Improv Lab, Vol. 2

Following a one-of-a-kind concert experience that transformed a movie theatre into an intimate listening room last fall, the Charlottetown Improvisation Laboratory will return to City Cinema with Volume 2 on February 8 at 7:30 pm.

The brainchild of bassist Adam Hill, the lab brings together five musicians who’ve never performed together for an evening of never-before-heard music. Combining artists that hail from different genres with diverse musical experiences, the project challenges the members of the ensemble to find a common musical language. 

This iteration features Karen Graves (Atlantic String Machine) on violin, Siddhu Sachidananda (Umbrella Collective) on keyboards, Tom Gammons (Inn Echo) on guitar, and Ryan Drew (PEI Symphony Orchestra) on percussion, and Hill on bass. 

For this event, each member of the band has composed a brand-new piece of music based on the concept of “structured improvisation.” The tunes are written with some elements of notation, but each one includes plenty of room for interpretation and risk-taking. The composers will trade turns directing the musical material, while everyone on stage and in the audience gets to participate in the conversation. Along with the new compositions, Hill will lead the band through a few not-so-standards that will build connections between the repertoire and give each performer an opportunity to shine. To top things off, Hill has created a dynamic visual backdrop to be projected behind the band; the ambient colour-textures complementing the spontaneous music being created on stage.

Advance tickets can be purchased online at citycinema.ca. Both adult and student/artist prices are available.