Myra Melford Quartet performs "Happy Whistlings."
Henry Threadgill’s Zooid + Talujon Percussion Quartet perform "Fate Cues."
For this evening, we bring together two of the most interesting, cutting-edge composer-performers in the creative music scene to present two of their most recent musical adventures: Happy Whistlings
Ms. Melford collaborates with up-and-coming Brooklyn improvisers for a collage of improvisation and new compositions. This new work is inspired by the writings of Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano, specifically the "Memory of Fire" trilogy, his vastly encompassing interpretation of the history of the Americas.
Myra Melford, piano; Matana Roberts, saxophone; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Harris Eisenstadt, percussion.
http://www.myspace.com/myramelford
Fate Cues Commissioned by Talujon with funds provided by the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust
"The quote from Edward Albee is just a constituent contributor to a larger dynamic or source that I reference in terms of stimulation. All of the constituents don't necessarily fit logically together but they serve as a type of abstract code for me. Thus 'Fate Cues' is somewhat about how differences can work together." — Henry Threadgill Zooid: Henry Threadgill, saxophone/flute; Jose Davila, tuba; Liberty Ellman, guitar; Stomu Takeishi, bass guitar; Elliot Kavee, drums. Talujon Percussion Quartet: David Cossin, Dominic Donato, Michael Lipsey, and Matt Ward.
http://www.pirecordings.com/artist/Henry_Threadgill
http://www.talujon.com/sound.shtml
For more information on the Interpretations series, call 212-627-0990 or visit: www.interpretations.info and www.roulette.org ***** Myra Melford
"From her first album in 1991, it was clear that this pianist and composer would stay around," the New York Times said of Myra Melford. Melford has not only stuck around but has flourished: appearing on more than 30 recordings, including 17 as a leader or co-leader, performing in more than 30 countries, winning major awards for composition and piano performance, receiving a Fulbright Scholarship to study harmonium in India, and working with some of the world's most innovative musicians. Melford's staying power is the product of ceaseless musical travels; she's always going somewhere. As Francis Davis noted, "Myra Melford is the genuine article, the most gifted pianist/composer to emerge from jazz since Anthony Davis." Current projects include: the electro-acoustic Be Bread; a cooperative duo with reedist Marty Ehrlich, which released the critically acclaimed Spark! on Palmetto in 2007; and the collectively-led Trio M, with bassist Mark Dresser and drummer Matt Wilson, with the release, Big Picture, on Cryptogramophone. Earlier in her career, she led the Myra Melford Trio; the quintet The Same River, Twice; and the electro-acoustic trio/quartet Crush, and the collectively-led Equal Interest with Joseph Jarman and Leroy Jenkins. Melford is an Assistant Professor of Improvisational Composition and Performance Practices at the University of California, Berkeley.

Henry Threadgill
Composer, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader, Henry Threadgill has been a seminal figure in the vanguard of contemporary instrumental music since the early 70s. His body of music includes more than 150 recorded works which, while firmly rooted in America's Great Black Music tradition, often integrate forms and instruments historically associated with chamber or orchestral music. Threadgill has led some of the most acclaimed and adventurous instrumental ensembles of the past four decades: the trio Air, which emerged from the core membership of Chicago's visionary cooperative the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (A.A.C.M.) to become one of the most influential bands of the '70s and early '80s; the resourceful seven-piece Sextett he formed in the early '80s and led through the advent of the '90s; specialty units as X-75, his 20-piece Society Situation Dance Band and his Marching Band; and his current groups, Very Very Circus! and Zooid. He has received diverse commissions ranging from small ensembles such as the Roscoe Mitchell and Rova Saxophone Quartets, to larger works for the American Jazz Orchestra "Salute to Harold Arlen", the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Threadgill sees himself as an artist in a state of constant change, and views his creative process as an ever-evolving one: "I don't perceive what I'm doing in a finite sense, but on a certain level my music can be seen as part of a continuum."

Talujon Percussion Quartet
Described by the New York Times as an ensemble possessing an "edgy, unflagging energy", the Talujon Percussion Quartet has been mesmerizing audiences since 1990. With an annual schedule of more than 60 concerts, including a dozen premieres, Talujon is thoroughly committed to the expansion of the contemporary percussion repertoire as well as the education and diversification of its worldwide audience. The gentlemen that make up the quartet — David Cossin, Dominic Donato, Tom Kolor, and Michael Lipsey — all also perform widely as freelance artists.

The Interpretations series, now in its twentieth season, is a New York-based concert series focusing on the relationship between contemporary composers and their interpreters. Sometimes the interpreters are the composers themselves; more often, the series features performers who specialize in the interpretation of new music. Since its inception in 1989, Interpretations has featured leading figures in contemporary music and multimedia, including Muhal Richard Abrams, Robert Ashley, Anthony Braxton, Thomas Buckner, FLUX Quartet, Annea Lockwood, and Alvin Lucier, Roscoe Mitchell, Phill Niblock, Pauline Oliveros, Ursula Oppens, and Morton Subotnick.