“We Sick” album release party

Performed and recorded in a church just across the street from the Minnesota State Capitol on December 28, 2020, only months after Minneapolis police murdered George Floyd, We Sick (on innova Recordings, the in-house record label of American Composers Forum) is a record of staggeringly emotional improvised music, full of contemplation, fear, and fury. deVon Russell Gray’s (aka dVRG) piano haunts the corners and cornices and interweaves with Nathan Hanson’s lyrical saxophone. Davu Seru’s drumming finds its place masterfully everywhere outside of and in between these two other elements, propelling, pulling, and singing. We Sick is a dance and a statement; it will appeal to fans of any work associated with the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), of which Seru is an affiliate.

The music of We Sick is surrender: lyricism as it moves from interior to exterior, moaning within the living space of a sanctuary. The sanctuary recorded in a church 150 years old and, rendered vacant by COVID, became an ensemble member through its acoustics and ambiance.

The music made that day in that old empty church reflects the feelings of isolation from community, hunger for justice, and the weariness of the wait. On Friday, April 28, the recording of this incredible day is being released, offered as a humble confession and renewed covenant from Cedar stage.

The Cedar Presents

deVON RUSSELL GRAY, NATHAN HANSON, DAVU SERU release concert for “WE SICK,” with Tish Jones.

Friday, April 28, 2023 / Doors: 7:00 PM CT / Show: 8:00 PM CT

$17 Advance, $22 Day of Show

To order your tickets, click here.

ABOUT DEVON RUSSELL GRAY

Pianist deVon Russell Gray is a musical polyglot organically fusing contemporary classical, jazz, hip hop, Afrofuturistic, and popular music performance practices and styles. Gray’s music takes listeners on an outermost and deeply resonant journey. He approaches newness with a refreshing and enlightening sense of mystery, wonder, and beauty.

ABOUT NATHAN HANSON

Saxophonist Nathan Hanson makes music that invites listeners to stand outside themselves and the flow of time. His improvisations are “lithe and soaring… engaging in judicious honk ‘n’ splatter” (New York City Jazz Record). Hanson investigates how to channel the sound of each performance space. The energy of the audience circulates with the music, silence and breath. The effect leads listeners to become more present to the unfolding of each moment.

ABOUT DAVU SERU

Drummer Davu Seru is an improvising musician and composer. He’s worked with numerous improvising musicians and composers throughout the U.S. and France. He is bandleader for the ensembles Motherless Dollar and No Territory Band. He’s curated concert series for more than 20 years and has received commissions from the Zeitgeist Ensemble and Walker Art Center. Davu is a published author, assistant professor in the Department of English at Hamline University, and an affiliate of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).