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Event
Twin Talk
Twin Talk: Dustin Laurenzi (sax), Katie Ernst (bass/voice), and Andrew Green (drums) returns to ArtLitLab on Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 8pm. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Student tickets $5 off with a valid school ID. Advance ticket sales end 1 hour before the show. Doors open at 7:30pm.
Since forming in 2012 Chicagos Twin Talk has steadily drifted from the conventions of the saxophone trio. While reedist Dustin Laurenzi, bassist-singer Katie Ernst, and drummer Andrew Green are deeply rooted in jazz tradition, theyve spent their time on the band stage together making their music more elastic, spontaneous, and open, embracing new inspirations without stifling the improvisational heart of their work. All three musicians are active members in the citys bustling jazz community, each playing in numerous working bands, but theyve found a true collective voice as Twin Talk. Theyve used live performances as opportunities to stretchexpanding on composed material and ditching set lists in favor of calling tunes on the flybut on Weaver theyve pushed themselves further than ever, using the recording studio as a place for experimentation, letting a new batch of compositions develop and take new shapes. As critic Howard Reich wrote recently in the Chicago Tribune, These musicians listen keenly to one another, and with a sensitivity that only comes from familiarity and trust.
Laurenzi spent much of 2016-17 on tour with Bon Iver, and when the groups leader Justin Vernon caught a Twin Talk gig in Minneapolis he was knocked out and offered the trio a chance to record at his celebrated April Base studio. With five luxurious days at its disposal, Twin Talk recorded its new book of tunes as it had traditionallylive and unadorned. Then they spent the next three days reshaping the material with carefully plotted overdubs and edits, forging sleek arrangements with lush harmoniesthe soulful, patiently accruing horn charts that limn the aching country-soul melody of Folks, or the ethereal wordless vocals of Ernst that float in deft unison with Laurenzis serene clarinet in the postlude of Paxton, the sole piece on the recording to splice two discrete sections to produce an intentionally jarring transition.
Ernst is a genuine double threat, her muscular bass playing matched by a crystalline voicean instrument of astonishing precision and clarity. Those talents have been recognized by many, including pianist and composer Jason Moran, who made her playing and singing an integral part of his monumental suite Looks of a Lot in 2015. Her vocals are featured on Solace, a ballad of disarming beauty, as a solemn delivery initially backed by sonorous double stops gradually opens up with Laurenzis sobbing commentary and Greens increasingly forceful pulse. As the song reaches its conclusion the contained emotions seem to burst into tears, only for Ernst to deliver a serene coda streaked with hope. Most of the music on Weaver pushes through shifting terrain. The Sky Never Ends toggles between gossamer delicacy, pop-like splendor, and explosive exposition, while the gorgeously meditative Five offers an extended platform for Greens melodic percussion before Laurenzis knotty tenor cries push toward a rewarding climax. Vernons enthusiasm for Twin Talk continues, as he ushers Weaver into the world through his eclectic PEOPLE platform on February 8, 2019.
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LocationArts + Literature Laboratory (View)
2021 Winnebago Street
Madison, WI 53704
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 14 |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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