Lisa Mezzacappa Six + Erika Oba’s Ends Meat’ Catastrophe Jazz Ensemble
Erika Oba’s Ends Meat’ Catastrophe Jazz Ensemble
Erika Oba, piano/flute
Chris Bastian, bass
Eli Maliwan, tenor sax
Drawing on their shared influences rooted in jazz, electronic, and experimental new music, the members of Ends Meat’ Catastrophe Jazz Ensemble compose and improvise new works centered on ritual, deep listening, and liberation.
Erika Oba is a composer, pianist/flutist, and educator based in the SF Bay Area. As a composer she has written works for big band, small jazz ensembles, chamber groups, dance and theater. As a performer she is a member of the Montclair Women’s Big Band, Ends Meat’ Catastrophe Jazz Ensemble, electro-jazz duo Rice Kings, and The Sl(e)ight Ensemble. She is currently on faculty with the Jazzschool Community Music School’s youth program, and is a resident music director for Berkeley Playhouse’s youth program. She received her BM in Jazz Piano Performance from Oberlin Conservatory and her MA in Music Composition from Mills College.
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Lisa Mezzacappa Six
Aaron Bennett, tenor sax
John Finkbeiner, guitar
Mark Clifford, vibes
Tim Perkis, electronics
Lisa Mezzacappa, bass and compositions
Jordan Glenn, drums
Bay Area bassist and composer Lisa Mezzacappa and her sextet perform a suite of original music inspired by Italo Calvino’s funny, imaginative, gloriously nerdy Cosmicomics stories about the origins of the universe and the invisible forces at work in the cosmos. Mezzacappa’s compositions feature rollicking grooves, layered melodies and thrilling interaction by the improvisers in her band. The group has recently performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Angel City Jazz Festival, and SFJAZZ Center.
Read a post Lisa wrote about her music, for the SFJAZZ blog when the group played there this winter here.