The Shaking Ray Levis is an ongoing collaboration of musicians with a common interest in
free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician(s) involved. The term can refer to both a technique (employed by any musician in any genre) and as a recognizable genre in its ...
. The project was conceived and led by the
Chattanooga,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
-based team of
Dennis Palmer and
Bob Stagner. They use storytelling, synthesizers, samplers and percussion to achieve their distinctive sound. They are the first American group to have recorded for
Incus Records
Incus Records is a British record company and label founded by Derek Bailey, Tony Oxley, Evan Parker and Michael Walters that specializes in free jazz and improvised music.
The first release on the label was Incus Number 0 (zero), a 7 “ r ...
, the record label of British free improvisational
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
ist
Derek Bailey. Additionally, they have performed and recorded with
Borbetomagus
Borbetomagus are a free jazz/noise rock group. They are cited by critics as pioneers of aggressive improvised noise music.
Biography
Borbetomagus formed in 1979 when saxophone players Jim Sauter (musician), Jim Sauter and Don Dietrich (music ...
,
John Zorn,
David Greenberger
David Greenberger (born June 26, 1954, in Pennsylvania) is an American artist, writer and radio commentator best known for his ''Duplex Planet'' series of zines, comic books, CDs, and spoken word performances and radio plays. From 1996 to 2009, he ...
,
Killick Erik Hinds
Killick Hinds (born 1972) of Athens, Georgia is a composer and performer of a wide range of music. He plays quartertone electric guitar, as well as Big Red harp guitar and the h'arpeggione, an 18-stringed upright acoustic instrument with sympath ...
,
Fred Frith,
Min Tanaka,
Amy Denio
Amy Denio (born June 9, 1961) is a Seattle-based multi-instrumental composer of soundtracks for modern dance, film and theater, as well as a songwriter and music improviser. Her inspirations include world music, and is mainly known as a voca ...
, and
Derek Bailey, as well as with many other critically acclaimed artists.
Dennis Palmer died in Chattanooga on February 15, 2013.
Dennis Palmer, Shaking Ray founder, dies
''Chattanooga Times Free Press'' website. Retrieved 2013-02-20.
References
External links
The Shaking Ray Levi SocietyShaking Ray Levi Society MySpace pageShaking Ray Levis MySpace page''Do lak ah sez'' sample
1997
''thank the knife'' sample
''Boss Witch'', JD Parran, Steve Beresford
Steve Beresford (born 6 March 1950) is a British musician who graduated from the University of York He has played a variety of instruments, including piano, electronics, trumpet, euphonium, bass guitar and a wide variety of toy instruments, suc ...
, Davey Williams, Frank Pahl, Mary Richards
Mary Richards, portrayed by Mary Tyler Moore, is the main character of the television sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''.
Character biography
Mary Richards, born in Roseburg, Minnesota, is the only child of Walter and Dottie Richards. Prior ...
and the Shaking Ray Levis, 1997.
{{Authority control
Free improvisation
Incus Records artists