Bill Lowe & the Signifyin' Natives Ensemble - 'Sweet Cane' Release Concert

We are looking forward to celebrating the release of composer, bandleader, bass trombone and tuba player, and Boston creative music fixture Bill Lowe's 'Sweet Cane,' out on Mandorla Music records in June.

Taylor Ho Bynum writes in the liner notes:

"Composer, improviser, bandleader, sideman. Educator and mentor, collaborator and organizer. Bill Lowe carries many sobriquets, picked up over a lifetime of profound musical engagement, but rarely has his singular identity and the overarching conceptual unity behind his diverse activities been documented so beautifully and comprehensively as this project.

Bill’s musical experience speaks for itself; he has worked with most of the masters of Black creative music across all genres and cliques. The list is almost overwhelming: from legends like Frank Foster, Clark Terry, and George Russell, to the leaders of the avant-garde like Cecil Taylor, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Bill Dixon, to under-heralded greats like Bill Barron, Makanda Ken McIntyre, and James ‘Jabbo’ Ware. His bass bone has anchored the big bands of Thad Jones, Jaki Byard, and Collective Black Artists, while his buoyant improvisational voice has lifted small ensembles with the likes of Henry Threadgill, William Parker, and Ed Blackwell. He has been involved as an active participant in an incredible diversity of musical communities, from the South African expats in 1960s London to New York City’s ‘70s Black Arts movement, and he has been a leader and role model in the Connecticut and Boston music scenes over the past four decades. He has provided invaluable mentorship and guidance to several generations of younger musicians, some of us whom you hear on this album."

For this performance, Bill's Signifyin' Natives Ensemble will be comprised of:

Bill Lowe - bass trombone & tuba

Taylor Ho Bynum - cornet & flugelhorn

Hafez Modirzadeh - reeds

Naledi Masilo - voice

Jesse Taitt - piano

Ken Filiano - bass

Luther Gray - drums