Friday April 1, 8:00 Somerville Armory, 191 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA
The EAR DUO with Robots and The Garrison Fewell trio with Steve Swell trombone and Andrew Raffo Dewar alto sax.
The EAR Duo and Robots! Founded in 2005 by saxophonist Michael Straus and bassoonist Dana Jessen, the EAR (Electro Acoustic Reed) Duo is dedicated to the performance of new, improvised and experimental electroacoustic music. Recently praised by the Boston Music Intelligencer for performing "with conviction and authenticity," the duo can regularly be seen presenting a variety of works ranging from new commissions written specifically for them, to original arrangements of works by Terry Riley, Steve Reich and James Tenney. Attempting to stretch the limits of duo performance, their concerts include aspects of theater coupled with visual and electronic media. Aside from performing on their respective instruments, EAR Duo has teamed up with the brilliant trio of guys in EMMI (Expressive Machines Musical Instruments) and recently received funding through a Kickstarter campaign. Yes the Ear duo will be playing live with robots at the Vortex!! They have commissioned a series of musical robots to unleash on the U.S. and Europe.
Garrison Fewell Trio with Steve Swell trombone and Andrew Raffo Dewar soprano saxophonist.
Renowned for his mature, melodic sound and elegant, lyrical style of writing, guitarist Garrison Fewell has established himself as a distinctive voice throughout his 30-year career. Critics have called him "one of today’s most personal guitar players" (Boston Phoenix), "an assured stylist with a strong sense of tradition" (The New Yorker), "a player of virtuosity and swinging intensity" (UPI), and "refined, passionate, and inspiring" (Guitar Player).
Born in Newark, New Jersey, Steve Swell has been an active member of the NYC music community since 1975. He has toured and recorded with many artists from main-streamers such as Lionel Hampton and Buddy Rich to so called outsiders, Anthony Braxton, Bill Dixon, Cecil Taylor and William Parker. He has over 25 Cds as a leader or co-leader and is a featured artist on more than 90 other releases. He runs workshops around the world and is a teaching artist in the NYC public school system focusing on special needs children.
Andrew Raffo Dewar (b.1975 Rosario, Argentina) is a composer, improviser, woodwind instrumentalist and ethnomusicologist. Since 1995, he has been active in the music communities of Minneapolis, New Orleans, the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City, performing his work in North America, Southeast Asia and Europe. Dewar studied with saxophonist/composers Steve Lacy, Anthony Braxton and Phillip Greenlief, composer Alvin Lucier, trumpeter/composer Bill Dixon, and multi-instrumentalist improviser Milo Fine. He has also had a long involvement with Indonesian traditional and experimental music, particularly the Minangkabau music of West Sumatra and Central Javanese gamelan.
On December 9 at 8:00, Pianist Paul Carlson will be joining the Vortex Series presenting a solo piano work by Ruth Crawford Seeger as featured on his soon to be released solo album. Mr Carlson will also collaborate with violist Eve Boltax and clarinetist Todd Brunel with chamber works by Paul Walter Furst and Bertold Hummel. Todd Brunel will present solo clarinet and bass clarinet works works by Pamela Marshall and Claudio Gabriele. 
