New Music Alternatives

A San Francisco festival that ventures a long, long way from the jazz mainstream

Comments (0) By Sam Prestianni Wednesday, May 8 2002

To counter the largely mainstream programming of the San Francisco Jazz Fest, local players from across the creative-music spectrum present the first annual San Francisco Alternative Music Festival, a series of seven ear-bending concerts that pair local, world-class sonic explorers with distinguished out-of-towners, including Japanese pianist Satoko Fujii and New York saxophonist Joe McPhee.

Serge Vincent

Saxophonist Joe McPhee's complex musical theories are hard to put into words, but they sound just right.

Details

May 8-12 at various venues

Satoko Fujii and Natsuki Tamura perform on Sunday, May 12, at 8 p.m. at Musicians Union Hall, 116 Ninth St. (at Mission), S.F.

Joe McPhee appears with India Cooke and Donald Robinson on Wednesday, May 8, at 8 p.m. at 21 Grand Gallery, 449B 23rd St. (at Broadway), Oakland

Tickets for each event are $12

$50 festival pass is available on the first night

241-0684

www.sf alt.org

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Combining the fluent technique and harmonic theory of classical music, the serene intensity of traditional Japanese aesthetics, and the risk-taking spirit of jazz, the conservatory-trained Fujii has developed a singular voice on the acoustic keyboard. One of the top jazz composer/improvisers to emerge in the last decade, she has recorded more than a dozen acclaimed albums. Her broad-minded vision strikes a balance between conventional and experimental, ranging from lush melodic phrasing on the keys to haunting timbral excursions produced on the strings inside the piano.

New York improviser Joe McPhee applies what he calls the "language indicator" of "po" to his adventurous musicmaking efforts. "The word '"po,'" explains the 61-year-old saxophonist, "indicates that provocation is taking place and you should not necessarily take what you see or hear as fact." Musically, this translates into an improv approach not based on a particular song, but instigated byit. McPhee takes full advantage of the history of jazz invention, while at the same time defying many of its precepts; in essence, his approach sums up the credo of the S.F. Alt Music Festival.