Somewhere There presents

the Craig Pedersen Quartet Ali Berkok

Tuesday 21 April, 2015

Musideum 401 Richmond Street

8pm

$10

8pm

Ali Berkok, solo piano

9pm

The Craig Pedersen Quartet

Craig Pedersen trumpet with Bennett Bedoukian drums Joel Kerr double bass Linsey Wellman alto saxophone

Ali Berkok is a Toronto based pianist and composer known for his versatility and drive. In 2005 Berkok laid the compositional foundation of Arkana, five piece jazz outfit whose albums Hyprovisation 2007 and Kaleidoscope 2009 both received critical praise. Berkok was also a key member of Mike Smith's Muskox, a banjo-prog band who released several critically acclaimed albums and were dubbed "best jazz band" of 2008 by NOW Toronto. Ali's current projects include Aurochs, an improvised piano/bass/drum trio, and Battleship Potemkin, a re-imagined chamber score for 12 players designed to accompany Eisenstein's iconic propaganda film which premiered in October 2012 to two nights of packed houses. In addition, Ali has performed as a sideman with Kurt Elling, Jane Bunnett, Alex Dean, David Buchbinder, Shannon Butcher, Don Palmer, Nick Fraser, and Andrew Downing. He is currently pursuing a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree at the University of Toronto under the instruction of David Braid.

The Craig Pedersen Quartets third release Ghosts is a contemplative work, exploring themes of darkness, suffering and the pleasure of ensuing release. Coming in at just under 18-minutes, the album is musically concentrated. Like running with weights, the musicians are squeezed to their limits, forced to express within tight constraints. The results are uncontrolled saxophone wails, soaring bass melodies, and explosive drumming all reigned in by Pedersens haunting trumpet playing and compositions. This is music that shows that from here, we need not answer to our suffering, but see that it has stood in front of something all along.

The Craig Pedersen Quartet is an active band based out of Montral. Recent performance highlights include performances at the 2013 Festival LOff Jazz du Montral, the inaugural 2014 Festival of New Trumpet Canada, IMOOfest 2014, and regular monthly gigs at both Montrals Resonance Caf and Ottawas Raw Sugar. Their debut album Days Like Today was the #1 Jazz Album of 2012 on the Earshot Radio Charts. Their second album, Why Paint At All? was warmly received at its release at the 2013 Festival LOff Jazz du Montral, and their third album, Ghosts, is due out in April 2015. Recent tour highlights include performances in Quebec Citys Bar Ste Angele, Torontos Array Space, and Guelphs Silence - the latter of which was lauded by its director, Ben Grossman, as one of the most powerful performances we've had at the space since we started.