ben goldberg’s invisible guy / jon irabagon & brian marsella / pulverize the sound: peter evans / tim dahl / mike pride @ first street green art park, manhattan, new york, july 25

• photography by © Clara Pereira / text by Filipe Freitas

The First Street Green Art Park on the Lower East Side was the stage for three free, open-to-the-public performances on Saturday, July 25.
Hosted by BWO Presents, the event kicked off with clarinetist Ben Goldberg’s Invisible Guy, a trio at its core featuring keyboardist Michael Coleman and drummer Hamir Atwal, here augmented by electric bassist Joshua Crumbly.
Grooving loops blended with rock muscularity and avant-garde jazz in a setting marked by controlled dissonance, cosmic synth effects, and quirky, serpentine melodies.

BEN GOLDBERG’S INVISIBLE GUY

The duo of saxophonist Jon Irabagon and keyboardist Brian Marsella explored the language of improvisation with big ears and an uncanny ability to respond to rhythmic hints and motivic ideas. An abstract sonic painting emerged without hesitation or struggle, the product of the musicians’ creative and conversational minds. Marsella’s electronic manipulations were inventive, while Irabagon’s sharp, incisive tone on tenor injected melodic substance over uncharted interplanetary clouds and irregular swinging tapestries. It all concluded with bluesy chops and palpable harmony.

JON IRABAGON & BRIAN MARSELLA

In a massive, revolutionary bath of sound, the trio Pulverize the Sound—Peter Evans on trumpets, Tim Dahl on bass and vocals, and Mike Pride on drums—unleashed towering noise, raw energy, and contrasting pitches and timbres in a progressive onslaught where dark electronica meets experimental underground metal. Rippling trumpet spirals, vociferous bass drenched in distortion, and pounding, aggressive drums generated breathtaking momentum and shocked the audience. Positively, in my case.

PULVERIZE THE SOUND: PETER EVANS / TIM DAHL / MIKE PRIDE