LISTENING POST: Majid Arain and others offer respite from the holidays
Experimental, improv ‘stalwarts of the scene’ gather to make a joyful noise
If you’re tired of the usual holiday traditions, if your family values are not the same as those of your family, or, if you just like inspired noise instead of perfunctory carols, there’s plenty here to fill your stocking leading up to the new year.
Wed., Dec. 6
Sataraš Quartet, Velvet Note — After an extended hiatus, the Sataraš Quartet returns to the Velvet Note for a special one-night-only engagement on Wed., Dec. 6. Co-founded in the pre-pandemic era by guitarist Eddie Beho and saxophonist Jeff Crompton, Sataraš Quartet also includes bassist Colin Bragg and drummer Blake Helton. For the Velvet Note show, tenor saxophonist Ben Davis joins the group. Sataraš (pronounced SAH-tah-rash) Quartet employs an intercontinental strategy, which fuses skronky electric jazz, Balkan folk riffs and gut-bucket funky blues to create a highly original, lavishly swinging, irresistibly joyful sound. The band’s full-length 2020 album, Errors and Omissions, captures the extraordinary energy and sophisticated style that make their live performances so compelling. Speaking of which, the first release in a series of limited edition recordings titled the Official Bootleg Series features the Sataraš Quartet in performance at Atlanta’s Red Light Cafe. — Doug DeLoach
$36. Doors 7 p.m. Velvet Note, 4075 Old Milton Pkwy, Alpharetta, 30005. www.thevelvetnote.com FB event page.
Thu., Dec. 7
OkCello & Friends, City Winery — Cellist-composer-educator Okorie “OkCello” Johnson is celebrating his birthday at City Winery on Thu., Dec. 7 by performing a series of duets with some of his favorite collaborators, including Cleveland Jones, Brenda Nicole Moorer, Shana Tucker,and Robin Herbert Latimore. Johnson’s unique approach to cello performance involves live-sound-loops, improvisation and storytelling constructed around original compositions that mix classical, jazz, EDM, reggae, funk and traditional African styles. His music challenges long-held notions about the European classical nature of the cello while his improvisational explorations represent an expression of wordless prayer. — Doug DeLoach
$18-$30. Doors 7 p.m., music 8:30 p.m. City Winery, 650 North Avenue, Atlanta, 30308. (404) 946-3791. www.citywinery.com/atlanta
Sun., Dec. 10
Otherwhere: An Immersive Informational Gala at Gallery 992 — Join Majid Araim at Gallery 992 in the West End on a journey to Otherwhere, an alternate dimension where opera, ballet and music meld into an expression of themes ranging from gender and cultural identity, classism, racism, fear and displacement to compassion, empathy, endurance, political extremism and climate change. An Iraqi-American multi-instrumentalist, composer, curator and researcher, Araim is a fixture on the Atlanta improvisational/new music scene as a soloist and collaborator. Earlier this year, as co-founder (with Benjamin Shirley) of the duo Whispers of Night, Araim participated in a PREMIER Performance Residency at Georgia Tech School of Music. Araim also produces Magic Lantern, a series of home-based performances. This special afternoon program at Gallery 992, funded in part by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, includes excerpts from performances interspersed with Q&A sessions and references to future works. Featured performances include “Extrapolations from Otherwhere” (2023), an opera for ensemble and vocalizations; “Transformations of a Reflection: Lament for Delilah” (2022), for solo soprano saxophone and tube, which features anthropomorphized trees mourning the self-sacrifice by a fairy atoning for past manipulations and dishonesty; and “Regarding Bullfrogs” (2019), a work for bass trombone, prepared mandolin, tuba, voice and Otherwhere inhabitants depicting the consequences of imbalance in political governance. — Doug DeLoach
Free admission with donations encouraged. 2 p.m. Gallery 992, 922 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. Atlanta, 30310. (678) 974-8144.
Lonnie Holley Quartet, Lee Bains, the EARL — Any concert featuring the Lonnie Holley Quartet with special guest Lee Bains + the Glory Fires belongs on the do-not-miss list. This special event marks the only scheduled appearance in Atlanta by this group for the foreseeable future and Holley’s first show at the EARL since his very first public performance back in March 2011. A uniquely gifted, self-taught visionary artist, musician, filmmaker and educator, Holley specializes in a form of improvisational music that defies categorization. His stream-of-consciousness vocals stem from daily thoughts, daydreams, deep memories and current events. The music glides, grooves and rocks along a quantum field generated by his accompanists and directed toward the subconscious receptors of the audience. The notion to “expect the unexpected” is never more applicable than on the occasion of a Lonnie Holley concert. — Doug DeLoach
$15. Doors 7:30 p.m., music 8 p.m. The EARL, 488 Flat Shoals Rd. www.badearl.com
Tue, Dec. 12
Magic Lantern vol. 108, Star Mist Drive — Magic Lantern is an ongoing series of performances featuring cutting edge artists from Atlanta and elsewhere staged at the home of Majid Araim. An Iraqi-American multi-instrumentalist, composer, curator and educator, Ahraim has performed across the U.S. and Europe as a soloist and in the duo Whispers of Night. A prolific collaborator, Araim has performed with Atlanta-based experimental music ensembles including the Atlanta Improvisers Orchestra, BASrelief, The Convergence, Chamber Cartel, Bent Frequency, sunknameless and Small Peoples Music Ensemble. Joining Araim on the bill for this edition of Magic Lantern are W8ing4UFOs and Jeff Crompton, both stalwart veterans of the Atlanta avant/experimental/improv scene. — Doug DeLoach
$15 (notaflof). Music 8:30 p.m. 2171 Star Mist Dr. SW, Atlanta, 30311. (407) 314-1881.
Sat., Dec. 16
Respite 1, Lake Claire Cohousing Common House — In the words of producer Nathan Brown, Respite is an annual event that “seeks to celebrate the holiday season with soothing psychedelic musics.” Respite 14 again takes place at the Lake Claire Co-Housing Common House where multiple artists perform in cozy spaces divided across two floors. This year’s eclectic lineup includes Jenu Castillo (Black Lodge, Sioux City Sioux, Gazelles); Mute Sphere (cellist Ben Shirley, guitarist David Grey, percussionist/synthist Chris Childs, vocalist Monique Osorio); pianist/electronics improviser Ipek Eginli; bassist/synthist/sound engineer Gage Gilmore; Silver Stream Dreamer (synthist Nathan Brown and violinist Nadia Behizadeh); and John Kiran Fernandes (Elephant Six Collective, Olivia Tremor Control, Circulatory System). For fans of ambient electronica and sonic meditation, Respite 14 is your seasonal day of salvation. — Doug DeLoach
$Free, donations encouraged. 8 p.m. Lake Claire Cohousing Common House, 265 Arizona Ave NE, Atlanta, 30307. (404) 687-0179.
Thu., Dec. 28
No Words ATL 2.0, various venues — No Words ATL 2.0, a festival exclusively showcasing instrumental artists, returns with a greatly expanded lineup featuring no less than 14 bands at five venues scheduled over 13 hours on Dec. 28. Starting at Criminal Records in Little Five Points and DBS Sounds in Riverdale, the program moves to the Red Light Cafe before winding up at Smith’s Olde Bar, the No Words ATL 2.0 lineup includes Grammy nominee and Hulu documentary star Trap Jazz, Javelinas (Scott Burland & Ryan Taylor), TearDrinker Salts (Ben Davis’ newest rock band), Frank Schultz (ambient lap-steel improvisation), Iriamu (bassist Will Hamilton), The Regular Band (formerly Remote), Anagrams (Jeff Crompton & JD Walsh), PerkinsWood (Jeff Perkins & Ann Wood), Neysa and the Ally Band, FLAP, LO-OP, W8ing4UFOs, Challenger Deep and CHEW. Fans and performers during No Words ATL 2.0 can receive a discount rate at The Georgian Terrace Hotel by clicking here. — Doug DeLoach
$55. Music Dec. 28 11 a.m. through Dec. 29 1 a.m. For details about venues, bands, times and tickets, check out the No Words ATL 2.0 Facebook event page and Instagram.