Eighth Blackbird, a four-time GRAMMY Award-winning Chicago-based music ensemble showcases sax player and composer Nick Zoulek in a live stream concert 7 p.m. March 10. Uniquely skilled as a bass saxophonist, Zoulek’s skill and versatility has been praised as “beautiful harmonies singing in contrast to mysterious knockings and hums (Shepherd Express) and “stunningly virtuosic, whatever the genre” (The Wall Street Journal). His CAW performance will feature solo performance of his compositions with collaborative films from his debut album, “Rushing Past Willow” (2016), plus new works from his upcoming project, “Enter Branch.” Tickets and more information are available at www.eighthblackbird.org.
“Rushing Past Willow” was conceived as improvised moments and refined over a decade of performance and reflection. The album coalesces into a narrative set against a solitary willow tree, serving as a totem that bears witness to lost love, compassion, connection, chaos, and time. The works included on “Rushing Past Willow” create a meditative and raw tapestry of repetition, vocal techniques, circular breathing and unconventional articulation, captured with an array of carefully-placed microphones, based on extensive research and experimentation. “Enter Branch” will combine Zoulek’s performance and compositions with that of members of Bon Iver, Eighth Blackbird, Field Report, the Tontine Ensemble, ~nois saxophone quartet, among others.
“Nick is one of our beloved Blackbird Creative Lab alums and we are so pleased to be able to present him and his work as part of CAW,” says Eighth Blackbird pianist and Executive Director Lisa Kaplan. “I remember when he applied to our Lab Program back in 2018 - I don't think I had ever seen anyone play the bass saxophone until I saw his audition video. I was completely blown away by his musicality, virtuosity, incredible sound and also the sheer physicality it takes to play the instrument. We are very excited for Nick to share his awesome talent in his CAW concert.”
About Nick Zoulek
Bringing together diverse musical landscapes, Zoulek’s performances traverse genre, bringing together classical, jazz, experimental, and rock idioms. He has garnered numerous awards as a classical soloist. He performs frequently as a visiting guest artist at universities across the U.S., and recently as the featured artist of the Shockingly Modern Saxophone Festival and featured as year-long Artist in Residence for the 2018 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee SENSORIA series.
Zoulek has served as music director with Wild Space Dance Company, and has scored and performed dance works with the Madison Ballet, HYPERlocal, and with members of Zenon and Like You Mean It dance companies. Zoulek often works with film and animation, experimenting with the expressive potential of visual media. His films center on self-composed scores, and have been screened at festivals in England, Canada, Serbia, Africa, and around the U.S. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Contemporary Music Performance with a cognate in Digital Media from Bowling Green State University and a Master of Music Performance from BGSU, a Certificat des Études Musicales from the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régionale de Boulogne-Billancourt, and a Bachelor of Music Performance with Magna Cum Laude honors from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Tickets
Eighth Blackbird Presents: The Chicago Artists Workshop (CAW) Part 2 February-March 2021. The live streamed events will be staged at the Eighth Blackbird production facility located at 4045 N. Rockwell St. There is also limited in-person seating. Suggested price per event is $20 per household, but options include choosing a price as well as contributing as a supporter. All events include interviews and a Q&A with the artists. For tickets and more information visit https://www.eighthblackbird.org/product-category/caw-tickets.
About CAW
“Eighth Blackbird Presents: The Chicago Artists Workshop'' (CAW) live concert series debuted in Fall 2020, and is being presented in three parts across the 2020-2021 performance season. Part 2 events will take place February-March 2021. Part 3 events, taking place in April-June, will be announced in March 2021. Artists/dates/times are subject to change. For tickets or more information visit eighthblackbird.org. CAW is made possible in part with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
About Eighth Blackbird
Eighth Blackbird is “one of the smartest, most dynamic contemporary classical ensembles on the planet” (Chicago Tribune). Launched in 1996 by six committed Oberlin Conservatory undergraduates, this Chicago-based super-group has earned its status as “a brand-name…defined by adventure, vibrancy and quality…” (Detroit Free Press).
Eighth Blackbird has since evolved from ensemble to institution, currently realizing its mission through five initiatives: Eighth Blackbird, the award-winning sextet; Blackbird IV, a piano/percussion duo featuring founding members Lisa Kaplan and Matthew Duvall; the Blackbird Creative Lab, the organization's mentoring arm; Blackbird Productions, a designation for wide-ranging creative projects; and the Chicago Artists Workshop, a streaming platform created to support artists.
Recent achievements include a fourth GRAMMY Award, the inaugural Chamber Music America Visionary Award, an Ensemble of the Year Award from Musical America, and the prestigious MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. In 2017, the company launched the Blackbird Creative Lab, a tuition-free summer training program, alumni network, and career support platform for emerging professionals focused on cutting edge musicianship, dynamic performance aesthetic, and savvy entrepreneurship.
Set to celebrate its 25th Anniversary in 2021, Eighth Blackbird continues to fuel the modern canon it helped engine with hundreds of commissioned and premiered works by dozens of composers including Viet Cuong, Pamela Z, Bryce Dessner, Jennifer Higdon, Amy Beth Kirsten, David Lang, Andy Akiho, Missy Mazzoli, Nico Muhly, and Steve Reich, whose commissioned work, Double Sextet, went on to win the Pulitzer Prize (2009). A long-term relationship with Chicago’s Cedille Records has produced ten acclaimed recordings and four impressive GRAMMY Awards for Best Small Ensemble/Chamber Music Performance. Eighth Blackbird's most recent album, “Singing in the Dead of Night” by Lang, Julia Wolfe, and Michael Gordon, was released by Cedille in June 2020.
The group's latest venture is the inaugural 2020–2021 Chicago Artists Workshop series, a full season of 18 live-streamed concerts and events with a stellar lineup of featured artists as well as a residency program offering studio space and technical support to area artists. For more information about Eighth Blackbird visit www.eighthblackbird.org and visit them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter #eighthblackbird.