Teddy Raven Music

Many exciting things happening in the Bay Area right now that I’m overjoyed to be a part of.

1. A new monthly music series curated by Jazz Mafia founder Adam Theis and Go Game CEO Finn Kelly called the Treat Social Club. March 27th marked the launch show, and May 1st was the official opening night, and boy what a blast! The newest addition was easily the most diverse and creatively inspiring show I’ve ever been apart of, and featured live-film scoring, arial dancing with big-band, tap-dance collaborations, free-style to live uploaded images, killing JUGGLING with big-band accompaniment, and an encore by a visiting big band from the north of France. I was also happy to contribute a piece to the show, composing a work for big band to a film by the artist Joseph Cornell, entitled By Night with Torch and Spear. Writing to film is always an inspiring process for me as it usually opens up new doors and forces me to come up new ideas that enhance the film and vice-versa. For this piece, I had seven members of the Realistic Orchestra playing pots and pans! Stay tuned for audio and video of the performance.

2. A production of the Odyssey by Homer taking place on Angel Island. The show is being produced by the ground breaking theatre company We Players, and will be a five-hour interactive journey of epic proportions. The audience will follow Odysseus’s adventure back home to Ithaca by hiking around the island and watching/taking part in site specific scenes that utilize the natural and man-made scenery. I will be playing saxophone and flute in the band, under composer/saxophonist/friend Charlie Gurke.

Its been about three months since my last post when Raven’s Day Parade released our debut album, and I have been busy making music in the bay area since then. March marks the beginning of my affiliation with the Jazz Mafia, San Francisco’s finest jazz/hip-hop/other collective, and I’m so happy to be a part of it. I had two challenging but super fun shows this past weekend, first with the Jazz Mafia All Stars on Friday, followed by the Realistic Orchestra (big band) playing at the Lafayette Jazz Festival on Saturday. And to top off a musical mafia weekend, we cruised down the embarcadero as part of the Sunday Streets initiative on mobile bike-powered stages. Gotta love SF!

My brass band Raven’s Day Parade just released our debut album featuring original music and two arrangements of songs by the Bulgarian Women’s Choir. The album is a fun and eclectic mix of songs highly influenced by the Klezmer and Balkan traditions, as well as jazz, funk, and rock. The music was recorded in Los Angeles on Oct. 2nd, 2011 and features many amazing up-and-coming musicians. This project is also special in that it represents several years of growth and experience for me as a composer and bandleader, as Raven’s Day Parade has been in existence for over two years. Listen to it here:

http://ravensdayparade.bandcamp.com

and if you like it, help support the ensemble by purchasing a copy!

Hello! I just arrived back in the states Sunday night 11/13 from an amazing tour of Norway with Sound Circus. We played five concerts throughout the southern half the country, which culminated in a packed show at the National Jazz Scene in Oslo as part of their “Uhort!” (unheard) series featuring upcoming groups. After traveling and talking with several artists/musicians, it was very clear that the Norwegian government supports the arts in many ways such as offering grants and scholarships for artists, distributing performance royalties for ANY live performance of a registered piece, and giving travel stipends to up-and-coming and established artists to learn else-where, to name a few. Norwegian artists are very lucky that they live in economically thriving social democracy, where the government values the importance of art and culture on a community level, regardless of its capitalistic value. Norway is also extremely beautiful and mostly covered with forests, as the cities are few and far between. Wow, this sounds like an advertisement. The only bad thing is that its really expensive- a hotdog at 7-eleven would be around $9 USD to give you an idea! Anyways, stay tuned for potential summer or fall Sound Circus happenings!

The band after a show in Vinstra, and a pretty open-air museum in Lillehammer

Hello,
I have a few very exciting projects that I want to share with you. Firstly, I’ve been preparing for the past few months for a recording session with my brass band Raven’s Day Parade. We recorded all day on Sunday Oct. 2nd at an amazing home studio in Los Angeles, and I was honored to be joined by some amazing musicians and engineers. We played six of my original songs, and two arrangements of songs by the Bulgarian Women’s Choir; one of my all-time favorite ensembles. The album should be finished within the next three months, so stay tuned for the finished product. Secondly, I’m happy to announce that Sound Circus will be touring Norway this November in support of our recent release Raise the Curtain

Sound Circus has just finished the production of our debut album “Raise the Curtain,” which features some beautiful and interesting compositions, as well as inspired playing by all of the band members. Go to our bandcamp site to listen to the songs and download the record as well.

On April 30th, I finished my installation and performance as part of my Artist in Resident program at Lobot. The process was a very rewarding experience, as I was able to produce something larger and grander than I ever had before, given the time and space I was allotted. In addition to delving into and trying discover how I feel about our interaction with natural disasters, I made an immersive tunnel out of fabric and sounds, hung images from the ceiling, assembled a tsunami-devastated area, and put on a performance with music, dance, and video. I had help from the wonderful and talented residents of Lobot, as well as the others who were directly involved in the project, and I’ve uploaded two videos that document the first out of three songs so you can get an idea of what went down.

“The Earth is One Big Natural Disaster”

This month, I have the good fortune of being the resident artist at LoBot Art Gallery in Oakland, CA. There is a resident artist who resides at the gallery/warehouse every month, and the stay culminates in some sort of show. On Saturday April 30th, I will be putting on a multi-media installation and performance expressing my thoughts about preparedness, paranoia, and collective awareness in relation to natural disasters. The topic was inspired by the recent events in Japan in addition to constant media coverage and the possibility of earthquakes and other catastrophes in our own backyard. I will be performing on saxophone and electronics along with Aaron Wacks on keyboards, and dancers Caroline Alexander and Andrew Ward (other musicians TBA). Come out if you’re in the Bay Area!

Saturday April 30th- Opening at 6pm, performance at 8pm. All proceeds will to the Red Cross to help Japan rebuild. 1800 Campbell St. Oakland, CA 94607.

Wow, the Sound Circus band played five concerts in four countries, recorded a full-length album, and had a professional photo-shoot all within one-and-a-half weeks. It was one of the most intense and amazing experiences of my life. In addition to performing and rehearsing, there was a lot of time spent traveling and hanging out with the other awesome people in the group. The band also established much tighter musical bonds and we were really able to develop our sound, which I am thankful for since we all live in different countries. Also, a special thanks to everyone who supported us via kickstarter.com. This would not have been possible without you.

Stay tuned for our record!