deVon Russell Gray, Matthew Evan Taylor, and Ken Ueno perform at CNMAT

Friday, February 7, 2025, 8:00pm to 9:30pm1750 Arch St.
Berkeley, CA
94707

about the performers:

Who is deVon Russell Gray? A divinely guided multi-media social justice activist or a pantheistic audial
alchemist? Central to his creative practice is the fundamental belief of starting from a place of "I know
nothing" when approaching any new composition, performance, or creative endeavor. Embracing the idea
that empty vessels receive new knowledge more efficiently, he constantly seeks a transformative
death/rebirth process to expand his artistic horizons. Among other known knowns about this artist, Gray
absorbs tremendous inspiration from the natural world, finding solace and reflection in the great outdoors.
He cherishes moments of indulgence in eating, drinking, and merriment, and he possesses a deep
appreciation for activities such as moon gazing, leaf peeping, and immersing himself in the world of
cinema. In his downtime, he reluctantly participates in the commonplace mixed economy, feeling
frustrated by its limitations and yearning for something different. In his uptime, he creates exceptional art
while also taking every opportunity to integrate himself in tent camping adventures.
At present, Gray finds himself at odds with paper music, feeling underwhelmed and unsatisfied with
traditional notation practices. Therefore, his compositions predominantly involve improvisation or aleatoric
elements, allowing for a dynamic and expressive musical experience. Gray understands the power of
music to address socially relevant subjects and uses his platform to engage with issues such as police
brutality, the reclamation of personal autonomy, and the injustices faced by Black/Brown bodies on a daily
basis. Ultimately, as a composer, he is constantly in search of a balanced way to live and work,
recognizing the abundance of both ugliness and beauty in the world. Despite being at a perpetual
crossroads, he remains steadfast in his pursuit of new music, honoring the contributions of his ancestors
and drawing inspiration from the trailblazers and forward-thinking creators who came before him.
A deep-seated rage fuels a ferocious and thunderous storm when Gray embraces one of his chosen
instruments. Congruently, a serene quality opens up spaces simultaneously mystical and timelessly
sensual, urging listeners to transcend the constraints of time and the injustices of this world. With “Come
get free!", he implores those who choose to engage with his work, recognizing the collective work that lies
ahead. In terms of recent accomplishments (as of 2023), Gray's improvisation trio released their debut
album titled "WE SICK" on Innova in April, featuring Nathan Hanson on saxophones, Davu Seru on
percussion, and Gray on piano. Additionally, Gray made his mark as a composer with the lead single on
Lara Downes' latest album, "Love At Last" (Pentatone), which reached number one on the Billboard
classical and classical crossover charts. Furthermore, his first orchestral work was premiered by one of
the groups of the Greater Twin Cities Youth Orchestras, a significant moment that brought his journey full
circle as an alumnus of the organization. Most recently, he received his second composer fellowship from
the McKnight Foundation, an esteemed recognition administered by the American Composers Forum.

Ken Ueno is a composer, performer, sound artist, and scholar. Leading performers and ensembles around the world have championed his music. Ken’s piece for the Hilliard Ensemble, Shiroi Ishi, was featured in their repertoire for over ten years, with performances at such venues as Queen Elizabeth Hall in England, the Vienna Konzerthaus, and was aired on Italian national radio, RAI 3. Another work, Pharmakon, was performed dozens of times nationally by Eighth Blackbird during their 2001-2003 seasons. A portrait concert of Ken’s was featured on MaerzMusik in Berlin in 2011.

As a vocalist, Ueno is known for his bespoke extended techniques and has performed his vocal concerto with major orchestras such as the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Warsaw Philharmonic, and the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with Ryuichi Sakamoto, Du Yun, and Tyshawn Sorey, among others, and maintains ongoing projects with artists like Kung Chi Shing, Viola Yip, and Matt Ingalls.

Ueno’s sound art installations have been exhibited worldwide, including at Art Basel, the Taipei Modern Art Museum, and the New Vision Arts Festival. His large-scale installation, Daedalus Drones, a fence-labyrinth with a nest of flying drones, was installed and premiered at the Asia Society Hong Kong in 2021. Last summer, he was a featured artist on the Noise Fest, curated by the West Kowloon Cultural Center in Hong Kong.

Ueno currently serves as a Professor at the University of California, Berkeley. His writings have been published by the Oxford Handbook, the New York Times, Palgrave Macmillan, The Dance Review (TDR), and Wiley & Sons. His bio appears in The Grove Dictionary of American Music. www.kenueno.com

Dr. Matthew Evan Taylor is an AfroPnuematic composer, multi-instrumentalist, and
improviser who has “…wrestled with the societal boundaries of Black artistry only to
blast them apart…” (Dr. Kori Hill, I Care if You Listen) through creating music that is
“insistent and defiant…envelopingly hypnotic” (Alan Young, Lucid Culture). An artist at
the intersection of concert music, free improvisation, and multi-disciplinary performance,
Matthew has worked with many leading artists and ensembles including the Metropolis
Ensemble, Turtle Island String Quartet featuring Cyrus Chestnut, Elliott Sharp, dancer
Laurel Jenkins, and visual artist Dannielle Tegeder, in front of audiences at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, the World Saxophone Congress 17, CineJazz Film Music
Festival Paris, and the Perez Art Museum Miami. A “risk taker” (Neil De La Flor,
Huffington Post), Matthew’s latest work focuses on expression and liberation through
breath. A subversion of Western aesthetics and philosophy, this music, AfroPneumaism,
replaces chronometric and metronomic time with the human breath. Through this work,
musicians are asked to listen inward as well as across the ensemble, as the audience
joins in the collective act of deliberate breathing.
Matthew’s forthcoming album, Life Returns, will be released in May on Navona Records.
He serves as Assistant Professor of Composition at the University of California,
Berkeley.