Streamed LIVE at https://kfjc.org and on the radio at 89.7 FM

The 18-piece duo B. Experimental Band, co-led by Bay Area improviser/composers Lisa Mezzacappa and Jason Levis, invites KFJC listeners into their online improvisation workshop, with a four-hour continuous performance showcasing compositions and structured improvisations by the ensemble's members, created specifically for music making in an online environment.

Mezzacappa (bass) and Levis (drums) have been co-leading the large ensemble, the duo B. Experimental Band (dbXB), since December of 2018. Until March of 2020, the 13-to-20-member ensemble performed every other month in Oakland CA, with a core membership that expanded and contracted for different projects and repertoire. The group performed original works by Levis and Mezzacappa, including a 4-hour continuous installation concert on the occasion of its first birthday; and also immersed itself in the music of master improviser-composers such as the Art Ensemble of Chicago and Anthony Braxton. In August of 2020, once Covid made rehearsing and performing impossible, the ensemble moved online, opened its ranks to anyone who cared to and was able to participate, and has been convening weekly for online community improvisation workshops. The ensemble uses the free open-source software Jamulus, and a private server, to connect the performers in (almost) real time.

musicians:
Polly Moller Springhorn, flutes
Suki O'Kane, percussion
Steve Adams, saxes and electronics
Jon Raskin, saxes
Joel Reber, sax
Joe Hellerstein, trumpet
Heikki Koskinen, e-trumpet, flute
Rent Romus, sax
Erika Oba, flute
Nora Stanley, sax
Dave Cassini, vibes
Lea Cassini, koto and French horn
Rob Ewing, trombone
Charles Sharp, woodwinds
Jeff Schwartz, bass
Lisa Mezzacappa, bass
Jason Levis, percussion
David Slusser, all of the above

You can learn more about the group's activities and past concerts and projects here:
https://www.lisamezzacappa.com/duo_dBxB.html