Dana Reason, Jason Robinson, & Peter Valsamis

Dana Reason Dana Reason is a Canadian-born pianist, composer, improviser and musicologist. As a pianist, composer and improviser, Reason has performed extensively throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe and can be heard on over 11 CD recordings. She has appeared at Frau Musica Nova, Banff Center for the Arts, Stanford University, San Francisco Jazz Festival, Spring Reverb, and Is that Jazz? Seattle, Festival among others. Reason was part of "The Space Between Trio" with Pauline Oliveros in 2000s.… Show more She has performed with Mark Dresser, Joelle Leandre, Lisle Ellis, Peter Kowald, Marc Sabat, Lori Goldston, Bert Turetzky, Alex Cline, Barre Philips, Fred Frith, Cecil Taylor, Lisle Ellis, George E. Lewis, among others. In 2012 she was commissioned by Oregon State University and Dr. Chris Chapman to write for Wind Ensemble. Her piece "Currents" received outstanding praise at the University of Reno premiere and is published by Shattinger Music, St. Louis. Other commissions include Rova Saxophone Quartet, Jeffers-Carlson Duo and Meet the Composer Grant (NY). Her research on "Women in Improvised and Experimental Musical Practices" was awarded a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Her forthcoming album Angle of Vision" features her compositions performed by: bassist, Glen Moore and drummer, Peter Valamis with Reason at the piano, and will be released fall 2012. Reason holds a Bachelors of Music from McGill University; a Masters in Composition from Mills College, and Ph.D. in musicology/critical studies from the University of California San Diego. Dana Reason is currently the director of Popular Music Studies at Oregon State University in the School of Arts & Communication. The founder and artistic director of Between the Cracks Forum: music, sound & interactivity (2008-present); a cross-disciplinary initiative designed to foster contemporary and creative music performance and development. Jason Robinson The music of American saxophonist and scholar Jason Robinson thrives in the fertile overlaps between improvisation and composition, acoustic music and electronics, tradition and experimentalism. Initially a devotee of post-1960s jazz and creative music, Robinson's music is a modern amalgam of cutting-edge trends in jazz practice and electroacoustic music. Robinson is a critically acclaimed distinct voice in a new generation of creative musicians in equal dialogue with jazz, popular music, experimental music, and electronic music. Fall 2010 marked a watershed in Robinson's output as a leader. He released three concurrent albums showcasing an enormous breadth of creative work, including The Two Faces of Janus (Cuneiform), featuring a New York-based ensemble that includes Drew Gress, Liberty Ellman, George Schuller, Marty Ehrlich and Rudresh Mahanthappa; Cerulean Landscape (Clean Feed), featuring the long time collaboration of Robinson and acclaimed pianist and composer Anthony Davis; and Cerberus Reigning (Accretions), the much anticipated second installment of the "Cerberus" trilogy, featuring Robinson's solo electroacoustic music. He performs regularly as a soloist (acoustically and with electronics), with his group the Janus Ensemble, and in a variety of collaborative contexts. He has performed at festivals and prominent venues in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe and/or recorded with Peter Kowald, George Lewis, Anthony Davis, Drew Gress, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Marty Ehrlich, Eugene Chadbourne, Earl Howard, Toots and the Maytals, Groundation, and the San Francisco Mime Troupe, among others. As a scholar, Robinson's work unpacks the relationship between improvised and popular musics, experimentalism, and cultural identity. He has published articles and reviews in Ethnomusicology, Jazz Perspectives, and Critical Studies in Improvisation/

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