Caroline Davis, Maria Valencia/Bill Nace duo & Christian Mirande/Carrie DeCunzo Mirande duo

Caroline Davis:

Alive with nurturing visions of simple sonic offerings to morph our present situation, Caroline Davis’ main reason for playing music is to connect with others, beckoning new vistas among curious listeners. Her musical journey began in Singapore, in a humid climate, hearing sounds underwater that she would recreate by singing to her German shepherd dogs, who treated her as their own. Her family moved to the United States, Atlanta, Georgia, around age 6, where she encountered R&B and gospel music rife with horns that called her to choose the saxophone 6 years later.

Today, Caroline’s music covers a wide range of styles, owed to this shifting environment. As a leader, she has released eight albums: Live Work & Play (2012), Doors: Chicago Storylines (2015), Heart Tonic (2018), Alula (2019), Anthems (2019), Portals, Vol. 1: Mourning (2021), Alula: Captivity (2023), and Portals, Vol.2: Returning. Her active projects include jazz-leaning Portals, experimental R&B My Tree, and protest band Alula. She has won Downbeat’s Critic’s Poll Rising Star Alto-Saxophonist (2018) and has been included in numerous Reader and Critics Polls. Her work has garnered much praise from NPR, The Wire, DownBeat, and many international publications.

Davis is active as both a side-person and a leader in a diverse set of expressions. Davis has shared the stage with Lee Konitz, Rajna Swaminathan, Michelle Boulé, Angelica Sanchez, John Zorn, Bari Kim, Wendy Eisenberg, The Femme Jam, Matt Mitchell, Terry Riley, Miles Okazaki, and Billy Kaye.

Maria Valencia & Bill Nace duo:

Maria Valencia is a saxophonist and clarinetist from Bogota, graduated in musical studies from Universidad Javeriana, M.A in Fine and Electronics Arts form Universidad de Los Andes, and active member since 2004 of the collective La Distritofonica. Her work has been related to record production, live performing and artistic creation in groups such as The Meridian Brothers, El Sexteto la Constelación de Colombia, Asdrúbal, Palanca, MULA, Meridian Brothers, La Resbalosa, Mirlitorrinco, Vien-Tox, and Tortuga Alada. She has developed her exploration as a composer and improviser and has performed in different national and international festivals. Currently, in addition to her work as a performer and composer, Valencia teaches at the Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, and is in charge of the management and direction of the Distritofonico Festival.

Christian Mirande & Carrie DeCunzo Mirande duo:

"Some significant AOTY noise circling around this one. We've only just stepped into May so i'll withhold my judgment for a few more months, but some records do capture the imagination straight out the gate and Christrian Mirande's latest, a first time vinyl release for Regional Bears no less, certainly feels like a contender. No surprise, really, considering Mirande's history with some of the US underground's finest institutions - Hanson, Recital, Ascetic House et al - though Beautiful One Day, Perfect the Next does feel especially rounded and sharply conceived. We've a record of two halves, the first side a series of shortform musique concrete digressions built from voice notes, tape manipulations, and some fluid, abstract bass playing that had me thinking of that great Kontakta album snapped off into miniatures, while the second is a totemic singular piece that's a bit of a sui generis moment for Mirande. 15 minutes of chiming electronics and swirling ambience, fretless bass, and synthesised spoken word that makes unavoidable nods to Robert Ashley/Blue Gene Tyranny, and recalls the conceptual application of James Ferraro circa NYC, Hell 3am, all whilst retaining a refreshing accessibility. There's also some particularly effective interplay between the processed and the organic, like the sound of the mulch of synthetic soil or swaying of plastic grass, a venturing of some kind into the uncanny valley where Mirande's lopsided world is captured in a fairground mirror."-World of Echo

Carrie DeCunzo Mirande is a computer musician, pianist, vocalist, and video and installation artist. Her work deals with social and ecological ethics, and she incorporates visual language and theater into her compositional and performance practice.

She has performed and released music under the monikers beautywork, Natural Pleasures, and Carrie Ford. She has released on Hold Tapes, No Rent Records, Love is the Law, Sprawl Tapes, American Damage, and KSX Solutions.

She received an MFA in Electronic Music and Recording Media from Mills College and studied geography and political ecology at the University of Vermont. She grew up in the the Adirondacks and currently lives in Philadelphia, PA where she teaches privately.

accessibility: two steps from street to venue.

Please note, entrance is via the side door on Arizona Street

Presented in collaboration with EKNA/East Kensington Arts Committee.