Wordspace: Mark Weber Poetry Band

We asked poet Mark Weber to describe his project and this is what he wrote. “This is an untested ensemble. The only place they’ve ever played together before is in my head. They’ll arrive from Las Vegas (NV), Los Angeles, NYC, and Albuquerque. All are virtuoso jazz improvisors. Clarinetist, Bill Payne is the closest thing I’ve heard to the late John Carter— he has the tone and facility of Kenny Davern, and the wide-open sense of pure free improvisation that John had. He’s been on the road for years playing in all the traveling circuses. Alto saxophonist Richard Tabnik plays the horn to the end of its limits— he literally runs out of saxophone— and I keep expecting him to just start screaming instead. A member of Connie Crothers Quartet for a dozen years; and a scholar of the music of Lee Konitz, Charlie Parker, and Lennie Tristano RT is old school in that he disdains, “the stink of paper, the creak of music stands.” He prefers improvisation as the highest calling. Mark Weaver on tuba, has all the harmonic knowledge that is in all ways useful. (There’s a whole bunch of harmonic physics that is off the map, Mark brings the good parts to the table.) He’s a pure jazz man, pure improvisor. He is entering his “Piston-valve Stage” of tuba playing, having just traded in his rotary. When I listen to Mark I often think of 3-dimensional chess moves, his counterpoint, his note choices move in space like a Calder mobile. Michael Vlatkovich can pick up anything you lay down. You lay it down, he’ll pick it up and hand it back to you re-arranged. Hand him a paper airplane. He’ll give you back an origami duck. Give him a phrase, he’ll play it back to you standing on his head. When they made Michael Vlatkovich they threw away the mold. He’s one of a kind and jazz is probably the only society that would have anything to do with him. He lives in the house of jazz like a king. I’m Mark Weber and I’ve worked with all these guys in all kinds of various settings and it’s a special pleasure, with the help of Outpost, to be bringing this crazy group together. Anything could happen, and will. I’ll read from my new book of poems Not I Said the Little Red Hen.”

$15/$10 Members. Available in advance, by phone or in person, at the Outpost Performance Space (268-0044)