Joe Exley/Claudio Parodi

Joe Exley electric tuba
Claudio Parodi Turkish clarinet, pocket electronics

A grooooovy night with a tuba and a clarinet? You bet, man!

Available from May the 27th

NYC's Joe Exley (aka TUBAJOE) started very early as an instrumentalist with=
violin lessons at the age of two. Later at age seven came the clarinet, fo=
llowed by the oboe, bassoon and sax, but it was not until the age of fiftee=
n that Joe found his true voice - the TUBA. Joe went through typical classi=
cal training, but all the while could never get rid of the powerful influen=
ce of rock, jazz, blues, and funk. Joe stuck to his guns and completed conv=
entional music schooling, first at the University of Northern Colorado, the=
n off to the big city and legendary "Tuba-Mecca", Chicago, for graduate sch=
ool at Northwestern, lessons with the masters, and bigger and brighter thin=
gs. 'Shedding' a steady diet of orchestral excerpts, sonatas, concertos (co=
ncerti?), and other typical historical reproduction, Joe started to become =
in demand as a freelance player in orchestras and chamber groups - but it w=
as not those things that would become Joe's true voice (at least this far).=
Joe simply could not deny his roots of popular music and jazz, and somehow=
ended up playing on TV themes, rock albums, and touring with many society =
and show bands as well as tours with the Chicago Jazz Ensamble. Since he st=
arted playing the tuba in 9th grade, Joe always searched for ways to fit th=
e tuba into modern and/or other situations where it might not normally be f=
ound. Historically, the tuba has always been at the back of the band or orc=
hestra, often only pounding out "oom-pahs". But, with this new combination =
of electrification and slightly altered technique, Joe enabled himself to f=
ollow his dream of melding the TUBA into a completely viable, acceptable, n=
on-comedic, accessible commercial instruments that fits naturally into a ta=
lented rhythm section. Just after Joe started experimenting with various ga=
dget and techniques added to the tuba, he was (very casually) invited to "s=
it-in" (a jazz tradition where visiting musicians are invited to join the b=
and for a tune or two) with the masterful drummer Paul Wertico and his band=
- ironically on a night where they had no bass player. This short experime=
ntation opened up Joe's ears and mind to possibilities that were endless - =
he finally experienced a "glimpse" of what his voice could be. Joe was then=
invited to join several bands in Chicago where he was able to experiment a=
nd develop his new voice as a tuba player - leaving behind the typical flat=
ulence and historical presumption that are expected of the big bass horn, f=
oraging ahead to a smoother, groovier, more direct sound. It now was time t=
o make "the move". Joe and his wife and cats packed up and headed out for N=
ew York City. Shortly after moving to the area, Joe found himself in a reco=
rding session laying down improvised grooves on the "electric tuba" along s=
ide the legendary groove-meister Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. This led to inter=
esting live performance and studio recording sessions with great folks and =
new experiences in which conventional tuba playing might not suffice. Joe a=
lso found himself part of the avant-garde music scene, adding his sound to =
new music and free improv, experimental theater and modern dance. He is alw=
ays in demand from many different ensambles in many different genres. Joe r=
ecently took permanent residence in Harlem - and can be found playing on di=
verse projects with great folks. He also recently put together his OWN band=
- as a leader… -Susan Fenzl

Claudio Parodi has a classical training and played jazz. He joined the impr=
ovisers' scene after meeting Barre Phillips. Since some years he plays chea=
p electronics alongside his piano. He organized contemporary art exhibition=
Intersezioni. He played and recorded with Barre Phillips, Serge Pesce, Pat=
rick Vaillant, Migueu Montanaro, Alain Joule, Edoardo Ricci, Eugenio Sann=
a, Guylaine Renaud, dancer Laura Banfi, Steve Piccolo, Nino Locatelli, Fili=
ppo Monico, Bilux, Roy Paci, DJ Jimmy, DJ Squamo, painter and bass and drum=
s player Patrizia Oliva, Giuseppe Ielasi, Cathy Heyden, Jake Kaluna, Robert=
o Laria, Echo Logico, Roberto Agosta, Mira Calix, poet Marino Ramingo Giust=
i, Bruno Dorella, Stefania Pedretti, Eleonora Papapietro, Saitoh Tetsu, Bru=
no Gussoni, Alberto Belli, poet Serge Pey, Riccardo Molpurgo, Paolo Porfiri=
, Martin O'Loughlin, Marco Cinque, poet Lance Henson, Knarf, Pop, Saalschut=
z, Suonatori di Sogni, Ron Anderson, Carla Bozulich, Leyna Papach, djwjm, A=
nna Troisi, Nels Cline, Lullo Mosso, poet Enzo Minarelli, Maramao, Lello Co=
lombo, Claudia Cancellotti, Anna Zecca, Pierpaolo Cimino, Le Quan Ninh, Mar=
tine Altenburger, dancer Valerie Metivier, La Fanfare de la Touffe, Ababaca=
r (Abdou) M'Becke, Federick Colombie, Dudu Kouate, DBPIT, Lendormin, Agente=
Orange, CRAMS Improvisation Collective. He played in Prauxparodie, musical=
poetry duo with former Voci Atroci Luca Albrecht Praussello. Among his pro=
jects, Half Clouds, improvisation duo with wonderful virtuoso Michel Doneda=
on soprano sax; Duopoly, improvisation duo with Jon Dobie (founder and tou=
r manager of B-Shops for the Poor and Sonicphonics; he runs the No Wave lab=
el) on guitar and sax. He intensely played with Alessandro Buzzi (drums, el=
ectronics) as a duo, in La Protezione - with Luigi Valenziano (dubmaster, C=
D player, tapes) - and in Burzi Snack Bar - with Riccardo Kalb (electric ba=
ss, electronics); the duo played in Arrivano le Streghe!, street theatre pi=
ece by Teatro del Piccione. He is the author of the music for the videos Ma=
legantus (directed by Alberto Ghiara) and Frammenti Sonori (directed by Fra=
ncesco Bianchi and Claudio Rossi), second prize in 1998 at VIII videodance =
international festival Il Coreografo Elettronico and mentioned at the secon=
d edition of Genova Film Festival. He played in Manoeuvre Directe with Mich=
el Doneda, Ly Thanh Tien (dance, poetry, trumpet, diapoems) and Maki (guita=
r, tapes). He played in Sun Circle Moon, a project led by Jacopo Andreini (=
sax, drums, bass) and Harlan Lyman (drums). He played in a multi-media proj=
ect with Mirella Carbone (diapositives). He organized Seminario sulla Liber=
a Improvvisazione Saitoh Tetsu & Michel Doneda, with partial financial help=
from Centro della Creativita Comune di Genova. He plays in Taliban proje=
ct by poet Alberto Masala, playing with Fabiola Ledda, Maurizio Carbone, Ri=
ccardo Pittau. He played in Macchina Disorganizzata n