Actual/Actual showcases jazz improvisation with an orientation towards thematic music and spontaneous composition at its core. Their wide swath of performative expression taps swing, ballads, freejazz, modal and other musical genres. It's all “grist for the mill” as they create a new context for these elements where improbable connections are made when you least expect them to. Front man and saxophonist Rent Romus whose performative history started in the late eighties, originally hails from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and has made it a point to engage and collaborate with musicians throughout the Midwest region. This band represents an important part of his “talent reconnaissance” and is truly a multi-generational affair.

Their first album Baptismal was released in the summer of 2022. In the spring of 2023 they released an EP here for the outside recorded live at WYSO radio in Yellow Springs Ohio while on Edgetone Records.

Rent Romus - alto, soprano saxophones Gerard Cox - piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Korg key bass, percussion Josh Strange - vibraphone, trumpet Troy Kunkler- drums

Laurent Estoppey & Daniel Levin duo:

Laurent Estoppey is a Swiss Saxophonist and composer who devotes himself mostly to the music and arts of today. His work is divided between pushing the boundaries of saxophone technique, often related to live processed electronics, and pieces involving a variety of instruments.

His musical activity is divided between written music and improvisation and occurs throughout Switzerland and Europe, also in Canada, the USA, Russia, Argentina, Guatemala, and South Africa. He is a member and artistic director of Swiss ensemble baBel and COLLAPSS (Collective for Happy Sounds – Music, Dance, Poetry, Visual Arts in Greensboro, NC).

Estoppey has worked along many independent musicians such as Elliot Sharp, Anthony Coleman, Ikue Mori, Eugene Chadbourne, Nick Didkovsky, Urs Leingruber and Fritz Hauser. His discography includes more than twenty recordings featuring on Claves records (CH), Aussenraum Records (CH), Insubordinations (CH), Thödol (F), Out and Gone (USA) and NOVA (USA).

Cellist Daniel Levin is “one of the instrument’s most brilliant contemporary practitioners” (The Wire). He was born in Burlington, Vermont, and began playing the cello at the age of six. In 2001, he graduated with a degree in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory of Music and arrived on the New York City jazz scene shortly thereafter. Since then, Daniel has developed his own distinctive voice as a cellist, improviser, and composer. Ed Hazell noted upon release of Levin’s first record as a leader, “Cellist Daniel Levin is a major new voice on his instrument and in improvised music.”Elements of European classical music, American jazz, microtonal and new music, and European free improvisation all figure prominently in his unique sound. He has performed extensively throughout the USA and Europe, and has recorded more than 20 albums as a leader or co-leader, which can be found on Clean Feed, HatOLOGY, Not Two, Trost, Riti, Mahakala, and various other record labels. Daniel is a REMIC Microphones Artist Endorser.

PurePly:

PurePly (they/them) is a black Philadelphia-based producer, sound alchemist, and composer whose music celebrates the boundless possibilities inherent in technology. Their works explore diverse soundscapes, ranging from the distorted space of harsh noise to the ethereal tranquility of ambient sounds. PurePly incorporates live improvisational techniques to infuse their music with fun and spontaneity.

accessibility: two steps from street to venue.

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