MATTHEW EVAN TAYLOR / JAMES BRANDON LEWIS / LESLEY MOK
Composer and saxophonist Matthew Evan Taylor invites two of the most compelling voices in creative music into his workshop, bringing new material from his AfroPneumaism series — a practice that centers the human breath as a primary organizing structure of music — to explore new ground in real time.
April 6th
7:00PM - 8:00PM (Doors at 6:30)
One Rivington St, New York
Joining him: James Brandon Lewis, "one of the fiercest sounds in jazz today" (The Guardian), back-to-back DownBeat Artist of the Year and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year, whose "penchant for unbound exploration" (Pitchfork) and "raw-toned but measured" sound (The New York Times) have made him one of the defining musicians of his generation. And Lesley Mok, whose debut album The Living Collection won International Debut Album of the Year at the Deutscher Jazz Preis — "an exquisite and stimulating work" (All About Jazz) and "a singularly personal statement" (Jazz Trail).
Join us for an evening of music in the moment culminating with Breath-songs and Lullabies, a new composition honoring new life, togetherness and the power of breathing.
Presented by Metropolis Ensemble
About The Artists
Matthew Evan Taylor
Dr. Matthew Evan Taylor is an AfroPnuematic composer, multi-instrumentalist, and improviser who has “…wrestled with the societal boundaries of Black artistry only to blast them apart…” (Dr. Kori Hill, I Care if You Listen) through creating music that is “insistent and defiant…envelopingly hypnotic” (Alan Young, Lucid Culture). More »
Lesley Mok
Lesley Mok is a New York City-based percussionist and sound artist. Their work is guided by a continual search for the connection between the mundane and the divine, the experience and manipulation of time, and a desire to capture emotional dissonance and complexity. Lesley is inspired by American experimental music as informed by the lineage of the AACM, sounds and textures from the natural environment, Afro-Cuban folkloric traditions, drumline, and songwriters and composers like Arthur Russell and Ryuichi Sakamoto. More »
James Brandon Lewis
Apple Cores (out February 7, 2025, on ANTI-) is the latest full-length album from New York tenor saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, “one of the fiercest sounds in jazz today” (The Guardian) with a “penchant for unbound exploration” (Pitchfork). Informed by the rhythms and textures of hip-hop and funk while remaining rooted in jazz, James Brandon Lewis Trio’s Apple Cores was recorded with Chad Taylor (drums/mbira) and Josh Werner (bass/guitar). The recording was a collective compositional process that happened over the course of two intense, entirely improvised sessions. More »
