avant garde jazz, minimalism, technical metal, and sacred world music. Laplante is also the founder/composer of saxophone quartet Battle Trance and the ensemble Little Women.

'A Dance That Empties' is Travis Laplante's latest album-length composition written for Subtle Degrees, a brand new ensemble consisting of Laplante (tenor saxophone) and Gerald Cleaver (drums). Truly singular and unique in scope, the duo evokes everything from contemporary classical music, avant-garde jazz, trance, minimalism, technical metal, and sacred world music. 'A Dance That Empties' is Laplante's most risky piece to date. The extremely demanding composition pushes the players to the limit both technically and physically, while the raw and vulnerable instrumentation makes for an intimately emotional experience for both performers and audience.

Ceremonial in shape and form, 'A Dance That empties' is a journey that unfolds over the course of approximately 40 minutes, with musical motifs that foreshadow, reoccur, and evolve. The piece refines sonic territory that Laplante has become known for in his saxophone quartet Battle Trance as well as his solo saxophone work, utilizing long periods of circular breathing, and using highly unusual saxophone fingering to create specific resonances. 'A Dance That Empties' adds the distinctly new element of complex rhythms (precisely executed by Gerald Cleaver) that compel the listener to completely lose themselves in the hypnotically repetitive, yet consistently and subtly shifting grooves.