“Join us for an evening of improvisation @ Shockrasonica on Friday July 12 with percussionist, improviser and composer Michael Zerang as he performs solo on hand drums and set plus collaborating with various formations of Spires That In The Sunset Rise plus sets by Madison’s John Christensen on solo bass and free jazz trio Stray Passage.”

~All The Time In The World//Shockrasonica

MICHAEL ZERANG
Michael Zerang was born in Chicago, Illinois, and is a first-generation American of Assyrian decent. He has been a professional musician, composer, and producer since 1976, focusing extensively on improvised music, free jazz, contemporary composition, puppet theater, experimental theater, and international musical forms.

Michael has collaborated with contemporary theater, dance, and other multidisciplinary forms and has received three Joseph Jefferson Awards for Original Music Composition in Theater, in collaboration with Redmoon Theater, in 1996, 1998, and 2000.

As a percussionist and composer, Michael has over eighty titles in his discography and has toured nationally and internationally to 34 countries since 1981, and works with and ever-widening pool of collaborators.

Michael founded and was the artistic director of the Link’s Hall Performance Series in Chicago from 1985-1989 where he produced over 300 concerts of jazz, traditional ethnic folk music, electronic music, and other forms of forward thinking music. Michael has been a Board Member of Links Hall Since 1989. He continued to produce concerts at Cafe Urbus Orbis from 1994-1996, and at his own space, The Candlestick Maker in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood, from 2001 – 2005.

Michael has taught as a guest artist at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in performance technique, sound design, and sound/music as it relates to puppetry; rhythmic analysis for dancers at The Dance Center of Columbia College, Northwestern University, and MoMing Dance and Arts Center; courses in Composer/Choreographer Collaborations at Northwestern University; music to children at The Jane Adams Hull House.

Michael currently tours and holds workshops in improvisational music, and teaches private lessons in rhythmic analysis, music composition, and percussion technique.

JOHN CHRISTENSEN

Madison’s John Christensen will perform a rare solo bass performance.  John can be seen with killer groups such as free jazz trio Deconunisms – featuring Luke Polipnick (guitar), Devin Drobka (drums).

BRENNAN CONNORS & STRAY PASSAGE

Brennan Connors & Stray Passage is a jazz trio lead by saxophonist Brennan Connors. The ensemble embraces free and structured improvisation, original compositions, and groove based experiments. Geoff Brady (Yid Vicious) is featured on drums and percussion; BC Grimm on Contra-cello (and a variety of Chinese string instruments). The breadth of the group ranges from focused minimalism to fiery high energy music, all while maintaining a sense of narrative organization throughout performances.