Poster by Rashad Assadullahi Chamber-Jazz group Douglas Detrick’s AnyWhen Ensemble and actor Ren Jackson perform “Ishmael and the Whale: A collision of Moby Dick and the Book of Jonah through words and music.” Also performing Sidney Boquiren's Pax Vobiscum and movements from Douglas Detrick's The Bright and Rushing World. Presented by Spark and Echo Arts sparkandecho.org Saturday, March 8th — 8 pm All Things Project, The Neighborhood Church of Greenwich Village 269 Bleecker St., New York, New York 10014 212.691.1770 Free Admission, donations accepted. Please RSVP below. Composer/Trumpeter/Writer Douglas Detrick brings together his chamber-jazz quintet AnyWhen Ensemble with actor Warren Jackson to take a creative yet critical look at how the story of Jonah and the Whale imbues Moby Dick with spiritual mystery and raises a simple narrative to an epic level. Moby Dick is often thought of as the first great American novel, and the balance of Ahab’s primal motivation for revenge with high spiritual themes is a prime reason for this. Inspired by the creative radio documentary series Radio Lab, actor Warren Jackson will perform a text by Douglas Detrick that weaves together the book of Jonah with chapter 9 of Moby Dick — where Melville retells the book of Jonah — in a style that blends critical, journalistic inquiry with a healthy sense of humor and a gratifying enthusiasm for the original texts. At this early point in the novel, the presence of this tale of humility and repentance opens the door to an underpinning of deep religious significance in every twist and turn of the plot. The accompanying music, also by Detrick and performed by him with his AnyWhen Ensemble, will support and expand on the text, helping to bridge the gap between the two original works and between ancient and contemporary audiences by calling on both composed and improvised music to bring an unexpected range of expression to this piece. Also on the program will be movements from Detrick’s 10-movement suite The Bright and Rushing World, a piece that was commissioned by Chamber Music America and will be released on a new recording with Parma Recordings on March 24th. Biographies: Warren Jackson, known lovingly to many simply as Ren, hails from Indianapolis. This Midwest kid was reared in the Baptist church rooted in the tradition of home-folks from South Carolina and Alabama, and sprinkled with a bit of A.M.E. He grew up in the church with strong examples from his family members who served in several ways. Fostered by an enriching Sunday school experience, coupled with the supportive environment of attending a small primary and secondary school, led to opportunities to publish poems in University publications, a text book, and engage in spoken-word forums. Since arriving in New York via Chicago, Ren has focused on his theater career, becoming a company member of Brave New World Repertory. He is currently in an original piece at Premiere Stages and will also be seen in a revival of Thornton Wilder’s THE LONG CHRISTMAS DINNER this winter. He received nominations for his work from the Black Theater of Alliance of Chicago for Best Featured Actor, in Victory Garden’s world premiere of SHOES, and from the regional Emmy board for his ensemble work on Chicago children’s television show, GREEN SCREEN ADVENTURES. He earned his MFA at the University of Arizona. Douglas Detrick is a Portland, Oregon-based composer, trumpet player, and writer whose work in these diverse areas is distinguished by its quiet thoughtfulness and its embrace of good ideas from unconventional sources. He was awarded the 2011 Chamber Music America New Jazz Works and Presenting Jazz grants for his work with his chamber-jazz quintet Douglas Detrick’s AnyWhen Ensemble, and the commissioned work “The Bright and Rushing World” was premiered at New York’s Jazz Gallery in 2012 and performed throughout the United States. Since joining the New York community in 2010 he has performed at the Stone, Jazz Gallery, and Issue Project Room, performed new music by Christian Wolff with the composer and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company at its farewell performance at the Park Avenue Armory, and joined the curatorial team of Dave Douglas’ Festival of New Trumpet Music. The AnyWhen Ensemble’s signature instrumentation sets it apart, but it makes its real impact through bold new compositions that integrate chamber music conception with jazz spontaneity. The AnyWhen Ensemble was awarded the New Jazz Works and Presenting Jazz grant from Chamber Music America in 2011. This extremely competitive grant commissioned a new work by Detrick called The Bright and Rushing World, an ambitious addition to this singular composer’s list of accomplishments. A recording of this work will be released March 25, 2014 on Parma Recordings. The group has performed at the Jazz Gallery and the Stone in New York, and on festivals including the Festival of New Trumpet Music curated by Dave Douglas, and the Is That Jazz? Festival in Seattle, WA curated by Tom Baker. The group has also performed and given master classes at colleges across the country including Cornish College of the Arts, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, University of Oregon, and Willamette University. The AnyWhen Ensemble is Douglas Detrick, composition and trumpet; Hashem Assadullahi, saxophone; Shirley Hunt, cello; Steve Vacchi, bassoon; and Ryan Biesack and drums. #### For more information contact Douglas Detrick — (503)347-1416 or douglasdetrick@gmail.com douglasdetrick.com/anywhen sparkandecho.org