| Performer Bios |
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| Last Updated: Sunday, July 20, 2003 |
Tari Nelson-Zagar - Greg Campbell Duo (Seattle)
| Tari Nelson-Zagar - violin | Greg Campbell - percussion |
These two exemplary, classically trained musicians succumbed years ago to the allure of improvisation - much to the benefit of the Seattle adventurous music scene. Violinist Tari Nelson-Zagar, easily one of the most creative and accomplished instrumentalists in the region, has finally roped marvelous percussionist Greg Campbell into an evening of duo explorations. Greg has been a Polestar mainstay of late, but this will be Tari's first time back on our stage after her widely acclaimed show with clarinetist Jesse Canterbury during this year's Seattle Festival of Freely Improvised Music.
Tari Nelson-Zagar
Third-generation violinist Tari Nelson-Zagar was born and raised in Montana, nine miles east of the Continental Divide. Indoctrinated into the hierarchical and competitive mode of music-making called Western European Classical Tradition, Tari excelled at competing for scholarships, principal chairs, solo performance opportunities, and the like. Upon learning the phrase "political economy," she applied it to her knowledge of the "music industry" and took a long break.
After the break, Tari pursued a new mode of expression: improvised music and new music. Involved in a plethora of jazz, improvising, and new music ensembles, some of the more pivotal ensembles included Inside/Out, Thingsome Q, Chimp, Cipher, Noise Complaint, Seattle Chainsaw Quintet, and Girl of the Year - all featuring a diverse collection of Northwest jazz players and improvisors. As a presenter, Tari founded and curated Resonant/Circuit 1997-99, a series for improvised music. She has also contributed to many recordings by area artists, including Christian Asplund and SEXO, Jessamine, Sun City Girls, Eyvind Kang, SCO New Works, Free Consultation, and others. Other performance collaborations have included work with choreographers Karn Junkensmith, Joan Laage, and Pat Graney, and poet Marc Macdonald. Tari has written music for Inside/Out, Noise Complaint, the Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet, and others. Currently she is working on a series of etudes for solo violin. This past summer, Tari was artist-not-in-residence at the Montana Artists' Refuge. She is principal second fiddle for the Seattle Creative Orchestra, and can also be heard in collaboration with Jesse Canterbury (clarinet/composition), Angelina Baldoz (trumpet), Adam Diller (clarinet/composition), and a variety of traveling musicians.
Overheard after a July 2002 performance: "Some of the things [Tari] does to the violin should be classified as felonies."
Greg Campbell
Greg Campbell plays drum set, vibraphone, percussion, and French horn. He has studied with Dave Holland, Cecil McBee, George Russell, and UW percussionist Tom Collier, and has performed with Muhal Richard Abrams, Stuart Dempster, William O. Smith, Frank Gratkowski, Wolfgang Fuchs, Francois Houle, Wally Shoup, Wayne Horvitz, and Avram Fefer, among many others. He has also been a member of Seattle Experimental Opera and the Seattle-based groups Brainstun (led by Christian Asplund), Project W, Ota Prota, and Jessica Lurie's Motorbison. He is currently completing a doctorate in percussion performance at the University of Washington.
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