2007: Liz Allbee & Tatsuya Nakatani

Avant/experimental trumpeter Liz Allbee, or Liz Albee, or Li z Al(l)bee, has been performing in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past 6 years in many local groups, as well as solo. Her performances cross free-jazz, noise, improv, and punk boundaries with abandon, and involve dress-ups and all manner of sound-making devices. She has come to view the trumpet as “…more of an interface than an instrument,” and continuously adds more electronics and extended techniques, including the conch shell which has become central to her work. She notes that it eschews any issues of virtuosity (so prevalent in jazz).

Tatsuya Nakatani (percussion) is originally from Osaka, Japan. In 2006 he performed in 80 cities in 7 countries and collaborated with 163 artists worldwide. In the past 10 years he has released nearly 50 recordings on CD. He has created his own instrumentation, effectively inventing many instruments and extended techniques. He utilizes drumset, bowed gongs, cymbals, singing bowls, metal objects, bells, and various sticks and bows to create an intense, organic music that defies category or genre. His music is based in improvised/ experimental music, jazz, free jazz, rock, and noise, yet retains the sense of space and beauty found in traditional Japanese folk music.

In addition to live solo and ensemble performances he works as a sound designer for film and television. He also teaches Masterclasses and Workshops at the University level. He also heads H&H Production, an independent record label and recording studio based in Easton, Pennsylvania. He was selected as a performing artist for the Pennsylvania Performing Artist on Tour (PennPat) roster as well as a Bronx Arts Council Individual Artist grant. New in 2007, Nakatani has created a 9-piece Bowed-Gong performance, which includes 40" and 35" gongs.

Artist (photo by Photographer)