Free jazz night with new compositions by Pittsburgh saxophonist and composer Patrick Breiner and his trio Two of Anything.
Two of Anything play Alphabet City on Thursday, November 12, with a set of all-new compositions. The evening is part of the Thursday Night Jazz series presented by City of Asylum, and it runs from 7:00 to 8:30 PM.
Patrick Breiner, a Pittsburgh saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer, is the one bringing the new material. He's drawn from a specific lineage of creative music: Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. That's a wide spread of influences—Threadgill's angular structures, Braxton's rigorous systems, Zorn's jump-cut energy, and the AACM's legacy of total improvisation and self-determination—and hearing how they've filtered into his latest writing is the point of the night.
The lineup for this one is a bit of a curiosity. The band's name, Two of Anything, suggests a rotating door of instrumentation, and this particular iteration is built around two pianos: Antonio Croes on keybird piano, harmonium, and melodica, and Mark Micchelli on grand piano, which he'll be preparing—placing objects on or between the strings to change the instrument's timbre. Breiner rounds it out on saxophone, clarinet, and bass clarinet. It's a heavy-on-the-keys setup, with the woodwinds cutting through.
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Breiner is a Vandoren Artist and works as a theater, dance, and puppetry performer, and he helped found the Tough Pill concert series, which runs on third Thursdays at the Government Center. He's also recorded with Battle Trance (New Amsterdam / NNA Tapes) and VAX. The show is free for both in-person and livestream tickets, and the on-site restaurant, Cucina Alfabeto, is open for dinner from 5 to 10 PM if you want to eat before the music starts.
