Arts

Concert features two avant-garde acts at 118 Elliot

BRATTLEBORO — Tatsuya Nakatani, renowned avant-garde percussionist composer and sound artist, will perform a solo set and a duet with Bonnie Kane at 118 Elliot on Saturday, Aug. 28.

The concert begins at 7 p.m., and the suggested donation is $10.

Active internationally since the 1990s, Nakatani has released more than 80 recordings and tours extensively, performing more than 150 concerts a year. His primary focus is his solo work and his large ensemble project, the Nakatani Gong Orchestra.

Originally from Japan and now in New Mexico, Nakatani has a long history of collaboration in the new music, improvisation, and experimental music scene. He teaches master classes and lectures at universities and music conservatories around the world.

Nakatani creates his distinctive music centered around his adapted bowed gong, supported by an array of drums, cymbals, and singing bowls. He plays using a Kobo bow that he carves himself, a process he has spent decades developing.

Within this contemporary work, one can still recognize the dramatic pacing, formal elegance and space (ma) felt in traditional Japanese music.

After a solo set, Nakatani will perform with Bonnie Kane, who hosts The Experiment.

An electro-acoustic pioneer and dedicated improvisor who integrates saxophone, flute, feedback, and electronics, Kane describes her work as “avant-core,” meaning “an extreme energy mix of psychedelic rock, hard core, noise, and avant garde jazz.”

Active internationally since the 1990s with more than 40 releases, Kane tours frequently as a soloist and with playing partners, as well as pandemic-inspired Facebook- and YouTube-based shows.

Her current work focuses on both ambient music (with her five-amp flute project, Transcendent Winds) and the psych/noise arena (using her sax, flute and electronics system, for both solo and group work).

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