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Saxophonist
and bandleader Avram Fefer has been performing and recording
internationally since 1990. After spending the decade
as a soloist with a number of different groups, his first
several recordings as a leader were singled out as among
the Best of 2001 and Best of 2002 in publications such
as Downbeat Magazine, the Village Voice (New York), Cadence
magazine, the Chicago Weekly Standard, and JazzPortugal.
Now, in the spring of 2005, Fefer has four new releases
to add to his body of recorded work.
The brand new Kindred Spirits and Heavenly Places (both
Boxholder Records) document his ever-deepening musical
relationship with piano legend Bobby Few. Though both
recordings feature the duo of piano and saxophone, they
present two very different aspects of the musicians' vocabulary
and repertoire. Kindred Spirits presents a couple of originals
alongside classics by Monk, Mingus and Ellington---displaying
the duo's embrace of melody, whereas Heavenly Spirits
catches them letting loose, with more room for development
and improvisation. Accompanying the release of these two
discs, Bobby Few will be coming to the states in May '05
and will join Avram on a 10-concert tour through the Northeast
and Midwest.
Also just released, Painting Breath, Stoking Fire (CIMP)
is Fefer's new CD featuring another duo---this time with
virtuoso bassist and unsung hero, Michael Bisio. They
perform a 58-minute, twelve part suite as a vehicle for
improvisation and interaction of varying combinations
of woodwinds and contrabass. Fefer plays, in order---alto
flute, bass clarinet, clarinet, alto sax, and tenor sax
as he accompanies Bisio on an extended, episodic tone
poem. Fefer is also featured on Bisio's new quartet release,
Connections (CIMP), where he is heard primarily on clarinet.
Avram Fefer was born near San Francisco, but his early
years were also spent in Pittsburgh, Stockholm, and Washington
D.C. before the family finally settled near Seattle, Washington.
He received a liberal arts degree at Harvard University
and studied music at Berklee College and New England Conservatory.
He then moved to Paris, France (1990-95) where he established
himself as a saxophonist, composer, bandleader and teacher.
Paris offered many new sources of inspiration and growth
including a vibrant African and Arabic music scene and
a wealth of American expatriate jazz musicians. His own
bands were featured regularly in many of the city's top
jazz clubs and he performed with fellow ex-pats Jack Gregg,
Bobby Few, Graham Haynes, Archie Shepp, Kirk Lightsey,
Oliver Johnson, John Betsch, Sunny Murray, and Rasul Siddik
among others. He played in countries in Europe, Africa
and the Mideast and is featured on diverse recordings,
including by rap originators, the Last Poets (Scatterap/Home),
and with jazz legend Archie Shepp on drummer Steve McCraven's
Song of the Forest Boogeraboo [World McC Music]. He was
also one of the founding members and featured soloists
of the French acid jazz group, Beigels Daisy Toasts, recording
two top-selling CD's for Virgin Records in 1994 and 95.
Since moving to New York, Fefer's diverse musical interests
have kept him busy. Unlike many musicians who tend to
align themselves with one part of the music scene or another,
Avram has spent much time developing a unique sound that
crosses genres. The influence of Ornette Coleman and Miles
Davis-inspired funk was evident in the band The Tone Poets,
featuring the instrumental pyrotechnics of Reggie Washington,
Dave Fiuczynski, Jonathan Crayford and Marlon Browden.
His embrace of electronic, ambient, and drum 'n bass music
was brought to bear in the groups Squelch and Auto*Dope,
both of which featured extensive improvisation, groove,
and the unique tape manipulations of Bruce Grant (Huge
Voodoo). His love of world music has been drawn upon in
a variety great bands, including those of Cameroonian
bassist Francis M'Bappe, ex-Fela drummer Tony Allen, Moroccan
singer Abdeljalil Kodssi, and on the 2004 release, New
Destiny , by the Afro-Hungarian jazz group, Dallam-Dougou.
As a section player and soloist, Fefer has been featured
in a number of large ensembles, including the David Murray
Big Band, Butch Morris Orchestra, Joseph Bowie Big Band,
Mingus Big Band, Frank Lacy's Vibe Tribe, and the Rob
Reddy Octet. His jazz compositions have been played by
Roy Campbell, James Zollar, Curtis Fowlkes, Sean Conly,
Ben Allison, William Parker, Tomas Ulrich, and Brad Jones,
among many. He continues to perform with numerous jazz
and new music ensembles as well as his own Afro-Latin
band, Free Spirit.
His trio, with Chad Taylor on drums and Eric Revis on
bass, was recently featured at the 2003 Montreal Jazz
Festival, while his duo with pianist Bobby Few performed
at the 2004 Free Music Festival in Antwerp, Belgium, and
will be playing at the 2005 Burlington Jazz Festival in
Vermont. Past festival performances include the JVC Jazz
Festival at Carnegie Hall, the Heineken Jazz Festival,
the Verizon Jazz Festival, the Knitting Factory What is
Jazz Festival, the Tel-Aviv Jazz Festival, the Casa del
Popolo Festival in Montreal, the Willaimsburg Jazz Festival,
and several others whose names he can't remember.
In addition to his life as a jazz musician, Avram greatly
enjoys teaching music privately in downtown Manhattan
and has collaborated on projects with dancers, poets,
painters, and actors. He has also performed and/or composed
scores for theater, television, film and computer-interactive
media. |
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