Saturday, October 10, 2009
Noon - 6:00pm
Reception:
7:00 - 10:00pm

Davis Commons
John Natsoulas Gallery

All events are FREE!

the Davis Jazz Festival is co-sponsored by John Natsoulas Gallery and Davis Downtown Business Association.

The Davis Jazz Artists Festival: Beyond the Beat Generation

"I don't know of anyone else who is doing this level of interdisciplinary collaboration between the visual, musical and literary arts. It's the great work."
-Joyce Jenkins, Poetry Flash

"Those for whom the San Francisco Beat phenomenon is merely the stuff of legend can get a taste of the real thing in an all-day conference sponsored by the John Natsoulas Gallery in Davis."
-Kenneth Baker, San Francisco Chronicle

The Beat Goes on! Experience an intimate festival filled with poetry readings and painting improvisation set to the rhythm of live jazz. Hosted by the John Natsoulas Center for the Arts, this is a unique opportunity for attendees to experience exclusive performances, a thorough collection of Beat art, and later meet firsthand with the world-renowned poets, jazz musicians, and painters of the Beat Generation.

This 8th annual event is the premier collaborative conference in the region. A pre-festival concert hosted by local radio station, KDVS will feature numerous beat poets and jazz musicians while the following evening, Friday October 9th will include an exclusive screening of the beat documentary “San Francisco’s Wild History Groove” directed by Mary Kerr. On Saturday October 10th, jazz musicians, accompanied by live painters and beat poets, will perform on two alternating stages for a day of non-stop jazz. Some performers include Yolo Mambo, Motoshi Kosako and the Brubeck Institute Quintet.

A concurrent gallery-wide exhibition of Beat art will include paintings from the some of the most intriguing artists of the era. Our two live venues will feature the artists working at a rapid pace in a public venue- a unique and exclusive privilege for the audience.

Additionally, the Jack Kerouac Annual Poetry contest will be held offering the winner the chance to read their poetry at the conference as well as a $50 cash prize. See the official rules and guidelines.

Motoshi was born in the sister city of Sacramento, Matsuyama City, Japan. Motoshi began his long pursuit of music at three years of age, with the piano, then continued with the guitar. His love of music has influenced his life deeply. In Japan all through his studies in The University of Tokyo, with university level Judo competition, and in becoming a sushi chef, music was always a driving beat to his life. This drive and rhythm comes through no matter what instrument he is playing. Whether he is performing for a private wedding or event, or performing on stage with his electric guitar. His dedication and passion are always evident in the preciseness of his playing. In Tokyo he played the acoustic and electric guitar in professional Jazz bands and the Swing Journal magazine described him as "one of the most remarkable young Jazz musicians."

In 1997, Mr. Kosako moved to the United States and soon after, he gave up the guitar completely and started playing the harp. He is primarily self-taught with a few lessons from Dominique Piana of Holly Name College (Oakland, CA) to learn fundamental harp technique. He began performing numerous concerts as a soloist and as an accompanist for singers, flutists and violinists. Writing music for productions, and playing for public events. In 2002 and 2003 he recorded his first two solo albums Celestial Harp I and Celestial Harp II. In 2006 Motoshi had the distinguished honor of being named principal harpist of the Stockton Symphony Orchestra, under the very capable baton of Conductor, Mr. Peter Jaffe.

You can also see him playing for the Folsom Lake Symphony Orchestra, Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra and many Choirs. In early spring of 2006, Motoshi began to turn his mind to the possibility of playing jazz, his preference in music, on the harp. Motoshi spent many hours studying, listening to the greats, to other Jazz Harpists, and became convinced that he could, and would play, what he terms hard core jazz on the harp. Which brought him to Salt Lake City, August 1st, before the most qualified, respected Jazz Harp professional of our time, to play for them at the International Jazz Harp Competition. Where in he won 2nd place, with his "ground breaking" style.

Andy Jones has taught for the English Department and the University Writing Program since 1990. Originally trained as a poet and interpreter of poetry, Andy has taught classes at UC Davis on TS Eliot, the Poetry of the Beat Generation, and Close Reading of Poetry, as well as the Advanced Poetry Workshop. Andy serves as faculty advisor to The Voice, the campus Undergraduate Health Journal; regularly speaks before groups of students assembled by Student Advising, the McNair Scholars Program, Professors for the Future, and the UCD Medical School's Post-Baccalaureate Program; and hosts "Dr. Andy's Poetry and Technology Hour" on radio station KDVS. His recent publications include an essay on Beat Art and Poetry in Lifescapes Magazine, and a book of poetry, Split Stock, that Andy co-authored with Writing Program colleague Brad Henderson. Currently Andy is working on a new book, Cages, and enjoys co-hosting a poetry series at Bistro 33 in Davis on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month.

Keith Kumasen Abbott teaches writing and art at Naropa University. He teaches a writing workshop Mind Moving, on Naropa University's writing lineage including Kerouac, Snyder, Whalen, Kyger and others. He has published essays on Philip Whalen and other Beat poets, as well as his own work which appears regularly in various journals. His memoir of Richard Brautigan will be published in the fall of this year.

Keith will perform poems by Philip Whalen, Gary Snyder, Jack Kerouac's prose and work by other Beat generation writers, as well as some of his own work.

Nancy Ostrovsky was born in North Africa and lived in various countries in Asia, and it is this past that is at the heart of her oeuvre. Ostrovsky has been called "one of the pioneers of performance painting." She creates "Paintings to Music" as she shares the stage with a live jazz band. Ostrovsky uses the immediacy of the musicians, the music and environment to interpret the performance in a highly original and innovative context.