**Critic’s Pick in Time Out New York**
1st Set:
Ryan Sawyer was born in San Antonio, Texas, started playing drums at the age of 11. Drawn not only to rock and jazz, but the colloquial conjunto, zydeco and punk rock music of his home town, by the age 19, he had recorded the now highly influential first record with At The Drive-In. Sawyer moved to New York in 1997 to pursue further his interest in improvised music. Since then, Sawyer has been leading a balanced life between composed and improvised performance. He has supported and collaborated with such diverse names as Rhys Chatham, Charles Gayle, TV on the Radio, Boredoms, Thurston Moore, Nik Zinner, Kid Millions Kid Millions, Fiery Furnaces, Trevor Dunn, Gang Gang Dance, Mekons, Yoshimi, Mick Turner, to name a few. While this list is always growing, Sawyer has been cultivating a tight group of peers to deepen collaborative possibilities.
Formal bands have been a linchpin to Sawyer’s integration of musical ideas. Stars Like Fleas, Tall Firs, Glass Rock, Family Dynamics, and Eye Contact, are some of the bands Ryan has been a key member in over the years. One of the more involved collaborations Sawyer has been working on is Lone Wold & Cub; a project with his partner Suzanne Rogaleski. They have performed at Deitch Projectsk, Socrates Sculpture Garden, have taught at Cal Arts, and have been twice asked to Ox-Bow artist residency.
2nd Set:
Jeremiah Cymerman is a New York City-based composer, clarinetist, producer and sound engineer. Described as “an impenitent genre-breaker whose membership among today’s greats must be granted now” (Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes), whose music strikes “a compelling balance between hallucinatory sound sculpting and the immediacy of improvised music” (Jason Bivins, Dusted Magazine). His work has been performed numerous times at venerable Downtown institutions: Roulette, The Stone, and Anthology Film Archives. Frequently using the recording studio as a primary compositional tool, Cymerman’s work reflects a passionate interest in improvisation, electronic manipulation & production, traditional, studio & graphic composition as well as solo clarinet performance and ensemble performance. Having worked with a broad range of contemporary artists; including Toby Driver John Zorn, Nate Wooley, Brian Chase, Evan Parker, Mario Diaz de Leon, Jessica Pavone, Jandek, Anthony Coleman, and Matthew Welch; Cymerman has toured internationally, received numerous commissions, and has published several articles on music and music production n publications such as Tape-Op Magazine and the acclaimed Arcana book series edited by John Zorn. He has released several recordings of his own music and his recorded output has been documented on the Tzadik and Porter record labels as well as his own, recently launched label 5049 Records. He also is the host of the weekly music show, The 5049 Podcast.
For a musician who has made a name for himself carving out dense blocks of meticulously detailed electroacoustic music, composer and clarinetist Jeremiah Cymerman takes yet another turn with “Pale Horse“, his new trio recording featuring cellist Christopher Hoffman and drummer Brian Chase. Recorded in August 2013, the music uses sparse acoustic sounds that unfold with pain-staking patience and restraint, splitting the focus equally between instrumental precision and stark silence. At times pristine and shimmering and at times remarkable unsettling, “Pale Horse” is a dynamic new CD of dark ambient music that rewards repeated and detailed listening.
