Stephen Gauci is recognized as one of the most strikingly original saxophonists on the New York City improvised music scene. Stricken by a childhood illness that has left him with a profound hearing loss, Gauci was drawn to the clear, deep, tone of the tenor saxophone. This was the first step in a lifelong relationship with, and investigation of tone, timbre, and especially.. voice. The nature of Gauci’s hearing loss is that outer sounds require of him the utmost level of concentration and focus. The flip side, however, is that inner sounds, and the inner voice, are magnified… crystal clear and singing. The intense outward focus developed as a result of Gauci’s hearing impairment has been turned inward like a laser to illuminate, and manifest, the inner voice.
By combining a disparate set of influences into a unique improvisational voice, bass player 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”, and his recording “Ashcan Ranting” received a myriad of critical praise including four stars in Downbeat. Lane studied composition at Wesleyan University with Anthony Braxton, and at California Institute of the Arts with Wadada Leo Smith. In 1996 he received a Paternings Scholarship for study at the Darmstadt School for New Music where he studied double bass with Steffano Scodanibbio, and attended master classes in composition with Karlheinz Stockhausen.
Kevin Shea is best known for his work with the band “Mostly Other People Do the Killing”, he has collaborated with numerous other avant-garde and jazz musicians and composers, including Mary Halvorson, Peter Evans and Alan Wilkinson. During the course of his twenty-plus year career, Shea has recorded on over eighty albums and has performed in more than forty countries. He has also performed with the “Armitage Gone!” dance company, and was lauded as New York City’s best drummer of 2012 by the Village Voice.
The trio’s performance is supported by Trust for Mutual Understanding.
