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Sifter (w/ Lisa Mezzacappa): Flake / Fracture (Queen Bee Records)

A chordless Bay Area quartet with Rob Ewing on trombone, Beth Schenck on alto saxophone, Lisa Mezzacappa on acoustic bass, and Jordan Glenn on drums, performing original compositions from each member in playful, lyrical, and texturally rich improvisations that balance groove, swing, and exploratory ensemble interplay with an eclectic yet cohesive sound.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Beth Schenck-alto saxophone

Rob Ewing-trombone

Lisa Mezzacappa-acoustic bass

Jordan Glenn-drums


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UPC: 199199265199

Label: Queen Bee Records
Catalog ID: QB - 010
Squidco Product Code: 36349

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2025
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at New, Improved Recording, in Oakland, California, on February 19th, 20th and 21st, 2022, by Mark Allen-Piccolo.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Sifter is a collective Bay Area original jazz quartet, spearheaded by trombonist and musical polymath, Rob Ewing. The ensemble explores a vast terrain of music that swings, grooves, floats, careens and carouses, featuring compositions by all four members of the band.

Playful, lyrical, luscious, quirky, and personal-Flake/Fracture is a snapshot of Sifter's distinctive sound, honed over several years of monthly gigs at Woods Bar & Brewery in Oakland. The chordless quartet thrives on deep improvisation, groove, and textural exploration, drawing from a wide spectrum of musical influences. The album captures the energy and spirit of the band's evolving compositions and unique group dynamic.

Formed in early 2018 by trombonist Ewing, Sifter was conceived as a composer's band-an outlet for improvisers to bring original material to life. Rob first enlisted bassist Lisa Mezzacappa and drummer Jordan Glenn, having previously worked with them as a favorite rhythm section. He then invited alto saxophonist Beth Schenck, drawn to her distinct compositional voice and gorgeous sound. The group quickly established a thrilling chemistry, with all members contributing original works that resulted in an eclectic yet cohesive mix of musical approaches. Sifter's regular 3-hour Friday gigs in Uptown Oakland provided a rare opportunity to refine the band's sound organically over time. The pandemic put the band on pause, but the musicians' enthusiasm for the collaboration persisted. Flake/Fracture documents the music they spent years developing, showcasing their shared passion for adventurous composition and improvisation.

Flake/Fracture is the sixth release in a series of 12 recordings featuring Bay Area creative composers and musicians, released monthly from February 2025 through February 2026 by bassist Lisa Mezzacappa's micro label Queen Bee Records.



Artist Bios

Rob Ewing is a trombonist, composer, bassist, and bandleader based in Oakland, CA, known for his probing, quirky, and lyrical approach to jazz and experimental music. His playing blends fluid storytelling with a rhythm-driven sensibility. With Sifter, he explores homespun, personal compositions with a deep interest in group improvisation and ensemble interplay. Ewing also performs with the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, the Humidors, and Swerve Control, and leads the bands Junior Reggae and Disappear Incompletely.

Beth Schenck is a San Francisco-based saxophonist and composer who writes bracing music that blends lush harmonies with fierce propulsiveness and rhythmic surprise. Her work has been described as "frank and beautiful" (MetalJazz.com) and "reliably enthralling" (San Francisco Chronicle). She leads a quintet performing her original music, the Social Sutter saxophone quartet, and collaborates in projects such as the Guthrie Project and House of Faern. Her solo debut, Above and Below, was recently released on Innova Records.

Jordan Glenn, a drummer, percussionist, and composer, has been a vital presence in the Bay Area music scene for nearly two decades. He has collaborated with artists including Fred Frith, William Winant, Zeena Parkins, Ben Goldberg, Todd Sickafoose, John Schott, Lisa Mezzacappa, Myra Melford, Motoko Honda, and Michael Coleman. He has also performed with Secret Chiefs 3, tUnE-yArDs, the Rova Saxophone Quartet, and Roscoe Mitchell. Glenn leads the ensembles Weiner Kids and BEAK and frequently composes music for dance.

Lisa Mezzacappa is a Berkeley-based composer, bassist, and producer who has been active in the Bay Area for over 20 years. Her work spans ethereal chamber music, electro-acoustic pieces, avant-garde jazz, and music for ensembles of all sizes. She also collaborates across disciplines, including projects with film, dance, and visual art. Her most recent major project is The Electronic Lover, a nine-episode audio opera."-Queen Bee


Artist Biographies

Beth Schenck is a San Francisco-based saxophonist and composer who writes bracing music that blends lush harmonies with fierce propulsiveness and rhythmic surprise. Her work has been described as "frank and beautiful" (MetalJazz.com) and "reliably enthralling" (San Francisco Chronicle). She leads a quintet performing her original music, the Social Sutter saxophone quartet, and collaborates in projects such as the Guthrie Project and House of Faern. Her solo debut, Above and Below, was recently released on Innova Records.

-Queen Bee 9/10/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Rob Ewing is a trombonist, composer, bassist, and bandleader based in Oakland, CA, known for his probing, quirky, and lyrical approach to jazz and experimental music. His playing blends fluid storytelling with a rhythm-driven sensibility. With Sifter, he explores homespun, personal compositions with a deep interest in group improvisation and ensemble interplay. Ewing also performs with the Electric Squeezebox Orchestra, the Humidors, and Swerve Control, and leads the bands Junior Reggae and Disappear Incompletely.

-Queen Bee 9/10/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Lisa Mezzacappa is a San Francisco Bay Area-based bassist, bandleader, composer, curator and producer. An active collaborator in the Bay Area music community for more than a dozen years, she leads her own groups Bait & Switch, the Interlopers, Nightshade, Eartheaters and the Lisa Mezzacappa Trio, and co-leads the ensembles BODABODA, duo B., Cylinder, the Mezzacappa-Phillips Duo, and the Caribbean folk band Les Gwan Jupons. Lisa has released her music on the Clean Feed, NoBusiness, Leo, NotTwo, Evander, Odd Shaped Case and Edgetone record labels, and has recorded as a sideperson for the Tzadik, Kadima and Porto Franco labels. She collaborates frequently on cross-disciplinary projects in sound installation, film/video, sculpture and public music/art.

As curator, she programs the annual JazzPOP concert seres at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, now in its 10th year; and a live cinema series, Mission Eye and Ear, at Artists' Television Access. She founded the Monday Makeout creative music series in the Mission District of San Francisco, and programs the Best Coast Jazz Composers series as a member of the artistic committee San Francisco's Center for New Music. In 2012 she started the "Festival-of-Us," a semi-annual festival celebrating Bay Area creative jazz and improvised music. Recent projects include an avant-folk string band, the Interlopers; Eartheaters, a trio with Brooklyn vocalist Fay Victor; and BODABODA, a cross-planetary collaboration with Venice reed player/composer Piero Bittolo Bon. In fall 2015 she premieres Glorious Ravage, a multi-media song cycle for large ensemble with commissioned films, inspired by the writings of Victorian lady adventurers.

Lisa has been artist-in-residence at Djerassi Resident Artists Program (2008, 2013), Headlands Center for the Arts (2006, 2015), the Banff International Jazz Workshop (2000), and the Painted Bride Arts Center (2000). She holds an MA in ethnomusicology from UC Berkeley (2003), and a BA in music from the University of Virginia (1997). She has performed at countless Bay Area venues including Intersection for the Arts, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, SFMOMA, Yoshi's, the Jazzschool, and the de Young Museum, San Francisco; as well as the Earshot Jazz Festival, Seattle; the Montreal Jazz Festival and Victoriaville Festival de Musique Actuelle, Canada; the Monterey Jazz Festival, CA; Moers Festival, Germany; and Novara Jazz Festival, Italy.

Lisa has been awarded grants by the MAP Fund, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, American Composers Forum, the City of Oakland, Meet the Composer and Southern Exposure/the Andy Warhol Foundation. She performs as a sideperson in original jazz, improv and chamber ensembles led by estemmed bandleaders and West Coast musical visionaries, like Phillip Greenlief, Aaron Novik, Beth Custer, Randy McKean, Marco Eneidi, Vijay Anderson, Aaron Bennett, Myles Boisen, Steve Adams, Graham Connah, Jon Raskin, Cory Wright and Ross Hammond, and collaborates often with Darren Johnston, Vinny Golia, Katy Stephan, Aram Shelton, Kjell Nordeson, Murray Campbell, Jason Levis, Dina Maccabee, Noah Phillips, Rob Ewing, Kasey Knudsen, Myles Boisen, Sam Ospovat, John Hanes, and many many others."

-Lisa Mezzacappa Website (http://www.lisamezzacappa.com/bio.html)
9/10/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Jordan Glenn is a drummer, percussionist, composer, band leader, conductor, video maker, and general craftsman who lives in Oakland, California.

Jordan Glenn spent his formative years in Oregon drawing cartoons, taking dance classes from his aunt, and putting on plays with his sisters. As he got older he began making movies with his friends and studying jazz, classical, and rock music. In 2003 Glenn received a bachelor's degree in Jazz Studies from the University of Oregon.

In 2006 he relocated to the Bay Area, received a masters degree from Mills College and since has worked closely with Fred Frith (FF Trio and Gravity Band), William Winant, Zeena Parkins (The Adorables), Roscoe Mitchell, ROVA Sax Quartet, Ben Goldberg, Todd Sickafoose, John Schott, Dominique Leone, Aaron Novik, Darren Johnston, Aram Shelton, Cory Wright, Lisa Mezzacappa, Karl Evangelista, Michael Coleman, Matthew Welch, Rhys Chatham and the bands Jack O' The Clock, Arts & Sciences, Young Nudist, 20 Minute Loop, Beep!, tUnE-yArDs, and the Oakland Active Orchestra. He also leads and conducts the project Mindless Thing, a collaboration with poet/free-jazzer/sage Jim Ryan, as well as the long standing trio Wiener Kids and the ten piece expansion, The Wiener Kids Family Band."

-Jordan Glenn Website (http://jordanglennmusic.com/)
9/10/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Noisy Ghost 04:16

2. Proxy 04:08

3. Chant 08:04

4. Loose Change 03:18

5. Above & Below 05:01

6. Popular Mechanics 06:56

7. Pharmakon 04:57

8. Breezy Day 00:55

9. Back Down 04:48

10. Oro Blanco! 07:20

11. Towards, Not Away 05:11

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Jazz
Jazz & Improvisation Based on Compositions
Free Improvisation
West Coast/Pacific US Jazz
Melodic and Lyrical Jazz
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

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Queen Bee Records.


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