Featuring Chris Cogburn (percussion), Kurt Newman (guitar) & special guests.
Austin percussionist and curator Chris Cogburn presents a night of improvised music with long-time collaborator, guitarist Kurt Newman. Often found in a multitude of trios — with Dutch avant-vocalist Jaap Blonk; Austin percussionist Nick Hennies (Vic Firth and The Lutherans); and ex-Ringling Brothers clown Aaron Tucker (Perruque) — Cogburn and Newman will perform as a duo for the first time in LA. The night’s performance will be augmented with a selection of friends from the LA area.
Chris Cogburn is a sound artist, improvisor and curator based in Austin, Texas. A percussionist, Cogburn approaches his instrument with an interest and attention to the drum’s subtle and overlooked timbres, textures and hidden resonances. Cogburn has collaborated with many premiere international artists in contemporary music including: John Butcher, Pauline Oliveros, Bhob Rainey and Tetuzi Akiyama. Inter-media collaborations include: NYC dancer/ choreographer Jennifer Monson, poet and Wave Books editor Joshua Beckman and Ringling Brothers clown Aaron Tucker.
Cogburn has performed in the US, Canada, and Latin America in a multitude of venues and festivals including: James Turrell’s Roden Crater, Pauline Oliveros’ Deep Listening Space, Bellas Artes and La Fonoteca Nacional (Mexico City), Cha’ak’ab Paaxil Festival de Improvisación (Yucatan), VAE11 (Lima, Peru), Seattle Improvised Music Festival, Issue Project Room, The Kitchen and Roulette (NYC).
Since 2003, Cogburn has organized and curated the No Idea Festival, an annual festival of improvised music featuring artists from around the world. No Idea has been held in several cities including: Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth, Dallas, Marfa, New Orleans, Mexico City and Merida, Yucatan.
Kurt Newman is a guitarist and improvisor based in Santa Barbara, California. Over the past decade, Newman has focused his creative energies on non-idiomatic improvisation, and continues to work on refining his voice as an improvisor. Among his collaborators: (Europe) John Butcher, Mats Gustafsson, Thomas Lehn, Roger Turner, Jaap Blonk; (Japan) Tetuzi Akiyama; (USA) Kyle Bruckmann, Chris Cogburn, Dave Dove, Nick Hennies, Henry Kaiser, Fred Lonberg-Holm; (Canada): Mike Gennaro, Eric Chenaux, John Oswald, Michael Snow, Mauro Savo, Sam Shalabi, Alexandre St-Onge.
In addition to improvising and recording a solo album, Newman’s current projects also include The Long Telegram, a reductionist shred-metal band with drummer Nick Hennies, and Daphnomancy, an improvised music and text project with Michelle Detorie.