James Powers’ New Communion

A new medium-sized ensemble explores Pan-African philosophy as it relates to the creation of music.

Lineup: James Powers, trombone and compositions; Machado Mijiga, saxophone; Lhanna Writesel, saxophone and flute; Xylyn Hathaway, bass; Amenta Abioto, voice/synthesizer/sampling/looping; more musicians TBA.

Vibe: spirited, honest, spontaneous

James Powers is an urban hermit. A warlock using a trombone as his familiar, pressed into service to exact a furious intensity onto every molecule of air situated between the base of his diaphragm and your tympanic membrane. Tiny daggers of sound digging shallow divots in your innermost sanctum, sewing a seed of inventive descent, and fertilizing the garden of your spirit. Those who would choose to cross his path need not be cognoscenti but should proceed with an appreciation for the arts of both bombastic and calculated varieties and be willing to open themselves to the beauty and sorrow of the world. They will be rewarded.