Skúli Sverrisson live at (le) poisson rouge March 15 2011

From a release:

Skúli Sverrisson to perform live at (le) poisson rouge
with Anthony Burr, Brad Shepik, Eivind Opsvik, Caleb Burhans, Brandon Seabrook, plus special guests
Tuesday, March 15

Skúli Sverrisson Releases SERIA and SERIA II.
A Set Bearing the Master Musician's Life Experience in Jazz, Rock and New Music, with Folk-like Directness of Expression and a Pop-like Seductiveness.

Layers of pulsating strings. Streams of cinematic texture. Expanses of heartfelt melody. These are all aspects of the musical world of Skúli Sverrisson, a twenty-first century virtuoso composer and multi-instrumentalist from Iceland, who has united broad swaths of contemporary music into a unique personal language. Skúli's music is as warm-hearted as it is advanced. A Set Likely to Appeal to Fans of John Fahey and Brian Eno, as well to fans of Philip Glass and Fennesz.

Sería is a set of hypnotic, labyrinthine songs - dense webs of finger-picked guitars and basses, mostly played by Skúli and Amadeo Pace (Blonde Redhead), with broad waves of strings by Eyvind Kang (Bill Frisell, Sunn O))) and Hildur Gudnadottir (Pan Sonic, Nico Muhly) and bass clarinets, pedal steel and keyboards by Anthony Burr (Jim O’Rourke, LaMonte Young, Klangforum Wien). Three tracks feature exquisite vocals by Ólöf Arnalds, and one features the inimitable voice of Skúli's longtime collaborator Laurie Anderson. Sería won "Best Album of the Year" in the 2006 Icelandic Music Awards.

The brand new Sería II adds new layers of vivid instrumental color and melody. Mostly recorded in Iceland in 2009, Skúli's sonic palette has grown to include electric keyboards and ringing toy piano resembling a classic soundtrack by Nino Rota or Ennio Morricone.  Skúli's unique instrumental and compositional voice remains distinct, as do those of his continuing partners: Pace, Kang and Burr as well as Olof Arnalds, Hildur Gudnadottir and David Thor. Sería II is a haunting, mysterious album, with a rare depth of feeling and sonic richness.

-Ted Reichman 2011

Over the past two decades, composer/bass guitarist Skuli Sverrisson has worked with a veritable who’s who of the experimental world, from free jazz legends (Wadada Leo Smith, Derek Bailey) to music icons (Lou Reed, Jon Hassel, David Sylvian, Arto Lindsay) and composers (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Johann Johannsson, and Hildur Gudnadottir). Sverrisson is also  known for his work as an artistic director for Olöf Arnalds (Innundir Skinni, Vid og Vid), recordings with Blonde Redhead and as a musical director for legendary performance artist Laurie Anderson.

He has released a series of duo albums in collaboration with artists such as Anthony Burr, Oskar Gudjonsson and Hilmar Jensson. He has been a member of many influential groups including Pachora, Alas No Axis, The Allan Holdsworth Group and The Ben Monder Group. Sverrisson has also composed music for The Icelandic Dance Company (Open Source), The National Theatre of Iceland (Volva), and numerous films and installations, such as "Welcome" and "Music for Furniture" with Olafur Thordason, "Spacial Meditation" with Claudia Hill and "When it was Blue" with Jennifer Reeves.

Sverrisson founded Seria, an ongoing ensemble featuring Amedeo Pace (Blonde Redhead), Olöf Arnalds, David Thor Jonsson, Anthony Burr, Eyvind Kang, and Hildur Gudnadottir in 2005 and released Seria in 2006 and Seria ll in 2010. He has appeared on over 100 recordings and has performed around the world with a wide range of artists. Recent works include series of live film /music performances with experimental film maker Jennifer Reeves, three new recordings of the ongoing collaboration with Anthony Burr, and a new duo recording with Oskar Gudjonsson. Sverrisson has been awarded 5 Icelandic Music Awards, including Icelandic Album of the Year for Seria in 2006.

Skúli Sverrisson live at (le) poisson rouge
• with Anthony Burr, Brad Shepik, Eivind Opsvik, Caleb Burhans, Brandon Seabrook, plus special guests
• Tuesday, March 15
• 9:30pm doors | 10:00pm show

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