Human Activity Suite Brad Shepik & Ron Samworth

• 1 Lima (South America) 00:00
• 2 Blindspot -North America 00:00
• 3 Human Activity 00:00
• 4 Stir (Antarctica) 00:00
• 5 Not So Far (Australia) 00:00
• 6 Current 00:00
• 7 Carbonic 00:00
• 8 Blue Marble (Africa) 00:00
• 9 By a Foot (Europe) 00:00
• 10 Waves (Asia) 00:00
• Total Runtime 00:00

Info for Human Activity Suite

Brad Shepik premiered his work Human Activity Suite: Sounding a Response to Climate Change in New York. It was born out of his concern for the environment and the impact of climate change. Shepik, who is drawn to the music of other countries, wrote one tune for each of the seven continents, augmenting the suite with three more. His compositions soak up the music of various lands, showcasing his adaptation of the folk forms—albeit, as he says, filtered through the prism of Brooklyn. If anything, the blend becomes all the more fascinating in his hands and those of his band.

A virtuosic guitarist, Shepik also plays the tambura and electric saz on this outing. The instruments serve to augment the sonic ambience of the compositions. 'Stir' carves a place for the tambura, the drone of the instrument complementing the bass of Drew Gress and then the guitar. Shepik plays with a clean linearity, the melody calm in its devolution yet warm in its demeanor.
Gary Versace creates a resonant atmosphere as he wraps his accordion around the African melody of 'Blue Marble.' The tempo of the song shifts constantly. Shepik leaps into the framework, drinking from the fount of the melody. He knows how to get the best out of the harmony as well and turns in another eloquent performance. Shepik envelops jazz in the arrangements. The music does not always have the primary position, but it is a palpable presence. 'By A Foot' is set in jazz terrain by trumpeter Ralph Alessi, whose trenchant lines are in sharp contrast to the cool of Versace's piano. The momentum is at odds but the balance is perfect.

'Waves' is a joyous delight as it pulls in wide-ranging music from Indian to Arabic and Oriental. Shepik has fused the width among them seamlessly and the soloists take up the challenge and make it a triumph. (Jerry D‘Souza, all-about-jazz, March 2009)

Brad Shepik, Electric, acoustic guitars, tambura, electric saz
Ralph Alessi, Trumpet
Gary Versace, Piano, organ, accordion
Drew Gress, Bass
Tom Rainey, Drums

Brad Shepik - Guitar
In addition to his own groups, Brad Shepik has performed and/or recorded with Paul Motian, Joey Baron, Carla Bley, Charlie Haden, Dave Douglas, oud/violin virtuoso Simon Shaheen, Yuri Yunakov’s Bulgarian Wedding Band and others.

Born in Walla Walla, Washington and raised in Seattle, Brad Shepik began playing guitar at age 10, when he picked up his father's instrument. He continued to play both guitar and saxophone in school bands and studied guitar with Al Galante and Dave Petersen. He earned a B.F.A from Cornish College of the Arts and a Masters in Jazz Performance/Composition from New York University.
Since arriving in New York in 1990, Shepik has been involved several bands including Dave Douglas' Tiny Bell Trio, Matt Darriau's Paradox Trio, Pachora w/Chris Speed, Jim Black and Skuli Sverrisson, and BABKAS. He has also performed with Carla Bley's Escalator Over the Hill, Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra and toured and recorded with Paul Motian’s Electric Bebop Band for 5 years. Concurrently, the guitarist extended his interest in world music idioms by performing and recording in such groups as Yuri Yunakov's Bulgarian Wedding Band and Simon Shaheen’s Quantara. Shepik’s first two records as a leader, The Loan and The Well, were praised for their marriage of world music styles and jazz.
Shepik also co-led two world music tinged trios; Triduga with accordionist Yuri Lemeshev and Tony Scherr on bass balalaika, and Lingua Franca with Peter Epstein and Matt Kilmer. In 2000 Shepik began re-examining the traditional guitar/bass/drums format with drummer Tom Rainey and bassist Scott Colley. They recorded two cd’s, Drip and Short Trip, both of which were critically acclaimed and featured on NPR.
Shepik's current working band is a trio with Gary Versace, organ and Rainey, drums. The band has performed at festivals across Europe and North America. Their latest release “Places You Go” received a 4 star review in Downbeat and appeared on several “Best CD’s of 2007” lists. Shepik also continues to tour with drummer Joey Baron’s Killer Joey, udist/violinist Simon Shaheen, George Schuller's Circle Wide, Matt Darriau’s Paradox Trio, Alexis Cuadrado Puzzles Quartet, Arthur Kell Quartet, Combo Nuvo, Bob Brookmeyer’s Quartet East and others.
'Human Activity Suite', a 10 movement piece about climate change for jazz quintet was released in February 2009 on Songlines Recordings. It features Shepik on guitars, saz and tambura as well as Ralph Alessi (trumpet), Gary Versace (piano, organ, accordion), Drew Gress (bass) and Tom Rainey (drums).
Shepik's latest band is the Brad Shepik Quartet with Tom Beckham (vibes), Jorge Roeder (bass) and Mark Guiliana (drums). The group released it's debut recording 'Across the Way' in February 2011.

Ron Samworth
Vancouver-based guitarist/composer Ron Samworth is known on the Canadian improvised/contemporary music scene as an inventive textural improviser and a strong fluid melodicist informed and inspired by a variety of music traditions including jazz, rock, new music and traditional music of many cultures. He leads the acclaimed Vancouver-based quartet Talking Pictures and co-directed the NOW Orchestra for ten years and the indie rock bands Darkblueworld and the Luscious. He is also a member of the Peggy Lee Band and the Hard Rubber Orchestra. His has performed and recorded with numerous international artists including John Zorn, George Lewis, Evan Parker, Fred Frith, Han Bennink, Dave Douglas, Robin Holcomb and Wayne Horvitz.

He has appeared at all the major Jazz Festivals across Canada, the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville, at New York’s Knitting Factory, and the New York Improvisation Festival, New Music America, Vienna’s “Let’s Cool One” Chamber Jazz Festival, Chicago and Berlin jazz festivals and other leading venues in Europe. His inter-disciplinary work includes composition, performance and sound design for theatre, spoken word, film, and dance. He has composed music for Talking Pictures, Standing Wave, the Hard Rubber Orchestra, the NOW Orchestra and EDAM Dance Company. Samworth is also a longtime member and from 1992 to 2003 the artistic director of the New Orchestra Workshop (NOW), and a co-curator of a weekly concert series at Vancouver’s grunt Gallery from 1987 to 1994.

Samworth has received numerous Canada Council awards, was twice nominated as Canadian jazz critics guitarist of the year, as well as nominations for Jessie awards (Vancouver theatre) and a Dora (national theatre award) nomination. In 1990, Samworth won the prestigious CBC/Alcan Grand Prix Concours de Jazz with the group Creatures of Habit.

He was a faculty member of the Banff Center Jazz Workshop in 2009 and has taught at the Capilano University jazz studies programme since 1997.

Booklet for Human Activity Suite