David Torn Quartet: (L-R) Tim Berne, Craig Taborn, Tom Rainey and David Torn.

It doesn’t take much investigating to determine that the Twin Cities has been, and continues to be, a fertile breeding ground for jazz talent. Just think Oscar Pettiford, Frank Morgan, Dave Frishberg. Then there’s the entire Peterson clan (Jeanne, Bobby, Billy, Patty, Tommy, Linda…). And just last weekend, two of our youngest talents, Javier Santiago and Chris Smith, currently studying at the Brubeck Institute, provided considerably sophisticated music at the Artists Quarter. On March 28th, we celebrate a brief homecoming of one of our most accomplished jazz native sons when Craig Taborn serves keyboard duties with two highly regarded modern ensembles, back to back at the Walker Art Center. Drew Gress’ Seven Black Butterflies Quintet provides the opening set, followed by ECM recording artist David Torn and his quartet. Also common to both bands are avant garde saxman Tim Berne and drummer Tom Rainey.

Drew Gress, Seven Black Butterflies

Newark, New Jersey native Drew Gress has become a fixture on the modern jazz scene. The bassist/composer spent his early career with Zoot Sims, Cab Calloway, and such entertainers as Buddy Hackett and Phyllis Diller. In the Washington, DC area, he also played with Marc Copeland and later Gary Peacock. After settling in New York, Gress began long-standing collaborations with Dave Douglas and Tim Berne. A founding member of the quartet Joint Venture, Gress has also led Spin and Drift (playing pedal-steel guitar as well as bass) and the quartet Jagged Sky. For the past six years he has toured and recorded with the Ravi Coltrane Quartet and has also been a frequent performer with Fred Hersch and the Claudia Quartet. Seven Black Butterflies was released in 2005 (Premonition Records) with Tim Berne, Ralph Alessi, Craig Taborn and Tom Rainey, all of whom return on the recent follow-up, The Irrational Numbers.

Drew Gress©Andrea Canter

One of the most influential improvisers to come out of the famed New York "downtown" scene of the 1980s, saxophonist Tim Berne studied with Julius Hemphill and played with a diverse list artists including Paul Motion, John Zorn, Olu Dara and Mark Dresser. Over the past decade he has led the groups Blood Count, Paraphrase, Science Friction and Hard Cell (including Craig Taborn and Tom Rainey). Considered one of the most innovative artists on the New York scene, trumpeter Ralph Alessi has performed with Steve Coleman, Uri Caine, Sam Rivers, Fred Hersch, Ravi Coltrane and more. Founder and Director for the School of Improvisational Music in Brooklyn, he has released four recordings as leader. Drummer Tom Rainey has performed with a wide range of artists, including John Abercrombie, Ray Anderson, Jane Ira Bloom, Marc Ducret, George Gruntz, Fred Hersch, Tom Varner, WDR Big Band, Bill Frisell, Tony Malaby, and Kenny Werner, as well as serving as a long-time associate of Tim Berne.

David Torn Quartet

Anchored by Berne, Taborn and Rainey, guitarist David Torn’s quartet is described by ECM as “a collision of the organic and the synthetic, of technology and physicality; it’s the sound of of a something more real than simple reality.” Their 2007 release, prezens, draws upon hours of collective improvisation and live performances in New York and at jazz festivals in Canada and Europe. Torn remixed and recomposed their music, thus creating “not so much the sound of the band in the room as the sound of the band inside Torn’s head” (ECM). A one-time student of John Abercrombie and Pat Martino, Torn has worked with a wide range of artists on diverse projects, from avant garde jazz and electronica to film scores. Dubbed by Remix Magazine as “the hippest creator of cut and paste music you’re likely to encounter,” he’s also been called “Avant guitar’s crawling king snake” by Guitar Player Magazine.

Craig Taborn

Pianist/Fender Rhodes master Craig Taborn grew up in Golden Valley, MN, where he frequently jammed with future Bad Plus icons Reid Anderson and David King. He first attracted attention as a student at the University of Michigan, and soon was holding the piano chair for Detroit sax sensation James Carter. His compositions and chops pushed beyond mainstream and he became a regular collaborator with such innovative musicians as Roscoe Mitchell, Susie Ibarra, Dave Douglas, Chris Potter, Steve Coleman, David Binney and Tim Berne. He has released three recordings, his self-titled debut (DIW), Light Made Lighter (Thirsty Ear), and the highly acclaimed Junk Magic (Thirsty Ear), which hit many “best of 2004” lists. Noted the Boston Phoenix, “Taborn doesn’t simply transfer acoustic piano ideas to the Rhodes — he thinks orchestrally, in terms of timbres, and makes effective use of the instrument’s special sound, especially its ‘sub-bass’ effects.” Adds Tim Berne, “It doesn’t really matter what he plays. I think he’s one of the most incredible musicians alive." So do the criticis, who named Craig top "Rising Star" on electric keyboards in he 2007 Down Beat poll.

The Walker double header brings Craig back home just about six weeks after a one-night gig at the Dakota with Chris Potter’s Underground Quartet, perhaps his highest profile employer at the moment. But the association with Tim Berne and Tom Rainey is long-standing. “I started working with Tim after several encounters in our neighborhood in Brooklyn,” recalls Taborn. “He invited me to play in a session with him, Tony Malaby, and Tom [Rainey] at his studio. He was interested in the electronic things I was doing at that time. Things just developed from there as I already had a familiarity with his music making. Later we started doing more with just piano, and now the projects I do with him are in repertory between electronic and acoustic performances.”

Craig views Berne as a significant influence on his musical development. “I think that based on the amount of Tim's music I have learned that I have internalized a bit of his way of thinking about development of ideas. And this comes out in many contexts now. But there are very identifiable things that I do consistently in my playing now that I never did before, and would not be doing, if I had not played with Tim. If I were to identify them in specific terms, I think ideas about lines and counterpoint, and the rhythmic juxtaposition of those elements are strongly informed by Tim's compositions.”

Craig Taborn©Andrea Canter

Given the two different bands, will Taborn find it challenging to switch from one to the other on March 28th? “Well, my role in those two groups could not be more different,” says Craig. “In Torn's ensemble, I am playing only electric/electronic instruments and the music is completely improvised. With Drew, we are playing his compositions and it is an acoustic group, a more traditional jazz quintet instrumentation. My approach to electronics is quite different instrumentally than piano, so I approach those groups in a completely different way. And that will be the most challenging thing about that night, switching gears drastically from one ensemble to another. But it should be fun. It actually may not be difficult because there is really no similarity in my approach to those groups. It would probably be more difficult to play with Chris Potter's Underground and then go to either one of these groups because it sits somewhere between them.”

At least around his native Twin Cities, Craig’s long-time supporters are eagerly anticipating a follow-up recording to his acclaimed Junk Magic. Is there a plan for a follow-up? “I am looking at recording sometime soon but the changing landscape of music distribution and labels has made me cautious and I am considering the options around these issues,” says Taborn. And he notes that other projects are currently taking priority. “The first half of this year I will be touring with Tim Berne and with David Binney in a quartet with Scott Colley and Brian Blade. I think Dave wants to record that group so that will probably be the next recording I do. There are many other things on the horizon but it is a bit premature to mention those at this point.”

Double Duty at the Walker

Taborn, Berne and Rainey are the common denominators but the ensembles on March 28th at the Walker Art Center offer uncommon approaches to improvised music, elements that have propelled these artists to the upper edge of modern jazz. And March 28th offers Twin Cities audiences the very uncommon opportunity to hear six of New York’s most acclaimed and accessible practitioners of the avant garde in one evening, two bands, one ticket, from acoustic to electronic, from their universe to ours.

Drew Gress’ Seven Black Butterflies and David Torn’s Prezens ensembles perform starting at 8 pm in the McGuire Theater at the Walker Art Center, 1750 Hennepin Av in Minneapolis; www.walkerartcenter.org. Click here to read the review of The Irrational Numbers and Prezens.