Excerpts and highlights from the Roulette Concert Archives of 3,000 adventurous and avant garde performances collected since 1980. Based in Brooklyn, NY visit roulette.org for the current schedule. The complete, unedited concert recordings can be found at www.roulette.org/archive. The Roulette podcast collection is now posted as a playlist, The Roulette Tapes.

Staff Picks & Archive Highlights

Melford's playing recasts the blues and boogie-woogie of her hometown Chicago, folds in elements of the music of Eastern Europe and India, and blends them with the rangy, percussive avant-garde approach she cultivated in studies with Don Pullen and Henry Threadgill. Here she joins violinist Leroy Jenkins (from Rahsaan Roland Kirk to Muhal Richard Abrams and all in between!) .

Roulette Concert Archive // roulette.org

Myra Melford  & Leroy Jenkins live at Roulette 2006

Miya Masaoka utilizes unique inventions of techniques, songs and contraptions to merge acoustic, Laser Koto, and computer-assisted work. Here is an excerpt from her rhythmic/harmonic duo with guest tabla player, Samir Chatterjee.

Miya Masaoka & Samir Chatterjee live at Roulette 2000 excerpt

An excerpt from a solo guitar, tape, and electronics evening by the Sonic Youth bandmember.

Thurston Moore Live at Roulette 1997

Derek Bailey, guitar; Ikue Mori, drums; Jim Staley, trombone; John Zorn, reeds in a free improv session.

Bailey/Mori/Staley/Zorn 1999 at Roulette

Dutch artist performs on his instrument constructed from cannibalized organ pipes, toilet plungers, and bicycle pumps.

Mercurius Wagen & Horst Rickels 1988 at Roulette

Machinic Fantasies, mechanized oil drums become revolving playback systems, mixing pre-recorded sounds with live performers.

Red / Mechanic Fantasies XI excerpt

Cecilia Lopez 2018 at Roulette

The woodwind master's compositions for large ensemble.

Roulette Concert Archive // roueltte.org

Ned Rothenberg at Roulette 2008

Thumbscrew is a cooperative trio consisting of Mary Halvorson (guitar), Michael Formanek(double bass), and Tomas Fujiwara (drums).

Mary Halvorson & Thumbscrew at Roulette 2016 (excerpt)

Violinist, composer and improviser Billy Bang is known for his work with The Survival Ensemble and The String Trio Of New York and is an original member of Kahil El’Zabar’s Ritual Trio.

Billy Bang at Roulette 2006 (excerpt)

An early solo work by the turntablist and master of montage.

Roulette Concert Archive // Roulette.org

Christian Marclay at Roulette 1987 (excerpt)

Excerpts from The Lamentations (bass, piano duo) and Bennett/Foster/Wooley/Lopez quartet with Brandon Lopez – Bass, Sam Yulsman – Piano, Nate Wooley – Trumpet, Michael Foster – Saxophone, Ben Bennett – Percussion.

Brandon Lopez at Roulette 2018 (excerpt)

Saxophonist/composer Matana Roberts’ CoinCoin:Installation 1
with Hill Greene (bass), Jessica Pavone (viola), Daniel Levin (cello) and Mazz Swift (violin), Daniel Givens (laptop and slide projector).

Matana Roberts at Roulette 2006 (excerpt)

From the composer and sound magician’s 1990  Roulette concert entitled April Fools (The Ed Norton Lecture). Excerpt.

roulette.org

Alvin Curran at Roulette 1990

The 2016 inaugural meeting at Roulette of a trio consisting of vocal-electronicist Yoshimio, percussionist Susie Ibarra, and modular synthesist Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe. Excerpt.

Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Susie Ibarra, Yoshimio Trio

Fly or Die, composer/trumpeter Branch’s quartet featuring Lester St. Louis on cello, Jason Ajemian on bass, and Chad Taylor on drums/mbira, excerpt from their 2019 Roulette concert.

Jaimie Branch at Roulette 2019

KOAN + 2, a selection from the composer’s 2010 concert with Ben Gerstein (trombone), Todd Neufeld (guitar), Thomas Morgan (bass), Christopher Tordini (bass), and Sorey on drums.

Tyshawn Sorey at Roulette 2010

First's Western Enisphere and Spadine's Ashcan Orchestra ensembles collaborate on a drone and percussion piece at Roulette on 3 March 2014.

David First/Pat Spadine 2014

Bruce Eisenbeil, Tom Hamilton, William Hooker
Tom Hamilton, Nord modular synthesizer; Bruce Eisenbeil, guitar; William Hooker, percussion 3 Oct 2009 at Roulette. Excerpt.

Tom Hamilton/William Hooker/Bruce Eisenbeil 2009

Saxophone, flute, and wind instrument master, composer and visual artist (1940-2020), a founding member of the Philip Glass Ensemble and a key player on seminal minimalist compositions including work by Steve Reich and Terry Riley, and works with La Monte Young, Christian Wolff, David Behrman, Harold Budd, Alvin Curran, Arthur Russell, Annea Lockwood, and Frederic Rzewski. Selections from a 13 Oct 1994 Roulette concert.

Jon Gibson 1994

Percussionist, herbalist, martial artist, programmer, professor, and pioneer of free jazz, with William Parker, Patricia Nicholson from a multimedia event demonstrating his Heart Sound Music project.

Milford Graves 2013

New & Adventurous Music! Founded in 1978 and operating out of lofts and galleries for years, Roulette continues its mission to support new and established innovators in music and cross-media performing arts in a glorious 400 seat theater in Brooklyn. Podcasts and excerpts here; you can hear these full concerts, and hundreds more, at roulette.org/archive. Enjoy!

Staff Picks & Archive Highlights

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