What:  The Thing with Joe McPhee
Where:  Space12 3121 E 12th Street  Austin, TX 78702
When:  Sunday June 27. 7:30 PM.  doors 7PM
$15 tickets available at the door.  or via Paypal to pg@epistrophyarts.org
a portion of proceeds benefit Inside Books Project. Discounted admission in exchange for book donation to Inside Books.

PDF copy of Thing flyer

“Tapping into rock’s most primal forces with a fire and fury that’s something to behold” MOJO

“The Thing Convert nouveau punk and vintage garage-rock into a roaring scream up, but the sheer energy and love of the music     keep gimmickry at bay” UNCUT

“The sheer power they can generate from wood, metal, breath and muscle is stunning” BBC

“Absurdly cool.” DJ Magazine

Joe McPhee - reeds, trumpet
Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten - bass
Paal Nilssen-Love - drums
* saxophonist Mats Gustafsson will not be joining the group on this tour because of a family emergency.

about The Thing:

Free Jazz ecstasy meets Garage Rock Intensity. Scandinavian power trio The Thing blends the spontaneity and imagination of classic free jazz with the emotional immediacy of underground garage rock. With acoustic traditional jazz instrumentation, the three young Scandinavians can match the power of the fiercest rock band. The Thing’s repertoire consists of 60’s era new-jazz (Don Cherry, Ayler, James Blood Ulmer, David Murray) and reinterpretations of underground rock classics (PJ Harvey, White Stripes, Sonics, Lighting Bolt). This is no watered down jazz-rock. The Thing take the most uncompromising aspects of both genres and turn up the heat..

Individually and collectively, The Thing’s genre defying spirit has led to collaborations with a wide range of today’s most creative musicians including Jim O’Rourke, Thurston Moore, Otomo Yoshihide, Ken Vandermark, Peter Brotzmann and many others.  In 2009 they released the critically acclaimed ‘Bag It!’ on Smalltown Supersounds recorded by veteran indie rock engineer Steve Albini.

The Thing are joined for this concert by living legend Joe McPhee. The infinitely versaitile American multi-instrumentalist is a veteran of the 60’s New York “Fire Music” that is at the heart of The Thing. In his lyrical and soulful playing lies the true cry of the blues. McPhee is one of the most in-demand artists in Jazz and an authentic and vital messenger of its radical avant-garde.

audio track from Bag It!

assorted links.

http://www.paalnilssen-love.com/band_thething.html

http://matsgus.com/archives/category/groups/the-thing

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=32902

http://thequietus.com/articles/02327-field-day-preview-mats-gustafsson-of-the-thing-interviewed

http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/06/30/album-review-the-thing-bag-it/

poster design Noel Waggener

When: April 28, 29.  8PM
Where: Victory Grill (1104. E. 11th)

$16 advance tickets available at End of An Ear, Waterloo Records and Trailer Space Records. $20 Door

FREE FALL
Ingebrigt Håker Flaten (Austin) – double bass
Håvard Wk (Oslo, Berlin) - piano
Ken Vandermark (Chicago) – clarinets

Friday March 12, 8PM doors 7:30
AAMP
411 West Monroe
Austin, TX 78704 (map)
advance tickets available Feb. 12 at End of An Ear and Waterloo Records
$12 advance, $15 door

Free Fall was organized by bassist Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, reedist Ken Vandermark, and pianist Håvard Wk in 2001 as an opportunity to work together in a chamber music environment and without percussion. Inspired in part by Texas jazz legend Jimmy Giuffre’s classic group with Paul Bley and Steve Swallow, the band quickly found its own voice, utilizing velocity, space, and sound by incorporating combinations of pulse-based and open time, distributing melodic responsibility through its fragmentation, and building expression through a dialectic between understatement and explosiveness.

For this Austin debut performance, the trio will be performing in support of the upcoming release ‘Gray Scale’ on the Norwegian label Smalltown Superjazz. Grey Scale features material that is completely improvised.

Ken Vandermark
Named as one of the 25 most significant improvising musicians under 40 by Downbeat magazine, Ken Vandermark has been a powerful and influential voice in contemporary jazz, both on and off the stage. He’s the leader of dozens of bands and a valued collaborator to some of the most exciting artists working today. He’s an important organizer of concerts and festivals. He also, at the age of 35, received the prestigious “Genius Grant” from the MacArthur Foundation. All of the (well-deserved) credentials, accolades, and associations sometimes distract from the most notable thing about Ken Vandermark: he’s one of the most moving and powerful saxophone stylists working in the music today. His strong instrumental voice can shift from an oblique angularity to a comfortable and rocking back-beat. He is equally at home when swinging “in the pocket” or stretching the music to its outer limits. Though he has a distinctive style, the breadth of Vandermark’s projects is a testament to his vital creativity.

Håvard Wk
One of Norway’s most extraordinary artists, pianist/composer Håvard Wk first made his mark in Austin with the Scandinavian powerhouse quintet Atomic in 2008. His sensitive, lyrical playing and ability to traverse mainstream traditions while plying more open approaches has been a hit with audiences. Besides Atomic, Wk also works with Free Fall (Ken Vandermark, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten), Atomic Schooldays, a duo with Hakon Kornstad, and a new project with Axel Dorner and Fredrik Ljungqvist. He’s also collaborated with jazz giants Joe Lovano, Kenny Wheeler, and Lee Konitz.

Ingebrigt Håker Flaten
Ingebrigt, a recent Austin transplant, studied Jazz at the Music Conservatory in Trondheim, Norway, from 1992-95. Since 95 he has been a professional musician, shaping and refining his sound by touring extensively all over the world with a variety of international improvisors. Ingebrigt has ongoing transcontinental projects with musicians from the underground of New York, Chicago, Austin and Houston, and has participated on more than 100 recordings.
Ingebrigt’s primary projects are the acclaimed Scandinavian ensembles Atomic and The Thing, both of which have wowed Austin audiences in recent years. He also leads his own quintet and is a member of the bands, The Electrics, Townhouse Orchestra, The Outskirts, Dave Rempis Percussion Quartet, Scorch Trio, Trinity, IPA, Daniel Levin Trio and Atomic Schooldays. Håker Flaten represents a special era in the Norwegian bass tradition. Inspired by Jimmy Garrison, Richard Davis and William Parker, as well as European bassists such as Barry Guy, Dave Holland and Peter Kowald, he provides an historical continuity of the instrument’s tradition. Ingebrigt’s bass playing also draws inspiration and energy from his deep roots in the bustling Norwegian jazz scene. This can be summarized by placing him and his contemporaries in the great lineage of Norwegian progressive jazz musicians that include the famed Jan Garbarek, Arild Andersen and Terje Rypdal, as well as the less well-known pianist, Svein Finnerud, and bassist, Bjørnar Andresen, all of whom were key figures in shaping Norwegian avant-garde jazz into the sound we have today. Making his home in Austin, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten is one of the great ambassadors of the Norwegian sound, carrying this strong tradition further, both musically and geographically. He is constantly pushing and challenging himself, seeking out collaborations that hold a promise to lead to new and unheard territories.

Free Fall, Point in a Line, 2007 smalltownsuperjazz

Free Fall takes its name, of course, from the final studio recording of clarinetist Jimmy Giuffre’s trio with pianist Paul Bley and bassist Steve Swallow, and The Point in a Line is their third disc together. This trio joins Vandermark’s Bb and bass clarinet with Norwegian pianist Havard Wk and bassist Ingebrigt Haker Flaten on a number of compositions and improvisations by members of the trio.

It is important to realize that this band is not entirely in homage to Giuffre—after all, his music retained a wide-open Texas swagger, even as they explored delicate counterpoint and microtonal extended techniques. Free Fall is classically poised in vignettes of contrast, often between the meatiness of bass and bass clarinet and Wk’s peerless piano mobiles, though Vandermark’s “Eulogy for a Typewriter” approaches the sparse canvas of Morton Feldman—surely an exploration of tonal space far from the group’s namesake. — Clifford Allen, April 6, 2008, AllAboutJazz.com.

Free Fall, Amsterdam Funk, 2005, smalltownsuperjazz

Given the group’s name and its instrumentation, the association with Jimmy Giuffre’s epochal chamber jazz trio is unavoidable. The homage is deliberate, but partial as Free Fall play nothing but original compositions. Amsterdam Funk comprises 13 pieces of stark, frequently dramatic music. The lack of percussion serves to cast a tightrope shadow upon proceedings, but the resulting tension is leavened by sudden, playful passages. An ominously deep piano chord marks the beginning of Accidents With Ladders, only to be succeeded by Vandermark’s jaunty clarinet. Four minutes later Vandermark’s solo climbs upwards and stops suddenly: the title of the piece is thus musically evoked with fine wit. Although their contributions are remarkable, Vandermark and Flaten should need no introduction, but the lesser-known Wk is a revelation, playing one moment with a vivid intensity, the next with the utmost delicacy. Each player’s solos are often conducted against a backdrop of silence. Accordingly, Amsterdam Funk feels like a deliberate exploration of space as much as of melody or time. It’s a bewitchingly beautiful album. Highly recommended. — Colin Buttimer, November, 2005, Jazzwise

Free Fall, Furnace, 2003, Wobbly Rail

The quirky swing of “Inside Out [for Paul Bley)” features Vandermark on clarinet and shows this trio’s obvious debt to the Jimmy Giuffre Trio as the reed man’s candid liner note makes plain: “Any listener with a solid knowledge of jazz history will realize that inspiration for the name of this group was taken from the brilliant album ‘Free Fair by the Jimmy Giuffre Trio.” This project features Vandermark exclusively on clarinet as he goes on a lyrical journey ranging from the dreamy split tones of “The Spell Of Introspection” and the probing counterpoint of “Half Past Soon” to the intensifying circular motifs of his bass clarinet during “Hopscotch” and the fierce energy of “Furnace.” For all their cool; the warm rapport between Flaten and Wiik brings this tribute into focus and provides the reed man with lucid and inspiring company. “Furnace” features a fierce and free solo pizzicato bass interlude by Flaten until Wk’s clotted piano lines inspire Vandermark to turn up the heat. In contrast, “Into The Air” offers a sequence of slow and meditative solo interludes, opening with Flaten’s poignant pizzicato that lasts almost two minutes before Wiik’s brooding piano ultimately ushers in Vandermark’s clarinet as the trio unfold a rich study in minimalist dynamics, reminding me why Giuffre’s Trio was one of the most unique and special delights of the free jazz era of the early 1960s. Informing the freedom here is the real economy of players who listen to one another and discover new possibilities and directions for creation within the discipline of thrift in a manner that helped to liberate the music for decades to come. Free Fall mines a rich seam here and the resulting music is an enthralling delight. Recommended. — David Lewis, July, 2004, Cadence

Frode Gjerstad Trio

Space 12 3121 E 12th St

Tuesday Feb. 2.  8pm.  doors 7:30

tickets available at the door $10-$15 sliding scale.

all ages admission

www.epistrophyarts.org

Frode Gjerstad - alto sax

Paal Nilssen Love - drums

Nick Stephens - bass

Epistrophy Arts is proud to kick of its 12th year of presenting cutting-edge improvised music in Austin with a special performance by three of Europe’s most prominent creative musicians - Frode Gjerstad, Paal Nilssen-Love and Nick Stephens.

Drawing heavily upon the energy of the free-jazz continuum as defined by Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus and John Coltrane, alto saxophonist Frode Gjerstad is a pioneer of Norwegian improvised music. His various ensembles have served as a training ground for the current (and most vital) generation of Norwegian experimental musicians. Gjerstad first came to prominence with British percussionist John Stevens’ group in the 1980s, and later played in a trio with William Parker and Hamid Drake. His career has spanned over 20 years and has included collaborations with many of the leading lights of improvised and experimental music including Peter Brötzmann, Han Bennink, Evan Parker, Derek Bailey, Louis Moholo-Moholo, and noise musician Lasse Marhaug.

Powerhouse drummer Paal Nilssen-Love is no stranger to adventurous Austin music audiences. He has taken part in some of Epistrophy Arts’ most noted presentations including sold out performances by The Thing, The Peter Brotzmann Tentet, and Atomic. Nilssen-Love has established himself as a powerful and dynamic musician through his wide ranging collaborations with leading improvisors Ken Vandermark, Mats Gustafsson, Peter Brötzmann and left-field rock artists like Thurston Moore, Jim O’Rourke,the Ex’s Andy and Terrie, and Fugazi’s Guy Picciotto. In December he completed a tour of Ethiopia with Ken Vandermark, Ab Baars and members of The Ex.

Bassist Nick Stephens has been an active member of the fertile UK improvising community since the late 1970s. In the process, he has played with many of the major players on that scene including Evan Parker, John Stevens, and Lol Coxhill ”Stephens thrives in a trio where he can soak up space with booming long notes, slip in a sleek line between the splash of cymbals and the texture of a horn, and place otherworldly arco color in the foreground,” wrote jazz critic Bill Shoemaker in 2007. “The bassist is the fulcrum of two of the better albums by improvising trios this year”

photo: http://www.paalnilssen-love.com/Press/frode.jpg

“Gjerstad has a a crying alto tone that has a searing emotional directness… he skillfully builds extended improvisations out of fleet, leaping lines colored with a chilling, soulful directness. He plays with the command and authority of a mature musician who has honed a personal voice, while continuing to push in new directions.” -Michael Rosenstein, Cadence

“He (Paal Nilssen-Love) is simply one of the best new musicians I’ve heard during the latest years!” -Pat Metheny

“Nilssen-Love is one of the most innovative, dynamic and versatile drummers in jazz!” Down Beat “Drummer Paal Nilssen-Love stormed the Norwegian jazz scene in the early ’90s and has been working relentlessly ever since in both traditional and avant-garde jazz. It wasn’t long before he jumped on the metaphorical freight train Swedish saxophonist Mats Gustaffson had established between Scandinavia and Chicago; the drummer appeared on Ken Vandermark’s School Days and has enjoyed growing exposure in the U.S. since 2000. His other engagements and collaborations include trios with Frode Gjerstad, Sten Sandell, and Raoul Björkenheim, plus the group Atomic. He released his first solo CD, Sticks & Stones, in 2001.” -All Music bio excerpt

About Epistrophy Arts:

Epistrophy Arts is a grass-roots cultural organization dedicated to presenting the finest adventurous and improvised music in Austin Texas. Since January of 1998 we have presented over 60 concerts with some of the major figures in international contemporary adventurous music.

We are funded and supported in part by individual contributions, the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and the Vortex Repertory Theater Company.

]]> http://www.epistrophyarts.org/?feed=rss2&p=17 http://www.epistrophyarts.org/?p=14 http://www.epistrophyarts.org/?p=14#comments Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:28:03 +0000 admin http://www.epistrophyarts.org/?p=14 Epistrophy Arts Presents

Thursday, April 30, 2009
Peter Brötzmann, Nasheet Waits and Eric Revis Trio

Peter Brötzmann (Germany) - saxophones, clarinets
Nasheet Waits (New York) - drums
Eric Revis (San Antonio) - bass

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Present at the very beginning of the European Free Improvisation scene, Peter Brötzmann began his career as a visual artist with connections to the Fluxus movement. After hearing a concert by jazz legend Sidney Bechet, Brötzmann rejected a career in the galleries. He taught himself saxophones and clarinets, played modern jazz influenced by Ornette Coleman, and worked with American greats like Don Cherry and Steve Lacy. Brötzmann developed a style similar to radical American saxophonist Albert Ayler (without much knowledge of Ayler), an uncompromising, screaming cry that challenged itself to greater heights of rage and energy. His landmark 1968 recording “Machine Gun” is a frightening and incendiary slab of sound that (with only acoustic instruments) can measure up to any guitar/electronic noise project happening today. Time has added subtlety and beauty to Brötzmann’s sound. Bluesy lyricism and timeless muezzin-like calls emerged in later years. His spools of dark-toned phrases emerge and unravel over pulsing tempos (these days Brötzmann seems to enjoy the heart-like beat of a masterful rhythm section). His music has all the sincerity, natural wisdom, and universal depth that a mature artist can possess. He remains one of the most inspiring and influential saxophone players in jazz and free improvisation.

In this exciting (landmark) collaboration, Peter Brötzmann is joined by two of the most important members of the current generation of mainstream jazz artists.

Drummer Nasheet Waits is a New York native. His interest in the drums was encouraged by his father, legendary percussionist, Frederick Waits. Waits received his Bachelor of Arts in Music from Long Island University. He studied privately with renowned percussionist Michael Carvin. Carvin’s tutelage provided a vast foundation upon which Waits added influences from his father, as well as mentor Max Roach. It was Roach that first gave Waits’ formidable talent international spotlight, hiring him as a member of the famed percussion ensemble M’BOOM. Waits’ talent came to the attention of reedman Antonio Hart, who asked him to originate the percussion chair of his first quintet. More recently Waits has been a member of Andrew Hill’s bands, Jason Moran’s Bandwagon, and Fred Hersch’s trio. Moran, bassist Tarus Mateen, and Waits have been deemed, “the most exciting rhythm section in jazz” by JazzTimes. The 2001 recording “Black Stars” with the Bandwagon was named the “Best CD of 2001” in Jazz Times and The New York Times. Waits’ recording and performing discography is a veritable “who’s who” in jazz, boasting stints with such notables as Geri Allen, Mario Bauza, Hamiett Bluiett, Ron Carter, Steve Coleman, Stanley Cowell, Stefon Harris, Andrew Hill, Jackie McLean, The Mingus Big Band, Greg Osby, Joshua Redman, and Jacky Terrason.

Grammy-winning bassist Eric Revis has been one of the most solid voices in jazz for over 15 years. The deep-running power of his beat and his potent tone keep him in demand among notable musicians such as Branford Marsalis and Jeff “Tain” Watts. Born in Los Angeles, Revis grew up listening to funk and rock. At 14 he taught himself electric bass. After attending Southern University, Revis relocated to San Antonio for a gig playing 6 nights per week. As Revis worked the gig, fellow band members introduced him to jazz. Discovering this music, Revis switched to acoustic bass. Revis moved to New Orleans to study under Ellis Marsalis, Harold Battiste, and Victor Goines from 1991 to 1992. In 1994, he moved to New York to become the regular bassist for Betty Carter. It did not take long for New York musicians to take a notice. He worked regularly with Billy Harper, Louis Hays, and Lionel Hampton. In 1997, Branford Marsalis asked Revis to join him on his recording “Bug Shot”. Since then, Revis has been one of Marsalis’ most reliable allies. Rafi Zabor says “Eric Revis seems to me the finest rhythm partner yet to join a working Marsalis group: a terrific band bassist whose work evades casual notice. The lunging, deep-running power of his beat, acuity of accent, and his instinct for the right propulsive run of notes have given this band stronger legs to stand on, and an increased capacity for friendly earthquake.”

This project is funded in part by individual contributions, The Creative Opportunity Orchestra, The City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

Ken Vandermark (Chicago) - tenor saxophone, clarinet

Wilbert de Joode(Amsterdam) - bass
Martin van Duynhoven (Amsterdam) - drums

Friday, April 10 2009
8pm
at Austin’s Historic Victory Grill
1104 E. 11th St.
Austin, Texas

$15 advance general admission
$18 at the door

tickets available at Waterloo Records, End of An Ear


A highly distinctive voice from the fertile Dutch jazz scene, Ab Baars brings an idiosyncratic creativity into combination with skill and knowledge of his music’s roots.  Though his music has been described as “joyfully obstinate”, it has an undeniable and colorful catchy-ness that stems from its stripped essence.  As an instrumentalist, Baars has been influenced by (among others) American Jazz greats like Roscoe Mitchell and John Carter (both of whom he has worked with).  As a composer/improvisor/band-leader Baars displays all of the musical characteristics that have come to define the Dutch creative music scene: open forms, varied improvisational strategies, wacky use of juxtaposition, and an unwillingness to treat jazz—or any music—as a fixed art form.  Ab Baars is an important member of The ICP Orchestra, the defining group of Dutch jazz.

Named as one of the 25 most significant improvising musicians under 40 by Downbeat magazine, Ken Vandermark has been a powerful and influential voice in contemporary jazz, both on and off the stage.  He’s the leader of dozens of bands and a valued collaborator to some of the most exciting artists working today.  He’s an important organizer of concerts and festivals.  He also, at the age of 35, received the prestigious “Genius Grant” from the MacArthur Foundation.  All of the (well-deserved) credentials, accolades, and associations sometimes distract from the most notable thing about Ken Vandermark: he’s one of the most moving and powerful saxophone stylists working in the music today.  His strong instrumental voice can shift from an oblique angularity to a comfortable and rocking back-beat.  He is equally at home when swinging “in the pocket” or stretching the music to its outer limits.  Though he has a distinctive style, the breadth of Vandermark’s projects is a testament to his vital creativity.

For more information about Ab Baars:
www.stichtingwig.com
For more information about Ken Vandermark:
www.kenvandermark.com
For more information about Wilbert de Joode:
www.wilbertdejoode.com

Also, :

Peter Brotzmann/Nasheet Waits/Eric Revis
Peter Brotzmann (Germany) - saxophones, clarinets
Nasheet Waits (New York) - drums
Eric Revis (San Antonio) - bass
Wednesday, April 30 2009
8pm
at Austin’s Historic Victory Grill
1104 E. 11th St.

This project is funded in part by individual contributions, The Creative Opportunity Orchestra, The City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

Ab Baars Trio & Ken Vandermark
Friday April 10
Austin’s Historic Victory Grill (1104 E. 11th St.)

Peter Brötzmann, Nasheet Waits, Eric Revis Trio
Thursday April 30
Austin’s Historic Victory Grill (1104 E. 11th St.)

On November 14th, 2008. Epistrophy Arts and the Thing helped to celebrate the 20th anniversary of an Austin institution. Ruby’s BBQ has been the most enthusiastic supporter of Epistrophy Arts since the beginning of our organization. The restaurant has fed almost every musician we have brought to town since 1999.

with The Thing

Mats Gustafsson (Sweden) - baritone sax
Ingebrigt Haker-Flaten (Norway) - contrabass
Paal Nilssen-Love (Norway) - drums

Fri Nov. 14th
doors 7PM

@ Ruby’s BBQ   (512 West 29th Street, just off Guadalupe.) rubysbbq.com

very limited $10 advance tickets available now at Ruby’s BBQ.

Additional tickets available to supporters of Epistrophy Arts for $20 minimum donation.  Please contact P.G. Moreno for information.  pg (@) epistrophyarts.org

“Tapping into rock’s most primal forces with a fire and fury that’s something to behold” MOJO

“The sheer power they can generate from wood, metal, breath and muscle is stunning” BBC

“The Thing Convert nouveau punk and vintage garage-rock into a roaring scream up, but the sheer energy and love of the music keep gimmickry at bay” UNCUT

Free Jazz ecstasy meets Garage Rock Intensity.  Scandinavian action jazz ensemble The Thing in a rare intimate performance following the release of their limited edition box set ‘Now and Forever’ and in anticipation to their upcoming Steve Albini produced release ‘Bag it’.  The Thing blends the spontaneity and imagination of classic free jazz with the emotional immediacy of underground garage rock. With acoustic traditional jazz instrumentation, the three young Scandinavians can match the power of the fiercest rock band. The Thing’s repertoire consists of 60’s era new-jazz (Don Cherry, Ayler, James Blood Ulmer, David Murray) and reinterpretations of underground rock classics (PJ Harvey, White Stripes, Sonics, The Ex, Lighting Bolt). This is no watered down jazz-rock. The Thing take the most uncompromising aspects of both genres and turn up the heat. Tearing down the walls that separate free jazz/punk rock/garage/noise/improv etc.with wicked glee, The Thing shine a searing hot light on the idiocy of getting hung up on categories.

Individually and collectively, The Thing’s genre defying spirit has led to collaborations with a wide range of today’s most creative musicians including Joe McPhee, Thurston Moore, Otomo Yoshihide, Ken Vandermark, Peter Brotzmann and many others.  Saxophonist Mats Gustafsson is a frequent collaborator with Sonic Youth and is featured on their recent release entitled _Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth_ with Japanese noise legend Merzbow.

Since 1999, Ruby’s Barbecue has been a regular supporter of Epistrophy Arts.  During the Thing’s first visit to Austin in 2004 the musicians were so impressed with the food and hospitality that they adopted the iconic Ruby’s T-Shirts as their stage uniform.  Since that time, The Thing have worn their Ruby’s shirts onstage in hundreds of concerts across 3 continents.  Epistrophy Arts and The Thing are proud to help celebrate the legacy of a great family-owned Austin institution and their generous support and advocacy for the arts.  Ruby’s makes Austin a great place to live!

*Only 4 U.S. dates on this tour - http://www.paalnilssen-love.com/band_thething.html

And check out an interview with Thing saxophonist Mats Gustafsson

http://www.bagatellen.com/?p=1969

Reviews of the CD “Action Jazz” by The Thing.

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=22619

http://www.dotshop.se/ds/release.php?code=STSJ123CD

About Epistrophy Arts:

Epistrophy Arts is a grass-roots organization dedicated to presenting the finest in improvised and adventurous music in Austin Texas.  Since January of 1998 we have presented over 60 concerts with leading international figures in improvised music and modern jazz.  Epistrophy Arts is funded and supported in part by individual contributions, the City of Austin through the Cultural Arts Division and by a grant from the Texas Commission on the Arts and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art.

For more information on the artists:
http://www.ingebrigtflaten.com/
http://www.paalnilssen-love.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mats_Gustafsson
http://www.efi.group.shef.ac.uk/