Come see and hear virtuoso improvising artists collaborate in a rare Twin Cities performance!

Painter-illustrator Stephane Cattaneo visits the Twin Cities from his home in La Roche Bernard in the Bretagne (Brittany) region of France. Stephane’s signature “voice” as a painter embodies risk, gesture, playful lyricism, repetition and a life-affirming sensuality… much like his favorite expressionists of the jazz idiom John Coltrane, Archie Shepp and Eric Dolphy. For this performance, he finds good company in three Twin Cities musicians of international reputation who are revered for their improvisational wit and musical earnestness.

Saxophonist Nathan Hanson is primarily associated with Fantastic Merlins, whose 2010 CD “How the Light Gets In” was a featured album on Radio France. In addition, he has maintained a longstanding duo with bassist Brian Roessler and is part of the quartet that signaled the triumphant return of legendary French drummer Jacques Thollot. He has also performed with a long list of luminaries throughout the United States and Europe. For more information visit www.nathanhanson.com.

Chris Bates is perhaps the busiest, most widely regarded bassist on the Twin Cities jazz scene. But the former McKnight Fellow’s work is grounded by a series of standout ensembles including his own Chris Bates Red 5, Good Vibes Trio, co-led by Dave Hagedorn and Phil Hey, and Atlantis Quartet. For more information visit www.chrisbatesmusic.net.

Drummer Davu Seru is a multi-faceted presence in Twin Cites arts and intellectual circles. In addition to his being a drummer and composer for No Territory Band and a member of a dynamic duo with guitar hero Dean Magraw, Davu is a published writer and professor of African American literature and culture. Davu is also 2017-2018 composer-in-residence at Studio Z in Saint Paul. For more information visit www.davuseru.com.

Each of the musicians have performed with Stephane in France, but never all-together. This rare Twin Cities performance will be followed by a discussion of artist practice and political resistance drawn from Stephane Cattaneo’s involvement with the Notre Dame des Landes commune in northwestern France.

Donations welcome.