Performance Archive

Colin Stetson & Erik Friedlander

Friday, June 5th, 2008 at 7:30pm Abrons Art Space Recital Hall

466 Grand Street, New York, NY 10002

Subway: F to Delancy, J, M to Essex, D, B to Grand

Both sonically vast and melodically accessible, Colin Stetson is an absolute master of the saxophone. Stetson’s compositions and ability to tell a musical story are what makes him an innovative musician. Alex Green of Caught in the Carousel has deemed Stetson “the Roger Federer of avant garde instrumental music.” Aside from his work as a soloist, Stetson has brought his unique voice on winds and brass to stage and studio with dozens of artists, including Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, TV on the Radio, Antibalas Orchestra, Medeski Martin and Wood, Sinead O’Connor, LCD Soundsystem, and Anthony Braxton.

Erik Friedlander “can do things with a cello that should have a reasonable listener fearing for her life,” says PitchforkMedia.com. A virtuosic veteran of NYC’s downtown scene, Friedlander has backed John Zorn, John Darnielle’s Mountain Goats, Laurie Anderson, and Courtney Love. New York’s Erik Friedlander is a unique cellist whose work blurs genre borders. He is a composer and an improviser, a classical musician and a jazzbo.

The Abrons Arts Center brings innovative artistic excellence to Manhattan’s Lower East Side through diverse, cutting-edge performances; exhibitions/artist residencies, classes and workshops for all ages, including pre-professional training for youth; and arts-in-education programming at public schools. Some of the most adventurous artists of the past century have trained, taught, or performed at Henry Street, including John Cage, Aaron Copland, Dizzy Gillespie, Martha Graham, Alicia Keyes, Alwin Nikolais, Jackson Pollack, Denzel Washington and Orson Welles.

This performance is made possible with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.