William Hooker Quartet / Welf Dorr Unit / On Ka’a Davis and the Famous Original Djuke Music Players at ShapeShifter Lab

old and new downtown music aesthetics - triple bill
William Hooker Quartet / Welf Dorr Unit / On Ka’a Davis and the Famous Original Djuke Music Players
7pm - William Hooker Quartet: William Hooker (drums), Matt Lavelle (trumpet), Mark Hennen (piano), Larry Roland (bass)
8:15pm – Welf Dorr Unit: Welf Dorr (alto sax, bass clarinet) Dave Ross (guitar), Dmitry Ishenko (bass), Joe Hertenstein (drums)
9:30pm – On Ka’a Davis and the Famous Original Djuke Music Players: On Ka’a Davis (guitar, vocals), Welf Dorr (alto sax), Nick Gianni (baritone sax), Cavassa Nickens (bass), Peter Barr (drums)...

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old and new downtown music aesthetics - triple bill
William Hooker Quartet / Welf Dorr Unit / On Ka’a Davis and the Famous Original Djuke Music Players
7pm - William Hooker Quartet: William Hooker (drums), Matt Lavelle (trumpet), Mark Hennen (piano), Larry Roland (bass)
8:15pm – Welf Dorr Unit: Welf Dorr (alto sax, bass clarinet) Dave Ross (guitar), Dmitry Ishenko (bass), Joe Hertenstein (drums)
9:30pm – On Ka’a Davis and the Famous Original Djuke Music Players: On Ka’a Davis (guitar, vocals), Welf Dorr (alto sax), Nick Gianni (baritone sax), Cavassa Nickens (bass), Peter Barr (drums)

Drummer William Hooker is a stalwart of the downtown music scene since the 70’s when he played with David Murray and David Ware. In the 90’s he performed with Thurston Moore and Zeena Parkins.
The San Francisco Chronicle described him as the “the kingpin of the free jazz world, Hooker’s limits have been boundless.” He has numerous releases, some of them on the Knitting Factory Label and is also an organizer of the ‘Rhythm in the Kitchen’ music festival.
In tonight’s performance he will be accompanied by Matt Lavelle on trumpet, Mark Hennen on piano and Larry Roland on bass.

Djuke music, a term branded by guitarist On Ka’a Davis himself, is a highly personal mix of Afrobeat, free jazz, funk and cosmic voodoo blues – “another world never imagined possible from the undying, ever growing counter culture crucible of downtown NY” (John Zorn).
Davis, a Ohio native, was a member of the Sun Ra Arkestra in the 80’s, has played with Matthew Shipp, Luther Thomas and Andrew Lamb and has recent releases on Tzadik and LiveWired.
Tonight’s line up of the Djuke Players is the band he has been working with for the last several years: Welf Dorr on alto sax, Nick Gianni on baritone sax, Cavassa Nickens on bass and Peter Barr on drums.

The Welf Dorr Unit was initiated last year with a performance at Arts for Arts/Evolving Music Series and features next to Dorr on alto sax Dave Ross on guitar, Dmitry Ishenko on bass and Joe Hertenstein on drums.
The music of the WDU combines improvised music with funk and rock. Dorr cites James Blood Ulmer in his No Wave period as a major influence. "Jazz is the teacher, funk is the preacher."
Dorr, originally from Munich (Germany), lives since 1995 in NY where he has played/recorded with Sonny Simmons, Sabir Mateen and Frank Lacy. He is a member of Karl Berger’s Improvisers Orchestra, Kenny Wollesen’s Himalayas, the Nublu Orchestra conducted by the late Butch Morris and works mostly with his brass band Underground Horns.

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