COMMON GOALS, UNCOMMON TONES

Damian Catera and Bryan Beninghove are among the diverse musical talents coming together for The MusicFest for the Homeless.
By Vincent Berrini

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In the past, Damian Catera has joked that as an experimental composer/musician and media artist, he works in a genre which often appears to have more participants than audience members.

So it is fascinating, for both performer and audience, that Catera -- who over the years has worked with everyone from Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and Thurston Moore to jazz composer Anthony Braxton -- has found himself on a benefit bill on January 31, at MusicFest for the Homeless at Victory Hall in Jersey City, surrounded by a disparate group of performers from all genres, and likely in front of an atypical auduence.

Bryan Beninghove, who is also on the bill, in some ways represents the opposite side of the coin. As a jazz musician, Beninghove has performed in front of everyone and anyone for quite some time. In addition to his regular weekly gigs at the Iron Monkey in Jersey City, where he holds court every Thursday with his organ trio, he has performed in situations as diverse as "big-time weddings" and corporate functions, and an occasional odd outdoor gig such as the one he performed at the Journal Square PATH station interpreting holiday standards. As a performer, Benninghove is both a people-pleaser and a jazz cat with serious chops and an unquenchable thirst for musical creativity and expression.

Experimental deCompositions

Catera began his professional musical career in the mid 1980s as the principal force in ConDemek, whose work was highly political in nature, and which in many ways acted as a creative extention for Catera's political activism. Between 1985 and 1997, ConDemek endured several lineup changes and spawned three albums and countless live performances, including Catera's first tour of Europe, a feat which he has since repeated as a solo artist. Since the days of ConDemek, Catera has performed several hundred shows including stints in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, and a 2000 performance in Cuba. There have been several full-length releases in this time, including several with Skyline, a more electronic-oriented project, and a collaoration with Zeni Geva's KK Null.

More recently, his music has become less overtly political, although, as he stated, "everything is political to some extent; nothing exists in a vaccum." Since 1998, Catera has focused on a series of works known as deComposition. Each of these performances incorporates a unique element of what Catera calls "machine improvisation", in which a laptop, by process of feeding bits of his live guitar performance back to the performer in real time, becomes an active collaborator and participant, utilizing programs written by Catera himself. He has also staged deComposion performances which incorporate live radio broadcasts into the creative process. In these pieces, Catera plays with snatches of broadcasts which are then sonically manipulated through the laptop and spit back at the performer.

At MusicFest for the Homeless, Catera plans intends to perform a piece for guitar and laptop. "I'm excited because I only get to do these pieces a few times a year," Catera explaned. The guitar-and-laptop-only deComposition pieces tend to be more straightforward then the radio deComposition pieces, though straightforward is relative considering the performer is Catera.

Catera is looking forward to the opportunity to perform for such a diverse audiance. "It's funny," he said, "I was so enthused to participate in a homeless benefit that I agreed to it before I really thought about the context. That said, I see myself as a bridge builder and really like the idea of performing in a context that is unusual for this type of music. It's really easy to preach to the converted and much more challenging to go outside of my realm." Catera concluded, "I appreciate the challange and I appreciate the opportunity."

JC's Jazzman

Beninghove has led, and continues to lead, a variety of eclectic jazz combos. Over the years, he has occasionally found himself performing in some of the same high-profile area venues as Catera, such as Tonic and the Knitting Factory. In the past, Beninghove has collaborated with the likes of eclectic rock band Lake Trout, the New York-based free-jazz LemonJuice Quartet, and the famed Antibalis collective. Throughout 2005 and 2006, his weekly gigs in Jersey City found him collaborating with a different group of players each week. Over the course of approximately one year, approximately 30 musicians passed through the flexible bands from week to week. Members of Beninghove's current bands include organist Kyle Koehler, who has also played with Lou Donaldson, and.drummer Big Don Williams, who for many years played with soul-jazz legends such as Jimmy Smith, Richard Groove Holmes, Jimmy McGriff and Big John Patton.

Beninghove's quartet, consisting of Gene Seigel on guitar, Matt Kane on drums and Joe Bussey on bass, will perform at MusicFest for the Homeless; Beninghove will likely be featured on saxophone and clarinet. The band often incorporates a high swath of jazz styles into its performances, often touching on funk, soul, samba and Latin music. When asked what the set is likely to include on Wednesday, Beninghove suggested, "a little bit of jazz, some free music and some Latin groves."

In addition to this quartet, Beninghove is currently active in several other long-term projects. He has recently collaborated with HEERNT, a project led by Mark Guilliana. Benninghove also leads his own band, Big In Jersey, consisting of John Powell on trumpet, Yayoi Ikawa on electric piano, Joe Bussey on electric bass, Gene Segal on guitar and Matt Kane on drums, which casts Beninghove in a more fusion-oriented light.

"I've lived in Jersey City for close to a decade now and have seen a lot of change but the one thing that doesn't change, at least not for the better, is the amount of people that live on the streets," noted Catera. "There a lot of people who are unfortunately being left behind in this current development boom and it's great to see these organizations coming together to try to address this."

He concluded: "How could I not support this?"

SEE ALSO:
Helping Hudson's Homeless

ON THE WEB:
MusicFest for the Homeless

 

Comments

[Dale Hardman & BrightMoment Meetup]

Great article,Vincent! Fine writing and informative, but then knowing your musical taste are, like mine, widely diverse, I'm not surprised how much I enjoyed reading your first piece for City Belt. I look forward to reading more of what you have to say about our Jersey City environs and I'm sure others do too.

This will be my first time hearing Damian live, but I know well the venues he's played over the years such as Tonic, Roulette and the Knit, among others. I look forward to hearing what tonal soundscapes he presents in this beautiful space with all the art that will be up as well. The conversation should satisfy all the senses and be welcomed by us all.

Damian is the first musician, artist, to volunteer to play for MusicFest and I welcomed his participation, the two of us knowing well that venues do not often present that which they do not know. Of course our mutual interest in the music and art of Captain Beefheart, Ornette and others bodes well for this tonal exploration.

I once heard Steve Lacy do a two hour solo improvised piece in the old Thread Works space in LoBro, as he sinuously "threaded" his way around the sculpture of his friend (I forget the artist), amidst a packed house that he only broke after a continuous soprano solo of over 45 minutes!I think that Damian will have lots of inspiration in the people, the art, the space and the cause that informs this benefit for the homeless that night.

I've seen Bryan kick ass in so many different places, always holding forth on both tenor and soprano, and whether covering standards his way, or latin, brasilian pieces, to a funkified organ meats stew, he always manages to get everyone he plays with and the audience engaged in the moment. I know he will be bringing his best this Wed and that his own personal care for the reasons of this benefit he's provided over and over again in our community, to all our enriched surprise and fun with what he'll do next.

And on Thursday, see Bryan with his Trio at Iron Monkey where they really hold forth and you may see me there too!

Come hear what as Trish McCall aptly calls "the hardest working musician in Jersey City" has to say that night and have your ears open for a pleasant surprise whatever he chooses to play, as well as Damian and the rest of the perfoming artists that night will be a great respite from the cold!

"Bright Moments, Bright Moments, Bright Moments, Right NOW!"---Rahsaan Roland Kirk