Amy Denio (born June 9, 1961) is a

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

-based multi-instrumental composer of soundtracks for

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

, film and theater, as well as a songwriter and music

improviser Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

. Her inspirations include world music, and is mainly known as a vocalist,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

ist and saxophone-player. Among her current musical involvements are The Tiptons Sax Quartet (formerly The

Billy Tipton Billy Tipton (December 29, 1914 – January 21, 1989) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and talent broker. Tipton lived and identified as a man for most of his adult life; after his death, friends and family were surprised to learn that ...

Memorial Saxophone Quartet) and Die Resonanz Stanonczi, a radical folk group based in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

, Austria. She has also collaborated repeatedly with the

Pat Graney Pat Graney is an American activist and choreographer, based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. She founded the Pat Graney Dance Company in 1991, and continues to serve as its artistic director and executive director. Childhood and educa ...

Dance Company,

David Dorfman David Dorfman (born February 7, 1993) is an American attorney and former actor. He portrayed Aidan Keller in the 2002 horror film remake '' The Ring'', and its 2005 sequel ''The Ring Two''. His other film roles include Sammy in ''Panic'', Joey ...

Dance Company,

Victoria Marks Victoria Marks (born 1954) is a professor of choreography in the Department of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA, where she has been teaching since 1995. Before taking her post at UCLA she lived in London, where for three and a half years she worke ...

, and with many other choreographers. Her first recording was ''No Bones'' released as a cassette on her record label Spoot Music in 1986. Her first LP was with the Entropics. She founded Tiptons in 1987, and also started

Tone Dogs Tone Dogs was an avant-prog group founded in 1987 by bassist Fred Chalenor and vocalist/saxophonist Amy Denio, who comprised the nucleus of the band. Drummer Matt Cameron, known for his work in the alternative rock group Soundgarden, was recrui ...

with bassist

Fred Chalenor Fred Chalenor (December 29, 1955 – June 23, 2018) was an American bassist, most recognized for his work in the bands Caveman Shoestore, Tone Dogs, and Face Ditch. He also collaborated on numerous occasions with composer and keyboardist Wayne ...

. Tone Dogs' first release '' Ankety Low Day'' was nominated to be nominated (sic) for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

Award. She has performed and recorded with (among others)

Matt Cameron Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986. He appeared on each of ...

KMFDM KMFDM (originally Kein Mehrheit Für Die Mitleid, loosely translated by the band as "no pity for the majority") is a multinational industrial band from Hamburg led by Sascha Konietzko, who founded the band in 1984 as a performance art project. ...

Curlew The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been in ...

Fred Frith Jeremy Webster "Fred" Frith (born 17 February 1949) is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock ...

, Pointless Orchestra, Francisco López, Danny Barnes, Pale Nudes, Blowhole, the Danubians, The Science Group,

Chris Cutler Chris Cutler (born 4 January 1947) is an English percussionist, composer, lyricist and music theorist. Best known for his work with English avant-rock group Henry Cow, Cutler was also a member and drummer of other bands, including Art Bears, Ne ...

Guy Klucevsek Guy Klucevsek (born February 26, 1947) is an American-born accordionist and composer. Klucevsek is one of relatively few accordion players active in new music, jazz and free improvisation. Klucevsek was born in New York City, and raised outside ...

Pauline Oliveros Pauline Oliveros (May 30, 1932 – November 24, 2016) was an American composer, accordionist and a central figure in the development of post-war experimental and electronic music. She was a founding member of the San Francisco Tape Music Center ...

, Relâche Ensemble,

Hoppy Kamiyama is a Japanese keyboardist and music producer who has worked with artists such as eX-Girl, The Pugs, Bradford Reed, Bill Laswell, Jan Linton, Marc Ribot, Hugh Hopper/Elton Dean and Damo Suzuki. Biography His record company, God Mountain, was na ...

, Derek Bailey,

Chuck D Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...

Dennis Rea Dennis Rea (born July 7, 1957) is an American guitarist, author, and music event organizer. He was a member of the electronic music group Earthstar (band), Earthstar in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He leads the progressive rock quintet Morain ...

Bill Rieflin William Frederick Rieflin (September 30, 1960 – March 24, 2020) was an American musician. Rieflin came to prominence in the 1990s mainly for his work as a drummer with groups (particularly in the industrial rock and industrial metal scene ...

, Quintetto alla busara, Kultur Shock, and the

Shaking Ray Levis The Shaking Ray Levis is an ongoing collaboration of musicians with a common interest in free improvisation. The project was conceived and led by the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based team of Dennis Palmer and Bob Stagner. They use storytelling, synt ...

Biography

Amy Denio attended Brookside School and Kingswood School Cranbrook in

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a small city (5.04 sq. miles) in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is approximately northwest of Downtown Detroit. Except a small southern border with the city of Bir ...

from kindergarten through 12th grade, graduating in 1979. She became an

autodidact Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individua ...

ic musician at age 12, quitting piano and starting guitar. She attended

Colorado College Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory. The college enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduates at its campus. The college offer ...

, and also

Hampshire College Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...

, graduating with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

Music Composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called c ...

and Improvisation from Hampshire in 1984. She is self-taught on guitar, electric bass, drums, saxophone, clarinet, accordion, and various world instruments. She was sponsored by

Jazz India Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

to live in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and study

Thumri Thumri () is a vocal genre or style of Indian music. The term "thumri" is derived from the Hindi verb ''thumuknaa'', which means "to walk with a dancing gait in such a way that the ankle-bells tinkle." The form is, thus, connected with dance, dra ...

, Northern Indian vocal technique from Dhanashree Pandit-Rai in 1997. Since 1988, she has performed at festivals in India, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Brazil, Argentina, North America, and throughout East and Western Europe. From 1985–1990, Denio was Programming Office Coordinator at the Seattle headquarters of Yesco Foreground Music, which later merged with

Muzak Muzak is an American brand of background music played in retail stores and other public establishments. The name has been in use since 1934, and has been owned by a division or subsidiary of one or another company ever since. In 1981, Westingh ...

. In 2007, she was commissioned by the Dream Community in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

to arrange, record and produce Taiwanese aboriginal and popular music with

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

rhythms from

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. These arrangements were performed by

junior high A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

school students at the Camphor Tree School, who are from the Amis tribe of Taiwan. She has taught workshops on composition, improvisation, and extended vocal techniques throughout the US and Europe. She produced two albums for the Mediterranean band OU and collaborates with them live (http://oumusic.org/).

Discography

*Amy Denio: ''No Bones'' (1986 Spoot Music) *The Entropics: ''Spagga!'' (1987

PopLlama Records PopLlama Records is an independent record label founded by record producer Conrad Uno in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. After making several of his own demos in his basement studio, Uno would produce The Young Fresh Fellows' debut album ''The Fab ...

) *Amy Denio: ''Never Too Old To Pop A Hole'' (1988 Spoot Music) *Amy Denio: ''No Elevators'' (1988 Spoot Music) *

: ''Live in Haarlem, NL'' (1988 Spoot Music) *Amy Denio: ''Birthing Chair Blues'' (1991 Spoot Music) *

: '' Ankety Low Day'' (1991 Spoot Music) *

: ''

The Early Middle Years ''The Early Middle Years'' is the second studio album by Tone Dogs, released in 1991 by Soleilmoon Recordings. In reviewing the album for '' Option'', critic Mark Sullivan said, "The Tone Dogs play art-rock with a hard edge, their experimental str ...

'' (1992 Spoot Music) *Amy Denio: ''Tongues'' (1993 Spoot Music) *Curlew: ''A Beautiful Western Saddle'' (1993

Cuneiform Records Cuneiform Records is a record label in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1984, the label releases an mixture of musical styles, all with a Rock in Opposition aesthetic, including progressive jazz, jazz fusion, the Canterbury scene, and electr ...

) *Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet: ''Saxhouse'' (1993 Spoot & Zipa Music) *The (EC) Nudes: ''Vanishing Point'' (1994 ReR) *BTMSQ: ''make it funky god'' (1994 hornhut records) *Blowhole: ''Gathering'' (1994 co-op release by Giardia, Fusetron & Carburetor record labels) *Pale Nudes: ''Wise to the Heat'' (1995 RecDec) *Fomoflo: ''Slug & Firearms'' (1996 God Mountain) *Fomoflo: ''No.11'' (1997 God Mountain) *BTMSQ: ''Box'' (1996 New World Records) *BTMSQ & Ne Zhdali: ''Pollo d'Oro'' (1997 No Man's Land) *Danubians (1999 Cuneiform Records) *Amy Denio: ''The Greatest Hits'' (1999 Unit Circle Rekkids) *BTMSQ: ''Sunshine Bundtcake'' (2000 New World Records) *Amy Denio: ''Tattoo oundtrack' (2000 Unit Circle Rekkids) *Amy Denio & Petunia: ''To Lie Tenderly'' (2000 Spoot Music) *Amy Denio & Francisco López: ''Belle Confusion 00'' (2001 Absolute/Anomalous) *Amy Denio: ''TASOGARE (Twilight)'' (2001 Public Eyesore) *Amy Denio and Quintetto alla Busara: ''Quintetto alla busara'' (2002 BBC-Spoot) *Amy Denio: ''Chickenhawks Ought Not'' (2002 Spoot Music) *George Cartwright: ''The Memphis Years'' (2002 Cuneiform Records) *Amy Denio: "Halloween Howls" (2003 Jammin' Unit) *Billies: ''Short Cuts'' (2003 Spoot & Zipa) *Amy Denio & Martin Hayes: ''Vivian Girls'' (2004 Spoot Music) *Pale Nudes: ''Soul Come Home'' (2004 RecDec) *Tiptons: ''Tsunami'' (2004 No Man's Land/Spoot & Zipa) *Tiptons: ''Surrounded by Horns'' (2004 Stockfisch) *Tiptons: ''Drive'' (2005 Spoot & Zipa) *Amy Denio & Francesco Calandrino: ''Venerdi' Santo'' (2006 Spoot Music) *Derek Bailey/Amy Denio/Dennis Palmer: ''The Gospel Record'' (2005 Levi Recordings) *Die Resonanz Stanonczi: ''Live At Jazzit'' (2006 No Man's Land) *Die Resonanz Stanonczi: ''Edelbrand'' (2008 No Man's Land) *The Tiptons Sax Quartet: ''Laws Of Motion'' (2008 Spoot & Zipa) *Amy Denio: ''sub-Rosa'' (2008 Aphonia Recordings) *The Tiptons Sax Quartet: ''Strange flower'' (2010 Spoot & Zipa) *Amy Denio: ''Prodigal Light'' (2013 Spoot Music) *Ou (music by Ersilia Prosperi): ''Pisces Crisis'' (2014 Spoot Music) - AS PRODUCER *Ou (music by Ersilia Prosperi): ''Scrambled!'' (2015 Spoot Music) - AS PRODUCER *Ed Mondo (Ersilia Prosperi & Diana Tejera): ''Oops!'' (2016) - AS PRODUCER

References

External links

Amy Denio and Spoot MusicCurrent Homepage
*Michael Upchurch

''Seattle Times'', April 3, 2010. Includes three videos of performances. {{DEFAULTSORT:Denio, Amy 1961 births Living people American jazz composers Women jazz composers American women composers Musicians from Seattle The Minus 5 members Tone Dogs members 21st-century American saxophonists Women jazz saxophonists 21st-century American women musicians The Tiptons Sax Quartet members