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Travelling through the US & Greece to join with performers for duos and trios, in six recordings between pianist Thollem McDonas in a trio with Amy Denio & Samantha Boshnack; a duo with Seetha Shivaswamy; a trio with Mat Weisman and Rick Kodramaz; a duo with Djallo Djakate; a hand percussion duo with Jason Finkelman; and a vocal duo with Maria Karamouza.
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Sample The Album:
Thollem McDonas-piano
Maria Karamouza-voice
Rick Kodramaz-bass
Mat Weisman-drums
Djallo Djakate-drums
Seetha Shivaswamy-flute
Amy Denio-saxophone, accordion
Samantha Boshnack-trumpet
Jason Finkelman-percussion
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Label: Astral Spirits
Catalog ID: AS153-14
Squidco Product Code: 31172
Format: CASSETTE
Condition: New
Released: 2021
Country: USA
Packaging: Cassette
Recording locations in description.
"This is a compilation of segments from 6 different recordings throughout the U.S. and Greece including: a trio with Amy Denio and Samantha Boshnack at the Good Shepherd Chapel in Seattle, part of the Wayward Series; a duo with Seetha Shivaswamy in Austin for NMASS; a trio at the BopStop in Cleveland with Mat Weisman and Rick Kodramaz; a duo with Djallo Djakate in Djallo's studio in Detroit; a hand percussion duo with Jason Finkelman in Allen Hall at the University of Illinois; and a vocal duo with Maria Karamouza at the Music Conservatory of Thessaloniki. Thanks to all the venues, presenters, and my fellow musicians!"-Thollem McDonas
MARIA KARAMOUZA was born and raised in Thessaloniki. She is 29 years old. She studied in the domain of Forestry and Natural Environment at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) and took her classical singing diploma at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki (SCT), in '19. She participated as a chorister in festivals at various cities across Europe. She attended traditional Greek, Arabic and Italian percussion lessons and performed aside great musicians. She attended seminars, master classes of classical singing and music improvisation with numerous teams, directors and artists of the global music scene. She has sung at her own music vocal groups, but also with other polyphonic choirs, traditional schemas, rock bands, music producers and djs of electronic music. She participated in Opera Studio of Thessaloniki and performed at famous operas and premieres. She starred at project "Bathtub Memory Project" in Biennale of New Music Theatre, in Germany, in '18. She has taken up activities concerning circus , such as juggling and balance skills and also aerial silks and aerial acrobatic routines. She performed in theaters and clubs and offered public circus experiences of educational perspectives for young and older people. Meanwhile she works as a conductor of managerial researches that consider environmental factors.
RICK KODRAMAZ - Basses. Rick has been performing around Cleveland for over 40 years. He studied Composition and Arranging with Phil Rizzo - The Modern Music School in Bedford. He also studied Classical Bass at Willoughby Fine Arts. Rick was a founding member of The Contemporary Music Coalition - did four European tours with CMC in addition to Jazz seminars along the way. He was a founding member of MoKo BoVo and KMOB Trio. Performed at FIMU in Belfort France twice. Rick has also performed in ensembles that backed or were on the bill with: John Lewis, McCoy Tyner, Oliver Lake, Coco Montoya & Gatemouth Brown, Richard Pinhas and Tatsuya Nakatani. Recently Rick has co-hosted OutLab at The BopStop once a month, also performing with the bands Lost Head, Mars Trio, Desert Noir, Octopod, Broken Ornaments and various collaborations at 1 Way.
MAT WEISMAN is a Cleveland based drummer, improvisor, and woodworker who strives to bring life and breath to a moment, piece, or project. Currently playing with Outis duo, Magnetic West, and Bad Actors.
DJALLO DJAKATE, drummer/synthesist/percussionist/DJ born in Detroit, is one of the most dynamic and sought-after sidemen on the Detroit scene. His style ranges from traditional jazz, through avant garde, funk reggae, and traditional New Orleans music as well as Afro-Cuban and African drumming. He has toured the U.S. and Europe; performing with such diverse artists as Martha Reeves, Harrold McKinney, A. Spencer Barefield, Taslimah Bey, Charles Gabriel and Straight Ahead.
SEETHA SHIVASWAMY performs as a soloist and chamber musician in concerts throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. She has toured the USA with Global Rhythms World Music Ensemble, performed as a guest flutist with the Orquesta Sinfónica in Monterrey, Mexico, and performed a solo flute recital at the Hong Kong City Centre. She has toured internationally with and recorded for Grammy/Oscar winning composer A.R. Rahman, and is the featured flutist on his single 'Pray for Me Brother' written for the United Nations. Her flute playing can also be heard on NYC-based experimental artist DJ Spooky's album 'The Secret Song', the soundtrack to 2012 film 'Bernie' starring Jack Black and Shirley MacClaine, the UK feature 'Bombil and Beatrice', released at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007, and on the soundtrack for Terrence Malick's film 'To The Wonder', starring Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams. She has been a featured performer at South by Southwest Music Festival, Fusebox Festival, SAARANG at IIT Madras, and Austin Chamber Music Festival. Seetha's flute playing can also be heard on several recordings for PBS documentaries, TV commercials, and video games.Seetha holds a Master's Degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor's Degree from Ball State University, where she studied classical flute performance with Karl Kraber and Julia Larson Mattern. She has a certificate in contemporary flute technique and improvisation from her studies in Europe with the Dutch Flute Virtuoso Wil Offermans. Other mentors include Emmanuel Pahud of the Berlin Philharmonic, Ransom Wilson of Yale University, Edward Beckett of London Symphony Orchestra, and many other esteemed flute pedagogues. Seetha has done research and practice in yoga, Alexander Technique, Indonesian gamelan, Indian classical music, and various other modalities related to performance and education. Seetha is a faculty artist with Austin Chamber Music Center, mentors students at the El- Sistema inspired program Austin Soundwaves, and maintains an active private flute studio. She is proud to be a resident of Austin, Texas, the live music capital of the world.
AMY DENIO (Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame) is an award-winning composer, improviser and multi- instrumentalist (guitar, bass, alto sax, clarinet, accordion) and singer. She has composed 500+ works and has produced 50 recordings. She operates Spoot Music, her recording studio, record label and publishing company. Denio produces music for theater, film, television, and audio installations. Her commissions have been performed at Carnegie Hall, Brooklyn Academy of Music, live on Italian National Radio, and at festivals worldwide. A composer for modern dance, film and theater, she has been commissioned by award- winning choreographers such as Pat Graney, David Dorfman, Chiao-Ping Li, and Vickie Marks. She has also composed scores for feature films, theater works, multi-media performances, and television. Her newest work for 22-piece orchestra 'Truth Is Up For Grabs' was funded by Seattle Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture and 4Culture and sponsored by the Seattle Composers Alliance. She co-founded Tone Dogs, The Entropics, her all-women sax quartet The Tiptons (1988- present), joined Bosnian folk metal band Kultur Shock in 1999, and has been playing with Abel Rocha and Madeleine Sosin in Correo Aereo/Ama Trio since 2003. She is currentlywriting 'Applause for the Bridge', a bilingual book of her travel stories in Italian and English.
SAMANTHA BOSHNACK leads three ensembles dedicated to playing her compositions; Samantha Boshnack's Seismic Belt, B'shnorkestra and the Sam Boshnack Quintet. She is also a member of the composer-collective Alchemy Sound Project and co-led Reptet. She has released five critically-acclaimed albums as a bandleader and toured extensively. In 2021, she has been selected for two programs: Mutual Mentorship for Musicians for which she is collaborating with Fay Victor on a new composition; and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music's Composing Earth program for which she is composing for string quartet. She has performed or recorded with artists such as Wayne Horvitz, Butch Morris, Eyvind Kang, Jessica Lurie, Bobby Previte, Jim Black, David Byrne, Terry Riley, Robin Holcomb, among others.
JASON FINKELMAN combines laptop electronics and acoustic instrumentation to create a distinct ambient, avant-world sound. A specialist on the single string musical bow berimbau, Finkelman is a Philadelphia-born percussionist who performs on African and Brazilian instruments handcrafted by Adimu Kuumba. His roots in improvised music include founding the trio Straylight in 1992, which enjoyed a wide range of collaborative performances in the Straylight Dialogues series at the Knitting Factory. Urbana-Champaign-based since 2000, Finkelman performs continually with a host of genre-blurring improvisers, is a community radio host at WEFT 90.1FM and leads the ever-evolving ensemble Kuroshio, which recently released an eponymous CD on Asian Improv Records (2020). As a composer for dance, Finkelman has collaborated with choreographer Cynthia Oliver for over twenty-three years and received a "Bessie" award as a composer for SHEMAD (2000). At the University of Illinois, Finkelman directs Global Arts Performance Initiatives at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and leads Improvisers Exchange, a performance ensemble of the School of Music.
Artist Biographies
• Show Bio for Thollem McDonas "Thollem is a pianist, keyboardist, organist, composer, improviser, singer-songwriter, activist, author and teacher. He's spent his life skirting and erasing the edges of boundaries musically, culturally, geographically. His work is ever changing, evolving and responding to the times and his experiences, both as a soloist and in collaboration with hundreds of artists across idioms and disciplines. Though Thollem's widely known as an acoustic piano player, he's also the lead vocalist for the Italian agit-punk band Tsigoti and has recently branched out significantly into the world of electronics through a multitude of projects. Thollem was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, studying the standard classical piano repertoire, composing and improvising since he was a young child and absorbing the myriad of sounds of his culturally diverse upbringing. After dedicating his 20s and 30s to grassroots political activism, he's refocused his attention these last 15 years on a breadth of musics that incorporate his myriad experiences and curiosities. In this last decade alone, he has played well over 1,000 concerts throughout N. America and Europe as a soloist and in collaboration with hundreds of musicians, dancers, and filmmakers. As leader or co-leader, he has released over 50 albums in that span on 22 different vanguard labels to international critical acclaim. "Thollem is an astounding pianist who understands the huge scope of the instrument" (Terry Riley) and who continues to delve into the furthest reaches and sub-genres of Post-Classical, Free Jazz, Noise, Punk, dance and film. A brief cross section of his many recent collaborators include William Parker, Pauline Oliveros, Stefano Scodanibbio, Nels Cline, Mike Watt, Rob Mazurek, Martha Colburn and ACVilla. He is the founding director of Estamos Ensemble, a Mexican-American cross border ensemble for musical exchange as well as the lead singer of the Italian agit-punk band Tsigoti. Presently Thollem is developing an audio/visual experience about America through an 8 month, 48 state odyssey with his partner the videographer ACVilla. He's also a published author about art, politics and his travels in The Anthology of Essays On Deep Listening, Full Moon Magazine (Prague) and First American Art Magazine." ^ Hide Bio for Thollem McDonas • Show Bio for Maria Karamouza "Maria Karamouza was born and raised in Thessaloniki. She is 29 years old. She studied in the domain of Forestry and Natural Environment at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) and took her classical singing diploma at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki (SCT), in '19. She participated as a chorister in festivals at various cities across Europe. She attended traditional Greek, Arabic and Italian percussion lessons and performed aside great musicians. She attended seminars, master classes of classical singing and music improvisation with numerous teams, directors and artists of the global music scene. She has sung at her own music vocal groups, but also with other polyphonic choirs, traditional schemas, rock bands, music producers and djs of electronic music. She participated in Opera Studio of Thessaloniki and performed at famous operas and premieres. She starred at project "Bathtub Memory Project" in Biennale of New Music Theatre, in Germany, in '18. She has taken up activities concerning circus , such as juggling and balance skills and also aerial silks and aerial acrobatic routines. She performed in theaters and clubs and offered public circus experiences of educational perspectives for young and older people. Meanwhile she works as a conductor of managerial researches that consider environmental factors." ^ Hide Bio for Maria Karamouza • Show Bio for Rick Kodramaz "Rick Kodramaz - Basses. Rick has been performing around Cleveland for over 40 years. He studied Composition and Arranging with Phil Rizzo Ð The Modern Music School in Bedford. He also studied Classical Bass at Willoughby Fine Arts. Rick was a founding member of The Contemporary Music Coalition - did four European tours with CMC in addition to Jazz seminars along the way. He was a founding member of MoKo BoVo and KMOB Trio. Performed at FIMU in Belfort France twice. Rick has also performed in ensembles that backed or were on the bill with: John Lewis, McCoy Tyner, Oliver Lake, Coco Montoya & Gatemouth Brown, Richard Pinhas and Tatsuya Nakatani. Recently Rick has co-hosted OutLab at The BopStop once a month, also performing with the bands Lost Head, Mars Trio, Desert Noir, Octopod, Broken Ornaments and various collaborations at 1 Way." ^ Hide Bio for Rick Kodramaz • Show Bio for Mat Weisman "Mat Weisman is a Cleveland based drummer, improvisor, and woodworker who strives to bring life and breath to a moment, piece, or project. Currently playing with Outis duo, Magnetic West, and Bad Actors." ^ Hide Bio for Mat Weisman • Show Bio for Djallo Djakate "Djallo Djakate, drummer/synthesist/percussionist/DJ born in Detroit, is one of the most dynamic and sought-after sidemen on the Detroit scene. His style ranges from traditional jazz, through avant garde, funk reggae, and traditional New Orleans music as well as Afro-Cuban and African drumming. He has toured the U.S. and Europe; performing with such diverse artists as Martha Reeves, Harrold McKinney, A. Spencer Barefield, Taslimah Bey, Charles Gabriel and Straight Ahead." ^ Hide Bio for Djallo Djakate • Show Bio for Seetha Shivaswamy "Seetha performs as a soloist and chamber musician in concerts throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. She has toured the USA with Global Rhythms World Music Ensemble, performed as a guest flutist with the Orquesta Sinfonica in Monterrey, Mexico, and performed a solo flute recital at the Hong Kong City Centre. She has toured internationally with and recorded for Grammy/Oscar winning composer A.R. Rahman, and is the featured flutist on his single 'Pray for Me Brother' written for the United Nations. Her flute playing can also be heard on NYC-based experimental artist DJ Spooky's album 'The Secret Song', the soundtrack to 2012 film 'Bernie' starring Jack Black and Shirley MacClaine, the UK feature 'Bombil and Beatrice', released at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007, and on the soundtrack for Terrence Malick's film 'To The Wonder', starring Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams. She has been a featured performer at South by Southwest Music Festival, Fusebox Festival, SAARANG at IIT Madras, and Austin Chamber Music Festival. Seetha's flute playing can also be heard on several recordings for PBS documentaries, TV commercials, and video games. Seetha holds a Master's Degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor's Degree from Ball State University, where she studied classical flute performance with Karl Kraber and Julia Larson Mattern. She has a certificate in contemporary flute technique and improvisation from her studies in Europe with the Dutch Flute Virtuoso Wil Offermans. Other mentors include Emmanuel Pahud of the Berlin Philharmonic, Ransom Wilson of Yale University, Edward Beckett of London Symphony Orchestra, and many other esteemed flute pedagogues. Seetha has done research and practice in yoga, Alexander Technique, Indonesian gamelan, Indian classical music, and various other modalities related to performance and education. Seetha is a faculty artist with Austin Chamber Music Center, mentors students at the El-Sistema inspired program Austin Soundwaves, and maintains an active private flute studio. She is proud to be a resident of Austin, Texas, the live music capital of the world." ^ Hide Bio for Seetha Shivaswamy • Show Bio for Amy Denio ^ Hide Bio for Amy Denio • Show Bio for Samantha Boshnack "Whether blasting through the sonic explorations of her alternative chamber orchestra, B'shnorkestra, or leading the 7-piece Seismic Belt or her quintet, Samantha Boshnack's compositional voice pulses with vitality. Her intention is to charge orchestral and chamber precision with the syncopated rhythm of her personal style. Drawn to it's vibrant music scene, Boshnack moved to Seattle in 2003 after graduating from New York's Bard College. The subsequent eighteen years find her actively bolstering the thriving musical community and creating ensembles, commissions, recordings and performances both locally and nationally. She is a part of the acclaimed composers' collective Alchemy Sound Project. She has also toured extensively in the zany, postmodern Reptet. She formed the B'shnorkestra in 2011 and released Go To Orange in 2013 to critical acclaim. Her eponymous Quintet brought together players who had never worked before as a unit, and the results have been nothing short of incendiary-hence the title of their 2014 debut album, Exploding Syndrome. Since 2014, she has been composing large-body works on topics she is passionate about. These projects always push her to adapt to new challenges and not be stagnant in her development. In 2015, Boshnack premiered "Coelacanth: In Its Own Time," with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra in honor of a 400 million-year-old species of fish threatened by extinction. In 2016, she released Global Concertos with the B'shnorkestra - five "concertos," each featuring a prominent musician from a different continent. This project arose from her desire to celebrate individual expression and virtuosity of musicians outside of Western classical music. By bringing diverse and adventurous elements to the concerto form, this project promotes discourse between musical communities in the orchestral arena. She explored new compositional territory by learning and adapting to the musical worlds of these top-notch guest soloists. The soloists were pushed beyond their musical comfort zones, making it a truly experimental work. In 2017, with the Sam Boshnack Quintet, she released the CD - Nellie Bly Project, to bring awareness to a lesser-known female figure. In the 1800s, Bly fought her way into a career in journalism and exposed many atrocities in society. The suite floats between narrative and abstract, creating an imaginative world that channels Nellie's groundbreaking spirit. In 2018, she was awarded the Make Jazz Fellowship - an annual residency in Los Angeles. While there, she composed "Seismic Belt" - music about the Ring of Fire, which is located on the rim of the Pacific Ocean and hosts many of the world's volcanoes and earthquakes. "Seismic Belt" experiments with the friction of geographic shifts to create a new harmonic topography. Movements of the work are influenced by cultures in places on the Ring, including Chile, Japan, Alaska, Western Samoa, and Russia. By drawing from musical cultures seldom heard in jazz music, she created compositions that have a sound altogether different. "Seismic Belt" performed at the Festival of New Trumpet Music in 2019 and the Winter JazzFest in 2020 - both in NYC. In 2019, Boshnack attended the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music (GLFCAM) - a yearlong apprenticeship in composing chamber music. She is a member of GLFCAM's Composing Earth Cohort I. Since January 2021, she has been reading, watching and discussing materials on the climate crisis. In 2022, she will premiere a piece for the Del Sol Quartet about the Puget Sound; focusing on it's rich native history and the current combat of ocean acidification to preserve life in it's waters. In 2021, she participated in Mutual Mentorship for Musicians' (M3) 2nd Cohort (an international network of underrepresented gender identities providing new ways to connect, support and create) for which she premiered a collaboration with Fay Victor. In 2022, she will premiere "Uncomfortable Subjects," a song-cycle exploring aspects of life that are uncomfortable to talk about, but help us to understand the complicated world we live in. She is collaborating with Jane Wong and Natasha Marin on this project. She has attended two Atlantic Center for the Arts Master Artist-in-Residence Programs and was selected as a 2012 participant in the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute at UCLA. She has received support and commissioning funds from New Music USA, Meet The Composer, 4Culture, Artist Trust, Jack Straw Productions, Seattle Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs, New York Foundation of the Arts, and Earshot Jazz. She has performed or recorded with artists such as Wayne Horvitz, Butch Morris, Eyvind Kang, Jessica Lurie, Bobby Previte, Amy Denio, Jim Black, David Byrne, Terry Riley, Robin Holcomb, among others." ^ Hide Bio for Samantha Boshnack • Show Bio for Jason Finkelman "Jason Finkelman creates a distinct ambient, avant-world sound combining laptop electronics and acoustic instruments, including musical bows and handcrafted percussion. Dedicated to a practice of improvisation, Jason performs with genre-blurring artists across the spectrum and collaborates extensively with choreographer Cynthia Oliver. He is a university arts presenter and radio host in Urbana, IL." ^ Hide Bio for Jason Finkelman
11/18/2024
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Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.
11/18/2024
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11/18/2024
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Her main instruments are voice, alto saxophone, clarinet, accordion, acoustic and electric guitars, electric bass, and theremin.
Awards
Denio created and produced the soundtrack for choreographer Pat Graney's piece 'Girl Gods', which was awarded two NYC Bessie Awards at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in October 2016, including one for Best Overall Production.
In 2015 she was inducted into the Seattle Jazz Hall of Fame by Earshot Jazz.
In 1997 Denio received her first NYC Bessie Award for her soundtrack to choreographer David Dorfman's piece 'Sky Down'.
She received the Mayor's Award for Artistic Achievement from the City of Seattle in 1990.
Collaborator
Denio co-founded The Tiptons Sax Quartet and Drums (1988-present).
She has recorded many CDs and videos with Bosnian metal/punk/folk group Kultur Shock since 1999. They've toured internationally since 2002.
From 2006-2009 she composed for, recorded and toured with Austrian trio Die Resonanz Stanonczi.
She co-founded Ama Trio with Correo Aereo in 2004.
You can hear Denio's limpid voice as featured vocalist on A Beautiful Western Saddle (1993) and with The Science Group in 1999.
Denio has toured solo and has collaborated and recorded with various groups and musicians such as Matt Cameron, Bill Frisell, Chris Cutler, Guy Klucevsek, Pauline Oliveros, Tarik Abouzied, Francisco Lopez, Danny Barnes, the Relache Ensemble, Faust, Fred Frith, Hoppy Kamiyama, KMFDM, Il Parto delle Nuvole Pesanti, and Ronin. She played alto sax in the horn section of Chuck D's Fine Arts Militia at the Experience Music Project in Seattle.
Fellowships and Residencies
Denio has been awarded Fellowships from Artist Trust (Seattle, Westport Ireland) Seattle Arts Commission (Seattle) and Civitella Ranieri (Umbertide Italy). She was Rosencranz Artist In Residence at Mills College in Oakland, CA. In 2006-2007 the Dream Community in Taipei Taiwan commissioned Denio to arrange and produce a recording of Taiwanese indigenous and pop music with Samba rhythms, performed by 25 teenagers from the Amis Tribe who played samba drums particularly well. She entitled it Naruwan: Brazil meets Taiwan.
Film Composer
Kino Lorber commissioned Denio to compose a soundtrack for 'Daughter of the Law' written, produced and starring Grace Cunard in 1921 for their Women Film Makers / Women Composers series.
Denio scored 2 animated films by Thomas Edward ~ 'Pangaea's Brood' which won 'Best Animated Film' at the 1999 NY Underground Film Festival, and 'Synchrony in Estrus' which won 'Strangest Film' at the 2003 Motion Arts Festival in California.
She scored Jamie Hook's feature film 'The Naked Proof,' which received honourable mention at its premiere in the 2003 Seattle International Film Festival, and was voted 'Best Undistributed Film' by the Village Voice (NYC).
Film Maker
Denio loves making documentary films about her voyages.
Check out the Deniaural Youtube Channel
Founding Member
She's a founding member of The Tiptons Sax Quartet and Drums
(formerly Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet)
Ama Trio
Tone Dogs
Danubians
Pale Nudes
Lao Tse and The Entropics
and her Italian chamber/kitchen quintet Quintetto alla Busara.
Onboard
President of The Tiptons Sax Quartet and Drums, LLC
Vice President of Seattle Composers Alliance
Board member Kultur Shock, LLC
Selected Denio Commissions and Projects:
2017 Truth Is Up For Grabs
Denio composed music for 20 piece chamber orchestra for a multi-media event inspired by current events, poetry by Pablo Neruda and the political economy of war, which included projected images created by James Drage. Funded in part by 4Culture
2016 Pat Graney Dance Company: GIRL GODS
~ Denio composed and produced the soundtrack. Girl Gods received 2 NYC Bessie Awards in October, 2016, one for overall production.
2013-2015 Tiptons Sax Quartet: Mythunderstandings
~ Produced by Denio, a collaboration between her Tiptons Sax Quartet, Salish master musician Paul 'Che oke ten' Wagner, film maker Adam Sekuler, and directed by Lisa Halpern.
2010 Dan Hurlin and Dan Froot: Who's Hungry? Santa Monica
(funded by Meet the Composer)
2009 Sonic Bench
~ Denio's interactive public art on permanent exhibit at the Vashon Island Parks Department (Funded by Seattle Arts Commission and 4Culture)
2006 The Tiptons Sax Quartet and Drums: House of Wild Dreams
~ a collaboration between artist Danijel Zezelj, film maker Aric Mayer and the Tiptons (Funded by Seattle Arts Commission)
1999 The Danubians
~ a collaboration with Csaba Hajnoczy, Gabi Kenderesi, Pavel Fajt and AD, produced in Budapest, Hungary (funded by Arts Link/CEC International Partners)
1997 False Prophets or Dang Good Guessers
~ A collaboration with the Shaking Ray Levi Society, Jessica Lurie and AD (funded by King County Arts Commission)
1996 Pollo d'Oro
~ A collaboration with Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet and Ne Zhdali. Produced in Tallinn, Estonia (funded by Arts Link/CEC International Partners)
1992 Pat Graney Dance Company: Saxhouse
~ Performed by her all-women group The Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet (funded by National Endowment For the Arts)
Denio has received additional support from Washington State Arts Commission, Pew Charitable Trust, Arts International, as well as composition commissions from various philanthropists.
Other commissions include creating and producing compositions and recordings for Italian National Radio, the Berkeley Symphony, The New York Festival of Song, Relache Ensemble, the Austrian chamber octet Die Knodel, choreographers Victoria Marks, Aiko Kinoshita, Li Chiao-Ping, Cheronne Wong and Carla Barragan; multi-media performance group Run/Remain Ensemble, UMO Ensemble, The Cabiri, and choreographer/actor/clown Lorenzo Pickle.
Spoot Music
Home-taper since the Dark Ages of Analog, she started her label and publishing company Spoot Music in 1986, with the release of her first cassette, No Bones. Since then, she has recorded & released over 50 cassettes, LPs, CDs and short videos, created solo and with an array of international musicians.
Listen to her newest release, The Big Embrace, released in the Fall of 2017.
Teacher
Denio teaches at the Kultur Shock was the featured group at the Nilüfer Festival in Bursa Turkey, performing for more than 25,000 people."-Amy Denio Website (http://www.amydenio.com/body/Biography.htm)
11/18/2024
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Track Listing:
SIDE A
Duo with Maria Karamouza 09:42
Trio with Rick Kodramaz & Mat Weisman 09:31
Duo with Djallo Djakate 09:46
1 Minute Solo Electric at KFJC 01:04
SIDE B
1. Duo with Seetha Shvaswamy 10:06
2. Trio with Amy Denio & Samantha Boshnack 09:57
3. Duo with Jason Finkelman 09:44
Cassettes
Physical Releases that include Download Codes
Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
Duo Recordings
Trio Recordings
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Astral Spirits.
 | Cutler, Chris Compositions And Collaborations 1972-2022: In A Box [10 CD / DVD / BOOKLET BOX SET] (Recommended Records) |
| An amazing collection and reflection on the work of percussionist, composer and connector Chris Cutler of Henry Cow fame and founder of the highly influential Recommended Records label and distribution service, through 10 CDs, 1 DVD and two books of documentation, artwork, photographs, published and unpublished texts in a sturdy box, with over five hours of unreleased materials. | |
 | Rodrigues / Parrinha / McDonas / Flak / Oliveira The Fleeting Nature Of Time (Creative Sources) |
| Excellent pacing with introspective richness and detail through five improvisations, as US pianist Thollem McDonas joins Portuguese improvisers Ernesto Rodrigues on viola, Bruno Parrinha on alto clarinet, Flak on acoustic guitar and Jose Oliveira on percussion for this studio recording in Lisbon, each passage reflecting a word from the title; inspired and beautiful. | |
 | Thollem / Wimberly / Cline Radical Empathy (Relative Pitch) |
| A trio of collective-improvisers recording in NYC's East Village in 2015 for exceptionally sympathetic dialog, instigated by electric keyboard improvisor Thollem McDonas, with Nels Cline on guitar and Charles Gayle cohort Michael Wimberly on drums; Fred Frith liner notes! | |
 | Dark Blue World The Perilous Beauty of Madness (Drip Audio) |
| DarkBlueWorld is Elizabeth Fischer's essential rock vehicle for collaborations with noted Canadian musicians, including Tony Wilson, Peggy Lee, Amy Denio, Jesse Zubot, &c &c. | |
 | Blasco, Merche / Lucie Vitkova Anette [2 CDs] (XI Records) |
| An unusual pairing of effected accordion and a 3D printer from Czech accordionist living in NY, Lucie Vitkova, also performing on harmonica, Korg Volca Bass and Moog, and NY multimedia artist Merch Blasco, the album titled for the name of Blasco's 3D printer "Anette", which also printed the thimble-microphones she wears on her fingers to capture parts of this performance. | |
 | Dykstra, Jordan / Brian McOmber Blow the Man Down (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (Editions Verde) |
| A powerful set of succint compositions, themes and sea shanties for the soundtrack for Danielle Krudy and Bridget Savage Cole's film Blow the Man Down , scored through the collaboration of composers Jordan Dykstra, who also performs on viola, piano, prepared piano, vibraphone & percussion, and Brian Mcomber, who also performs on keyboards and percussion. | |
 | Williams, Chris / Patrick Shiroishi Sans Soleil II [CASSETTE w/ DOWNLOAD] (Astral Spirits) |
| The second chapter in the duo of West Coast improvisers Chris Williams on trumpet, cornet, objects & mutes and Patrick Shiroishi on alto, soprano and tenor saxophones plus snare drum, essentially a free jazz outing of six fascinating dialogs, from call and response to pointillistic interaction, a masterful display of assertive playing through intensive listening. | |
 | Clearfield, Rob / Quin Kirchner Concentric Orbits [VINYL] (Astral Spirits) |
| An active and creatively absorbing duo between Chicago drummer Quin Kirchner and French-based pianist Rob Clearfield, recorded spontaneously during the sessions of The Shadows and The Light, with one extended improvisation per side, alternating between percolating rhythms of quick witted exchanges to gorgeous lyrical moments of hanging piano figures. | |
 | Thollem Obstacle Illusion (Astral Spirits) |
| Taken from concerts during Thollem's 3-month European tour, at Centro d'Arte dell'Università di Padova; AngelicA at Teatro San Leonardo in Bologna; and Rassegna di Nuova Musica 39, performing on acoustic pianos or a Korg Wavestate, showing his technically impressive, creative drive over a diverse set of approaches to solo piano improvisation. | |
 | Thollem's Astral Traveling Sessions w/ Avreeayl Ra & Matt Lux / Sunken Cages (Astral Spirits) |
| As part of Thollem McDonas' Astral Traveling Sessions concert series, the pianist met Chicago legendary drummer Avreeayl Ra and and highly active improvising bassist Matthew Lux for this exceptional concert of two extended improvisations, followed by 8 duo studio improvisations as "Sunken Cages" recorded in Philadelphia with electroacoustic drummer Ravish Momin. | |
 | Thollem's Astral Traveling Sessions Thollem + Karl Berger, Thollem + Michael Snow (Astral Spirits) |
| One of a series of pianist Thollem McDonas' Astral Traveling Sessions, a 25-album series of concerts from around the globe, performing concerts in varying configurations with 70 musicians, here with two collaborations: in Kingston, NY with the great vibraphonist Karl Berger for 3 improvisations, and in Toronto with pianist Michael Snow for an extended piano duo. | |
 | Thollem's Astral Traveling Sessions w/ Hafez Modirzadeh (Astral Spirits) |
| One of a series of pianist Thollem McDonas' Astral Traveling Sessions, this unique duo configuration with NY saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh uses a sonic palette of eight re-tuned pitches for piano and saxophone in an attempt to expand harmonic empathy, bringing Eastern pitch relationships to Western improvisation through a series of extraordinary solo and duo recordings. | |
 | Johansson / Fite / Grip Swinging at Topsi's (Astral Spirits) |
| An evening of free improvisation recorded in Berlin at au Topsi Pohl in 2020 from the Swedish trio of Euro Free Jazz legend Sven-Ake Johansson on drums, Niklas Fite on acoustic guitar and Joel Grip on double bass, performing two extended and dynamic improvisations, and then settling into jazz standard form for "Isn't It Romantic" and "Out of Nowhere" sung by by Johansson. | |
 | Thollem (w/ Alex Cline / Susan Alcorn) Thollem's Astral Traveling Sessions (Astral Spirits) |
| In 2019 pianist Thollem McDonas toured the US -- 12 months and 25 albums worth of recordings -- joining collaborators from a vast spectrum of improvisers and performers, this album presenting two such recordings: one a duo with drummer/percussionist Alex Cline from a live concert in Santa Monica; the other a duo with guitarist Susan Alcorn recorded in Baltimore. | |
 | Estamos Trio (McDonas / Escobar / Tamez) Dire Warning (Relative Pitch) |
| Highlighting issues between the US & Mexican borders, Thollem McDonas' Estamos Trio presents their 2nd album, here with Carmina Escobar (vocals, electronics, guitarron), Milo Tamez (percussion, found objects, electronics) and Thollem (keyboard, vocals, clay pot) in a work commissioned by and recorded at the 2018 "Casa Tomada" (House Taken Over) in Santa Fe for SITE. | |
 | Thollem / Mazurek Blind Curves and Box Canyons (Relative Pitch) |
| Recorded at an exhibition of visual works by Chicago trumpeter Rob Mazurek in Texas, this was the first meeting with pianist Thollem McDonas, in an ardent session of explorative improvisation using electric and analog piano, sythn, samplers, cornet, voice, bells and effects; inquisitive and cathartic music of great drive. | |
 | TSIGOTI Read Between The Lines...Think Outside Them (Post Consumer) |
| The TSIGOTI quarter brings together Italians Jacopo Andreini on guitar, Andrea Caprara on drums, and Piero Spitilli on bass with California pianist Thollem McDonas for critical avant punk with a technically brilliant flair. | |
 | Estamos Trio People's Historia (Relative Pitch) |
| Taking song titles from the Arawak language, the Estamos Trio of Thollem McDonas (piano), Milo Tamez (drums) and Carmina Escobar (voice & electronics) brings together artists from the Mexican/U.S. border, creating beautiful creative works. | |
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