EdgeFest has been bringing some of the most innovative and interesting faces and sounds in all of jazz to Ann Arbor for 28 years now. The theme for their 29 series will be “Speaking Out” when they come back for the Kerrytown Concert House from October 8 to October 11.
“Speaking out” can mean a lot of different things, according to organizer Deanna Relyea. You could see it as a nod to jazz’s definitive knack for improvisation or a chance to use the festival to speak out on social or political issues.
“I do think there will probably be some political things. What does it mean to be political? Because I would consider myself to be super far left, as many people in this kind of sphere would be. But I also think that I embody that political ideology just by existing in a way. Even if I don’t say anything, I’m still a Native, female jazz musician; which some people would view as political, or anything that I do as political,” Marlena Boedigheimer said. Her biggest goal at the moment is to grow the visibility of Native Americans in general.
Having grown up in northern Minnesota, Boedigheimer said there were a lot of Native people living in and around other groups, which she says she took for granted until she came to school at the University of Michigan, and suddenly found herself in contact with almost no Native people.
After getting a constant stream of awkward or ignorant questions because of this, Boedigheimer decided “I’m not going to get upset with people for not knowing things, because it is not their fault that they don’t know. But I am going to take it upon myself to bring visibility, and be like ‘Here I am. We’re still here. We didn’t all die 400 years ago. It’s not appropriate to ask about my blood quanta or these super niche things’ because I can go into why I don’t know [Native] things, it’s because of the boarding schools, and all of the creative ways the government tried to suppress us. When people ask me why I have such a German name, it’s because we got colonized.”
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That is why Boedigheimer uses Ojibwe words for the titles to songs that she composes. Some of her lyrics are in Ojibwe. Themes like feeling otherness by being an Ojibwe indigenous person in Ann Arbor, the atrocities Native Americans have faced over generations, and their resilience are all themes Boedigheimer’s music explores.
“I try not to plan what I say,” Boedigheimer said. “But I think it’s important that we as musicians have these causes, and reasons for doing things because in an increasingly anti-intellectual and anti-art world, I think it’s important for us to stand up and say something. It’s not just about sounds. It’s also about the context behind what we’re doing, what led us to this point, and our reaction to the mainstream, to the really crazy state of the world right now. All of those things are increasingly important.”
Time is short to get tickets, as the concert house is not that big. But according to two players, that is part of what they like about the concert series.
“There’s an intimacy to the space. We’ve played bigger stages with various ensembles. But the intimacy you get at Kerrytown House is very conducive for the music,” pianist Lucian Ban said. He also portrayed to longevity of the concert series as it approaches the three decade mark. “To be able to do that consistently. That’s very unique.”
Music will start flowing in, out and throughout the venue at 415 North Fourth Avenue at 6pm on opening night, 7pm on Thursday and Friday and 2pm on the Saturday. The lineup will be:
Wednesday
- 6pm– Double bill: Pink Marlena Trio | Marc Hanaford piano solo
- 7:30pm– Dave Hurley & Zekkereya El-Magharbel Duo
- 8:30pm– The Truss Quartet featuring Dave Rempis on saxophone, Pandelis Karayorgis on the piano, Jakob Heinemann on bass, and Bill Harris on drums.
- 9:30pm– Air Legacy – a trio with Marty Ehrlich on reeds, Hilliard Greene on bass and J.T. Lewis playing percussion.
Thursday
- 7pm – Ben Miller’s 11th Hour Quartet – Ben Miller on alto saxophone, Marlena Boedigheimer on tenor saxophone, Martin Shiller on fretless bass, and Jonathan Taylor on drums.
- 8pm – Jason Kao Huang’s Soliliques
- 9pm – Myra Melford’s SPLASH – a trio consisting of Myra Melford on the piano, Michael Formanek on bass and Ches Smith on the drums.
- 10pm – Ches Smith’s Clone Row. In this final act, Smith will be playing the vibraphone and electronics along with drums. He’ll be joined by Mary Halvorson and Liberty Ellman on the guitar and Nick Dunston and the bass and electronics.
Friday
- 7pm – Taylor Ho Bynum & Ken Filiano Duo
- 8pm – Malis/Shead/Jesalva/Washington
- 9pm. – Alex Harding & Lucien Ban’s DARK BLUE
- 10pm – Flux in Chaos – a quintet with Wiliam Parker on bass, Ellen Christi on vocals, Michael TA Thompson on the drums, Patricia Nicholson on dance, and Eri Yamamoto on the piano.
Saturday
- 2pm – Kenny Green’s Cosmic Music Collective – Hanah Jon Taylor playing saxophone, Sophiyah Elizabeth singing and playing singing bowls, Darius Savage on the bass, percussionist Dushun Mosley, Ras Kente on the guitar and Kenny Green playing the piano and gongs.
- 3pm. – Marilyn Crispell, solo piano
- 4pm – Darius Jones Trio – with Jones on the saxophone, Chris Lightcap on bass and Jason Nazary on the drums.
- 7:30pm– Gwen Lasters’ NewMuse 4Tet – Gwen Laster playing the violin, Melanie Dyer on the viola, Teddy Rankin–Parker playing the cello and percussionist Andrew Drury.
- 8:30pm– Jason Koa Hwang’s EDGE – EDGE consists of Hwang, Taylor Ho Bynum, Ken Filiano and Andrew Drury.
The finale that Hwang will be leading will actually be the twentieth anniversary of EDGE. Deanna Relyea will be joining that violin, trumpet, bass and percussion quartet; along with Piotr Michalowski on reeds.
“There’s a tradition to the music that is being true to yourself and playing from the heart. When we say when we hear a performance that has soul, it’s coming form a place of truth. And speaking out is, in that sense, at the core of not just jazz or improvised music, but all music,” Hwang said. “I think what that has done, and feels especially important now, is that when we speak that truth we create a common experience, common understanding and acceptance of each other as a community, and a nation. This common experience then allows us to see each other in our whole humanity… For myself, as an Asian American, it is finding a manner to create and articulate myself as that full human being, and not as a construction or representation, but just like everybody else in that sense, without denying my ethnicity or particulars of my history. But fundamentally, we are all the same human family.”
Getting tickets or passes to get in can be done by emailing edgepass@kerrytownconcerthouse.com or calling 734.769.2999. There are a number of tiers to get in. Teir 1 costs $350, and Tier 2 will be $300 for the whole concert or $200 for general admission to the whole thing. If you want to just go to one day of music, the price will depend on the day. Wednesday through Friday will be $60, while Saturday will be $80 per head.
“It’s a great place to explore, to present music that is happening and with music that we’re dealing with at the moment. To just experience certain situations in life, with what is going on with the world today,” Harding explained, adding that Edgefest’s nature being in the “foundation of improvised music. It lends itself for us to be able to do that in a certain kind of environment, which is very nurturing, inviting, and comforting.”
Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up just outside of Ann Arbor. He covers local business developments, embraces his foodie side with reviews restaurants, obsesses over Michigan's environmental state, loves movies, and feels spoiled by the music he gets to review for Ann Arbor!
