There's No Time Like The Present - TBA:11

A week ago we attended the opening night for PICA's (Portland Institute for Contemporary Art) TBA:11 Festival. Every September PICA brings a unique brand of Time Based Art to Portland in celebration of visual-multimedia installation, performance, and musical artists; from local territories and internationally afar.

This year I had the privilege to edit their trailer. It was an honor since I've been attending the festival each year I've been living in Portland. Which crazy enough has been five years at this point.

The Works take place at Washington High School. A retired SE Portland school that has be retrofitted to accommodate art installations, a beer garden, and performances. Upon entering one classroom I was surprised to see John Niekrasz (of the The Naked Future) performing his 12-hour drum solo. He included a piece with this Altoist (who I don't know his name) (edit: Tim DuRoche notified me that his name is Ben Kates). It was pretty killer.

Here's my tweet from the moment (be sure to click the screen still to watch a clip):

Live music like this is a rarity. Thanks @P_I_C_A! #TBA11 #inpdx #avantjazz - http://yfrog.us/5ksn8tz

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To read more about my infatuation with the connection between Art and Avant-Garde Jazz read this post I wrote in 2008: Outside the New Sound.

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Tonight my wife and I will be attending the Andrew Dinwiddie performance followed by a Dean & Britta show with music adapted for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests. This should be interesting since I spent a lot of time with many of Warhol's Screen Tests back in my Dia:Beacon employment days.

I encourage you Portlanders to get out to TBA:11 and support PICA and these artists. Just like Free Jazz, it's far and few between that we experience these events.