Brandon Ross - guitar
Miles Okazaki - guitar
Marcus Rojas - tuba
José Davila - tuba
Noah Becker - alto saxophone & clarinet
Chris Bates - trombone
Gene Lake - percussion
“A sort of abandonment; the musicians have to give themselves over completely to the art.”
-Henry Threadgill
The eclectic sounds and aggregation of musicians of Very, Very Circus is reexplored in this unique ensemble. This Legacy Project intends to reactivate a special time of music creation that started 1991 with the debut release of Very, Very Circus: Spirit Of Nuff…Nuff. It is about reviving this music by Henry Threadgill, this decisive phase of his compositional and artistic work - the extraordinary line-up with two tubas and two electric guitars opened up a new level of sound experience. „I thought of the coupled instruments like the two rails of a train track - one tuba and one guitar on each rail. They could be running along parallel to one another but doing completely different things.“ So Henry Threadgill describes the character of this new founded ensemble, following his Sextett, in his biography „ Very Very Circus! The ebullience of it - the sheer too-muchness! That’s was that sound world was about.“ Very Very Circus embodied a paradigm where the AACM, NYC, and the Caribbean bisected.
After 30 years the band revival includes the original band members Marcus Rojas, Brandon Ross and Gene Lake as well as Jose Davila, member of Threadgills ZOOID cosmos, in combination with three musicians of a new generation: Miles Okazaki, Chris Bates and Noah Becker - Performing Artists, Instrumentalists, Composers, Writers, Educators, Leaders, Innovators, Torch Bearers. This is Very Very Circus! The set manifest works of the Spirit of Nuff Nuff… and Pocket Sized Demons..in the Hope-A-Hope-A, that we can find home in Henry Threadgills music…
The band has already celebrated a triumphant return twice - in May 2023 at the Bang on a Can Long Play Festival in Brooklyn and at its appearance at the Big Ears Festival in March 2024.
The band offered a vivid account of the music, weaving its fabric of intricate organization and improvisatory spectacle into a tapestry of profound delights.“ (Philipp Lutz, Downbeat, May 2023)
SPONSORSHIP
The Jazz Gallery is a not-for-profit arts organization presenting emerging artists who challenge convention, take creative risks, and lead their field as performers, composers and thinkers. We provide a platform for artists to discover their unique voice and a home for established musicians to continue to experiment and grow. At The Jazz Gallery, artists and audiences come together from around the world to explore new creative ideas, collaborate and celebrate jazz as a dynamic art form that reflects our ever-changing world.
We rely on the generosity of our members and community to keep the music playing, thank you for your continued and much appreciated support! If you would like to sponsor a Livestream Concert, please use the links above or be in touch with our Executive Director, Janet Luhrs, here.