PLAY! A concert series featuring a spectrum of modern microtonal improvised music, held at St. Paul's Cathedral (130 Tremont St., Boston, MA). Hosted by the PLAY! Ensemble, the series showcases bands from up and down the Northeast, presenting the best of this new music in Boston. Defying genre, PLAY! is where the musical paths of the past collide, and split the tone into ever smaller particles of sound.  

The PLAY! series presents
Glenn Dickson
and members of
Metal and Glass Ensemble

Sunday, November 2, 2008 5 PM
St. Paul’s Cathedral, 138 Tremont St., Boston
Admission: $10

Clarinet heavyweight Glenn Dickson, known for his groundbreaking work on John Zorn's Tzadik label with Naftule's Dream, performs a solo concert of his Clarinetrics project: microtonal dreamscapes performed on on clarinet with electronics.   He will be joined for part of the concert by members of the Metal and Glass Ensemble.   The concert is on Nov. 2, 2008, 5 PM at St. Paul's Cathedral, 138 Tremont St., Boston and the admission is $10.   The concert is a part of the Play! Concert Series which features microtonal improvisers and is produced by Noah Kaplan.   

Glenn Dickson has taken the processing techniques of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno and applied them to the clarinet, creating an ethereal and haunting atmosphere with the warm humanity of the clarinet sound.   His compositions utilize the microtonal palette he learned from playing with microtonal jazz legend Joe Maneri, resulting in shimmering other-worldly harmonies and speech-like inflections in the melodies.

Glenn will be joined by members of the Metal and Glass Ensemble, lead by Matt Samolis on microtonal flute, with steel cello tuned glasses.  

the PLAY! ensemble

Noah Kaplan (b. 1984) grew up in Topanga Canyon, CA. He graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music where he studied improvisation, counterpoint, harmony and Microtonal theory with Joe Maneri. He was the 2006 recipient on the Jonathan Keith Foundation award for his work with Microtones. He has recorded with the Peter Erskine Trio and most recently released his first record, the light and other things (Creative Nation Music, 2008) with guitarist David Tronzo and bassist Giacomo Merega. His playing has been described as “Formidable” (Phil DiPietro, All About Jazz) and “Meditative”, “Elegiac”, “Communicat[ing] a wild tenderness”, (Karla Cornejo, All About Jazz NY). Noah currently lives in New York where he composes and performs regularly. This is his second season as the Artistic Director of PLAY!

Benjy Fox-Rosen is a bass player living in Brooklyn, New York City. He moved from Los Angeles in 2002 to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary music, where he had the opportunity to study with Mark Helias, Mark Dresser and Jane Ira Bloom, among others. After studying in Buenos Aires in the Fall of 2005 with maestro Javier Dragun, Benjy returned to NY to finish school and immediately joined the Luminescent Orchestrii, a gypsy/tango/klezmer/punk string band based in Brooklyn. Since then, Benjy has toured internationally performing throughout the United States and Europe. Benjy was a recipient of the Bronfman Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Student Artists in 2007, for "Minutn fun Bitokhn," his suite melding Yiddish songs with improvised and composed music. He was privileged to include in his band Judith Berkson, Noah Kaplan and Juan Pablo Carletti. Benjy also serves as Cantorial Soloist at the Jewish Home and Hospital in the Bronx.

James Bergin Click here for biography.

John McLellan (b. 1968), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and raised in Massachusetts, has a resume that is expansive and varied, including work with Joe and Mat Maneri, Roswell Rudd, Berne Knicks, Roy Cambel, William Parker, Ken Vandermark, Denman Marone, Ben Monder, and the Either/Orchestra. He has performed at festivals throughout the country, including the Newport Jazz Festival, the Iowa City Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival at Sea and KMB Jazz Festival. John has also performed internationally at the Munster Jazz Festival. John‘s inventive drumming can be heard on his duo record with saxophonist Joe McPhee, Grand Marquis on Boxholder records and Mat Maneri’s latest release on Thirsty Ear Records, Pentagon.