Michael Brenneis Octet’s Premiere Performance of “Plutonium” Suite

Arts + Literature Laboratory hosts the premier performance of Michael Brenneis‘s new suite of pieces called Plutonium for an 8-piece jazz ensemble featuring some of the best of Madison’s jazz community. It also celebrates the release of the recorded version which will be available on November 18. This project has been supported by a grant from the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium. $10 suggested donation. Doors open at 2:30pm.

Plutonium, an industrial abstraction for jazz musicians, highlights industrialization as it continues to reverberate all around us.

Numerous landmarks exist along the trajectory of our species from its origin to its extinction. Those that are evolutionary exist, for the most part, in the distant past. Some that are cultural have triggered the evolutionary, the invention of cooking, for example. Of the cultural landmarks (agriculture, urbanization, global connection, others), industrialization stands out as fundamental to the modern age, affecting, or with the potential to affect, nearly every human on the planet.

This suite of seven pieces cuts a wide swath through the effects of industrialization on the human condition, from its beginnings in the 19th century to its perturbations in the modern era. Largely, the pieces are not cinematic, although some are. Rather, they are abstractions meant perhaps to conjure images or the essences of the subject matter. The musical language is drawn from 20th and 21st century jazz vocabulary, but hints at contemporary classical technique from the same period. The program as a whole visits many neighborhoods along the musical spectrum, both familiar and surprising, but maintains its coherence as a work of modern jazz.

The performers, collectively known as the Plutonium Players, are:

Tony Barba — Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Jonathan Greenstein — Tenor Saxophone
Greg Smith — Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone
Paul Dietrich — Trumpet
Mark Hetzler — Trombone (Jaime Kember will be performing at this concert)
David Spies — Tuba
John Christensen —  Bass
Michael Brenneis —  Drums