Rolldown: Jason Adasiewicz, Jason Roebke, Josh Berman, Jeb Bishop, Frank Rosaly
Have had the opportunity to play music with a wide variety of talented musicians including Tim Daisy, Ken Vandermark, Jason Ajemian, Josh Berman, Audrey Chen, Darren Johnston, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Dave Rempis, Damon Smith, Steve Bernstein, Weasel Walter, Jason Roebke, Liz Albee, Rob Mazurek, Matt Bauder, Jessica Pavone, Havard Wiik, Josh Abrams, Harris Eisenstadt, Jeb Bishop, Tim Perkis, Anantha Krishnan, Kevin Drumm, Kjell Nordeson, Frank Rosaly, Guillermo Gregorio, and Chris Brown. He has performed in Europe, Canada and the United States including appearances at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Suoni per il Popolo Festival in Montreal, and the Krakow Autumn Jazz Festival. His playing and music has been documented through several imprints including Delmark, 482 Music, Locust Music, MultiKulti, Edgetone, and his own Singlespeed Music.
Influences
Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp, John Tchicai, Jimmy Garrison, Thelonious Monk, Don Cherry, Silver Apples, Yo La Tengo, Luc Ferrari, Steve Reich, Matt Bauder, Christian Fennesz, Gastr del Sol, Tortoise, Town and Country, Gianni Gebbia, Axel Dorner, John Cage, Sun Ra, Art Ensemble of Chicago, and so much more.
Fast Citizens second release "Two Cities" is being released this month by Delmark!
The Fast Citizens are the Chicago based sextet of Aram Shelton, Keefe Jackson, Josh Berman, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Anton Hatwich and Frank Rosaly. Formed in 2002 by Jackson, the Fast Citizens have decided upon a rotating leader chair and for their sophomore release Shelton has taken the reins as main composer. The title Two Cities reflects the geographic locale of Shelton, (currently based in Oakland, California), and his continued relationship with the active music scene in Chicago. Focusing on orchestration and structural variety, the Fast Citizens present a stylistically diverse album that includes hard swing, lush ballads, high-energy free improvisation, modern composition and Sun-Ra inspired grooves.
Their debut album, Ready Everyday (Delmark 2006), was hailed by critics and described as "a meeting of highly skilled and individualistic players who channel their hard work into a cogent and coherent whole". Two Cities documents the progress of this unique ensemble, comprised of increasingly visible members of the international jazz and improvised music community.
Excerpts from the liner notes by John Litweiler, author of Jazz After 1958, and Ornette Coleman, A Harmolodic Life:
"There's no comparing this music to any other. True, flashes of sound and song suggest kinship with other artists, and moreover, as Larry Kart pointed out in the Ready Everyday notes, jazz's past has enriched Fast Citizens' present: "These are the ears and sensibilities of musicians who know both their Ornette Coleman and their Sidney Bechet, their Morton Feldman and their Ruby Braff..." Yes, their sense of playing together has been refined by experience and big ears. More than that, and I think the reason this album is so moving, is each man's strong sense of presence, immediacy....
Emphatically, all the Fast Citizens don't just improvise -- they compose on the spot, together. It's what Shelton does, especially in The Twenty-Seven in the loveliest alto-sax solo I've heard Mr. Coleman came to town... He plays clarinet in In Cycles, building a musical edifice with spaced, broken phrases and stuttered notes, and in another alto style, with many notes, in his Two Cities trio improvisation... each of his improvisations has its own integrity, its unity, its sense of being composed on the spot. "
Shelton is a multi-instrumentalist on saxophones and clarinets, a composer & improviser, and creates electroacoustic music with computer-based electronics. While the music he makes is spread across a variety of aesthetic lines, it is connected by the importance of improvisation to develop material and express the individuality of musicians. He currently lives in Oakland, California.
On this page you'll be able to a little bit of my music, for lots more check out aramshelton.com
Hello Aram, I'll play INTERNAL FRAME (what a beautiful music !!!) in my next radio show, friday 6th of march. This show will also focus on Nicole Mitchell... Sincerely,
Nice to be seen, Aram. You are everywhere, man. Weasel Walter was recording a new song of his the other night with "xbrx" (the band he was playing with here at Polymorph Recording). That song. he said, was based on a dream he had, wherin, you had written this great song, for him to play. Cool song however it happened.
twas a pleasure to hear you here in Asheville... positively thrilling concert!! probably won't be able to make it monday, but have been telling people that missed you thursday that they have one more chance to experience the magic... thanks!
Enjoyed listening to the tracks ("Slight Decline" especially appealed to me). I, for one, definitely have an appreciation for the music that you create. Keep forging your own path - cool direction in music! Thanks for adding me!
