Jonah Parzen-Johnson Brings Experimental Folk Music for Sax and Synth to Spotty Dog

Jonah Parzen-Johnson

Jonah Parzen-Johnson

(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Brooklyn-based saxophonist Jonah Parzen-Johnson performs his unique style of electro-acoustic lo-fi “folk” music at Spotty Dog Books & Ale on Thursday, May 28, 2015, at 8pm. The triple-bill also features Destroyer of Worlds and the Chrisman / McLaughlin Duo.

Jonah Parzen-Johnson’s carefully assembled analog synthesizer breathes with his saxophone, building independent melodic layers to support his sound, or soaring above his extended technique driven saxophone playing. The music is all performed live, without any looping or recorded samples.

A Chicago native, Parzen-Johnson’s circular breathing, multi-phonics and impossibly nimble vocalization owes a debt to the Chicago saxophone legacy, but his devotion to a quirky almost vocal style places him in new territory for the solo saxophone. Parzen-Johnson grew up immersed in the music community built around the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians.

“I remember dragging my parents to see the Art Ensemble of Chicago at Mandel Hall, when I was a teenager,” recalls Parzen-Johnson. “That show got me exploring musicians like Roscoe Mitchell, Fred Anderson, and Mwata Bowden, who were big proponents of solo music. I love their playing and writing, but their solo music always felt kind of distant.”

Parzen-Johnson stumbled upon Neil Young’s live at Massey Hall Concert later on. “Sometimes I just listen to the talking tracks in between the songs on that record. He makes those moments a central part of his performance. That’s something I wish people thought about more with experimental music. I want to be a storyteller, and to make that happen I have to create an environment where people feel comfortable diving into the songs with me as I play them, an environment where they can understand the stories behind the compositions. That has to happen live, so touring is really important to me.”

Since the release of his debut album, “Michiana,” in 2012, Parzen-Johnson has spent a lot of time on the road. He’s toured over twenty thousand miles across the US and back, playing in venues like The Stone and Zebulon in NYC, The Velvet Lounge in Chicago, The Royal Room in Seattle, and The Center for New Music in San Francisco and sharing bills with Celestial Shore, Landlady, Steve Lehman, and Brian Chase among others.

Jonah Parzen-Johnson CD cover)“Touring is a really fun way to get my music out there, but it’s become about more than that for me. Musicians are around because they are pollinators. Hopping between towns, grabbing ideas that stick with them and sharing them with new people. I know folks everywhere are wondering how we’re going to fix these broken systems, but they don’t always want to talk about this stuff, it’s easier to just get nostalgic. I want to interrupt that cycle, get some conversations going, and help jump-start some solutions. That’s what I’ll be thinking about when I hit the road this spring.”

Parzen-Johnson recently released “I Remember When Things Were Better Tomorrow,” about which he has to say, “Nostalgia can seem comforting, but I think it should be incredibly unsettling. I wrote the songs on ‘I Remember When Things Were Better Tomorrow’ around the idea that the best period in my generation’s lifespan was gone, but after a few nights on the road, looking people in the eye with that idea in mind, I saw how lazy I was being. It doesn’t feel good to be devoting so much time to counting the ways we’ve failed, and ignoring the hundreds of little ways I could be fixing this mess. It’s time to stop drowning in nostalgia, and start finding ways to make our lives about repairing our broken systems. I think the first step is admitting that anyone’s problem is all of our problem.”

Seth Chrisman is a musician and multimedia artist based in the Hudson Valley. His work explores texture, repetition, and scale, while being heavily rooted in concepts of place. Experimental techniques, field recordings, found sounds, and radio static are woven together to create undulating and centrifugal sonic environments. Hudson resident Nathan McLaughlin explores the reel to reel, not just as a source of effect and texture but as its own instrument. Focusing on the sounds of the banjo as a companion to the reel to reel, studies are carried out in the philosophical spirit of Bill Dixon and his idea of going to the center. His debut LP was released by Senufo Editions with other releases available via Desire Path Recordings, Soft Abuse, Digitalis, and more.

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