Mike Gamble/Devin Drobka/Tony Barba

media release: A night of improvised electro-acoustic experimental music featuring Portland guitarist Mike Gamble, Milwaukee percussionist Devin Drobka, and Madison saxophonist Tony Barba. It will also be Tony's 43rd birthday party, so come celebrate! No Cover. @ Dark Horse ArtBar Friday, September 2nd, 9pm, 756 East Washington Ave

https://www.facebook.com/events/1053832752163199

More on the players:

Mike Gamble-electric guitar and electronics

Devin Drobka-drums and spd pad

Tony Barba-tenor sax and electronics

Mike Gamble is an adventurous guitarist and multi-instrumentalist whose work with electronic modes of composition are integrated endlessly into his setup. Gamble has spent the last 20 years immersed in the creative jazz, experimental rock and improvised music scene primarily in NYC, with close ties to New Orleans, Burlington, Boston, San Francisco and now the Pacific Northwest. He has had the pleasure of recording over 50 albums and has been touring the states, Canada, and Europe with his critically-acclaimed guitar trio The Inbetweens, Mike Gamble Solo,, and alongside doom-metal originators Earth. His more recent collaborators include Bobby Previte, Todd Sickafoose, Nels Cline, Wayne Horvitz, Esperanza Spalding, Matt Chamberlain and Lori Goldston. Since relocating to Portland, Mike Gamble has dived into the jazz and experimental, Pop, Indie Rock, and electronic/modular scene and gigs 4-7 times a week. He currently holds a position as an Audio Production instructor at Oregon State University, and a guitar teacher at both Willamette University and Reed College and is the Artistic Director of Portland’s long standing experimental music organization, The Creative Music Guild.

“He has a brain that seems to work faster than other human brains – maybe more like a hummingbird or a spider. Music comes flying out. You just sit and listen to what he thinks of next” Todd Sickafoose

“Mike Gamble is dangerous in the best way” Nels Cline

“Mr. Gamble knows his way around a drone, but he also puts a lot of shifting harmony and texture in his one-man sketches, some of which — like “I’m on Your Side,” with its abstracted trip-hop beat — come across as thoughtfully developed compositions” Nate Chinen NY TIMES

Devin Drobka is one of the most in-demand and creative musicians in the midwest for the past 15 years. Audiences around the world have been enthralled with his wide sonic palette and limitless rhythmic possibilities on the drums. A deep love of jazz, metal, folk, hip-hop, ambient, idm, and classical music has helped shaped Devin’s unique voice and vision on the drums both as a leader and as a sideman. His highly personal and creative drumming can be heard within the realm of jazz having performed with Greg Osby, Jerry Bergonzi, Dayna Stephens, and Joe Lovano as well as indie- folk bands like Field Report and indie rappers R.A.P. Ferreira and Serengeti. Devin can be heard on over 50 albums of genre bending, original music for which he is an advocate for. Devin currently composes music for his newest group, The Devin Drobka Trio, which draws upon his love of contemporary classical music and minimalism and his multi horn group, Bell Dance Songs, which is a response to his love of Albert Ayler, Paul Motian, and Ornette Coleman. Devin’s music has been described as “sounding like nothing else in midwestern jazz” and “gorgerous, innovative.”

Tony Barba is a saxophonist/educator/producer whose career has spanned the last twenty-five years. Originally hailing from Acton, Massachusetts and previously living in NYC and Chicago, Tony has resided in Madison, Wisconsin since 2013. He has performed, taught and toured professionally all over the world. Currently Tony can be heard on tour with Father John Misty. He has also performed and recorded with such notable and diverse artists as Makaya McCraven, Bon Iver, David Murray, Josh Ritter, the Mountain Goats, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, and the Temptations. He is currently a member of the improvising duo Outside the Sphere, the Kenny Reichert Quartet, Immigre, La Combi, Michael Brenneis’s Plutonium, and the Paul Dietrich Jazz Orchestra. Barba’s recent releases include Blood Moon (Shifting Paradigm records, 2020) featuring Matt Gold on guitar, John Christensen on bass and Devin Drobka on drums, and Blue Plate Special (self-released, 2021) which was a collaboration with visual artist Michael Finnegan. In addition to performing, Barba maintains a private teaching studio and is the jazz band director at James Madison Memorial High School.

“The tenor saxophonist Tony Barba emanates an amiable extroversion in his music, drawing on a world of sources.” -Nate Chinen, The New York Times

“Madison-based saxophonist Tony Barba blends classic jazz improvisational stylings with ambient electronic effects to create rich, meditative soundscapes.” -The Isthmus

“Tony Barba is a sonic chameleon, able to wrap catchy melodic themes around a variety of different genres.” -Friedrich Kunzmann, All About Jazz

"What strikes me when Barba plays with this setup is that he’s always sensitive to blending the looped, effected layers with the continuing presence and warmth of the live, non-effected sax in the room. No matter how it’s manipulated by electronics, the varied textures of the sax itself—from rich, mid-range drones to abrasive squawks—are what really drive Barba’s improvised solo explorations." -Scott Gordon, Tone Madison