Arts + Literature Laboratory welcomes Tim Berne, Aurora Nealand, and Hank Roberts in support of their album Oceans And on Friday, October 20 at 8:00pm. Advance tickets $20 ($15 student/ALL Member) or $25 for everyone at the door.
Tim Berne’s work is characterized by tireless artistic dedication and creativity. His newly formed trio with accordionist and multi-instrumentalist Aurora Nealand and cellist Hank Roberts takes the listener on a sonically adventurous journey on Oceans And and delights with much imagination and amazing musical diversity. The pieces are penned by Tim Berne and all open doors to infinite interpretation and development.
“The breathtaking music, created by Tim Berne, Aurora Nealand, and Hank Roberts can be deservedly and on all accounts deemed: profound, probing, intriguing, distinct, intricate, raw, courageous, mysterious, and thoughtful. The group’s concerted effort to achieve a cohesive blend is a refreshing relief. An honest crusade of in-depth imagination, this music is a beacon of light in an unsettling world,” writes trumpeter Baikida Carroll in the Oceans And liner notes, adding “It stimulates the brain, animates the imagination, and charms the heart.”
Tim Berne has been declared “a saxophonist and composer of granite conviction” by The New York Times. Acclaim for the first, eponymous ECM album from Berne’s quartet Snakeoil came from far and wide, with The Guardian calling it “an object lesson in balancing composition, improvisation and the tonal resources of an acoustic band.” With the release of his second ECM album, Shadow Man, All About Jazz affirmed Snakeoil as “Berne’s most impressively cohesive group yet.”). You’ve Been Watching Me, saw Berne leading a quintet version of Snakeoil, adding guitarist Ryan Ferreira to the core group with Matt Mitchell, Oscar Noriega and Ches Smith.
Since learning at the elbow of St. Louis master Julius Hemphill in the ’70s, the Syracuse, New York-born Berne has built an expansive discography as a leader. In his pace-setting ensembles over the past few decades, he has worked with a who’s who of improvisers, including Joey Baron, Django Bates, Jim Black, Nels Cline. Mark Dresser, Marc… Read More
Aurora Nealand is a sound artist and multi-instrumentalist (saxophones, accordion, voice) Since moving to New Orleans in 2004 she has become a prominent force in both the traditional and non-traditional music scene working in bands such as The Royal Roses, The Monocle Ensemble, Redrawblak Trio, and the Instigation Orchestra. She is equally at home on the stages of concert halls and festivals around the world, playing music in the streets and clubs of New Orleans, or touring in crammed vans to squat houses. She is also an educator, and has been awarded several residencies across the US.
Over his nearly four-decade career, Hank Roberts has forged a compelling original voice as a cellist and composer, encompassing jazz influences, abstract improvisation, soulful folk melodies, intricate new-music compositions and vigorous rock songs. Initially making his name on New York’s downtown scene in the 80s alongside such frequent collaborators as Bill Frisell, Tim Berne, Marc Ribot and John Zorn, he is now considered a major innovator as a cellist, and band-leader and recording artist in his own right. Currently he is a member of Bill Frisell’s Harmony group and performs regularly with his own sextet.
