Ava Mendoza / Hamid Drake / Adam Lane / Matt Nelson | Vision Festival 24 (1 of 2)

Ava Mendoza - guitar / Hamid Drake - drums / Adam Lane - bass / Matt Nelson - soprano, tenor saxophone

Guitarist Ava Mendoza brought together her frequent collaborators Matt Nelson and Adam Lane with longtime inspiration Hamid Drake for a special performance at Vision Festival 24.

Filipe Freitas of Jazz Trail described the performance as “replete with acerbic guitar strokes and Hendrixian discharges complemented with loopy maneuvers and a bit of metal anguish. With Lane and Drake talking with authority at the rear, Mendoza and Nelson could focus on creating tension through the combination of their tart sounds.”

Visual art and poetry projections by Yuko Otomo.

Filmed at Vision Festival 24, June 14, 2019 at Roulette, Brooklyn.

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Ava Mendoza is a Brooklyn-based guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer. Born in 1983, she started performing her own music, and as a sidewoman and collaborator in many different projects, as soon as she was legally allowed into venues. As a guitarist, Mendoza has received acclaim for her technique and viscerality. Her most ongoing work is as leader of art rock band Unnatural Ways, and as a solo performer of her own music and works by contemporary composers. In any context she is committed to bringing expressivity, energy and a wide sonic range to the music. http://avamendozamusic.com/

Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and African percussion instruments and influence, in addition to using the standard trap set, Drake has collaborated extensively with top free jazz improvisers. He studied drums extensively, including eastern and Caribbean styles. He frequently plays without sticks, using his hands to develop subtle commanding undertones. His tabla playing is notable for his subtlety and flair. Drake's questing nature and his interest in Caribbean percussion led to a deep involvement with reggae. https://bandcamp.com/tag/hamid-drake

By combining a disparate set of influences into a unique improvisational voice, Adam Lane has become recognized as one of the most original creative voices in contemporary jazz. His 2006 recording New Magical Kingdom, was featured in the Penguin Jazz Guide 1001 Best Records Ever Made. As a sideman he has performed with an eclectic mix of musicians, from tenor great John Tchicai, to alto iconoclast Richard Tabnik, to rock legend Tom Waits.
http://adamlane.org/

Saxophonist Matt Nelson regularly performs in a far-reaching, motley  assortment of musical projects. Described as "one of the more unpredictable virtuosos in New York's underground" by Pitchfork, and "genre-bending" by Tiny Mix Tapes, his output often lies in the gray corners beyond categorization. In 2010 Matt relocated to Brooklyn, New York from Oakland, California. During his time there he has  performed and toured as a member of Battle Trance, GRID, Elder Ones,  Premature Burial, Skeletons, and the Weasel Walter Large Ensemble.
https://www.mattnelsonsax.com/  

Yuko Otomo is a visual artist and a bilingual (Japanese/English) writer of Japanese origin. She writes poetry, haiku, art criticism, travelogues, and essays. Her publications include Garden: Selected Haiku (Beehive Press), Genesis (Sisyphus Press), Small Poems (UDP), The Hand of The Poet (UDP), Study (UDP), Elements (the Feral Press), KOAN (New Feral Press), Frozen Heatwave, a collaboration with Steve Dalachinsky (Luna Bisonte Prods), and Envelope (Poems-For-All). She lives in New York City.

Audio by Stephen Schmidt. Film production by Moon Lasso http://moonlasso.com/

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