Back for another year of unrestricted improvising string sets, the Firey Strings Company LLC presents IMPROVXV#JazzDays , an exciting program of music from artists in the USA and beyond in collaboration with the Herbie Hancock Institute. Improvisers, world music, electronic and acoustic players all converge this Spring 2025. IMPROVXV #JazzDays featuring cellists/guitarist- Hannah Burke Duo, Dr. Rebekah Griffin Greene & family, the singing violinist Pamela Hamilton Duo and the ‘Sound Scientist’ Lafrae Sci who will create a spontaneous improvisation on April 27, 3-7 pm. will be at Bailey’s Cafe-324 Malcolm X Blvd., Bklyn, NY 11233. Click the link for Tickets $15 (Advance) $20 (Door).
About the Artists
Hannah Burke Duo
Hannah is thrilled to put together a fresh new set for IMPROVXV showcasing the influence that improvisation based music has had on her musicality. Growing up around jazz and bluegrass music has defined her taste and artistry, while presenting the challenge to contribute to these traditional art forms with a non-traditional instrument such as the cello. Today Hannah presents a mix of standards that have helped her explore the cello's voice in jazz, as well as some originals that have roots in folk & improvisational music. She is joined by musical collaborator and Jersey City based guitarist Justin Garcia.
Bio
Hannah Burke is a Jersey City based cellist and guitarist with extensive theater experience - most notably the National Tour of Shrek and Waitress The Musical; two seasons at the Mac-Haydn Theater in Chatham, NY; and Off-Broadway credits including Show Me Eternity and Dear Mom, I'm Gay!. Hannah also plays with various bands, cabarets, and new works around New Jersey and NYC. Additionally, she performs as a singer/songwriter, recording a few songs at her home studio, which can be found on Soundcloud.
Rebekah Griffin Greene
Dr. Rebekah Griffin Greene is a bassist, composer, pianist and cellist with degrees in bass performance, composition and music education from the University of Southern California and SUNY Stony Brook. She has studied bass with Francois Rabbath, Paul Ellison, Nico Abondolo, Joseph Carver, Kurt Muroki and Dennis Trembly, as well as composition with Morten Lauridsen, Frank Ticheli, and Thea Musgrave. She has performed solo and chamber music recitals of her own works and classical repertoire in Hong Kong, Quebec, New York City, and Los Angeles, among other places. She is a winner of the 1995 Alice Nelson Music Competition, and has been on faculty at Lucy Moses since 2010, and the Special Music School since 2015.
Pamela Hamilton Duo
Pamela is a formidable presence in the realm of creative music. She is an accomplished vocalist, violist and violinist, having performed all since grade school. Ms. Hamilton has been a Teaching Artist for over 25 years, working with students from Promise Academy, Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Jazz@Lincoln Center and the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance. She has also performed with jazz and gospel artists both nationally and internationally, most notably with the Harlem Gospel Choir. She will be part of the orchestra for the Christmas Gospel Celebration at Carnegie Hall on December 15th 2024.
Frae Frae's Chamber
LaFrae will play an improvised electronic set, shaping electricity and creating an immersive soundscape that channels sonic elements of prayer, protest, and please. (Musicians, vocalist, spoken word artist are welcome to join this exciting live process! Bring your axe)
LaFrae Sci is an imaginationist, educator, composer, and sound scientist with a career spanning 30 years and 40 countries. LaFrae writes for theater, film, and large and extended jazz & classical orchestras who also builds modular and analog synthesizers, creating and composing with her own palette of sounds. A founding teaching member of Willie Mae Rock Camp (williemaerockcamp.org) she was appointed as executive director in 2020, and has spearheaded the organization’s expansion to a full suite of year-round, STEM-informed programming. Sci has extensive experience developing music education programs in the United States and internationally. Bedrock to her artistry is the roots and the fruits of the blues, from spirituals to Afro-diasporic futuristic soundscapes that explore time travel, prayer, meditation, and the African American ecstatic tradition.
“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.”-L. Sci
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