On Saturday, June 1st and Sunday, June 2nd Piano by Nature will present FUN! , a band of two who embody their name and then some. Keene Valley resident Gene V. Baker and his Canada-based partner Will Norlich-Redmond have a duo of guitar and piano/organ which is not only electric- but electrifying. Started in 1999 in NYC, ‘FUN’ is a tongue-twisting, tail-wagging, chops-blistering, ear-busting dance of psychic freeways and toe-tapping doomsdays. Think fast-paced speed jazz carnival ambient sing-along with improvisations spanning funk, jazz, metal, country and more. And bring the kids—the whole family will most-certainly love this one.

FUN! will be performing Saturday, June 1st at 7PM and Sunday, June 2nd at 3PM at the Historic Hand House in Elizabethtown, NY. We ask for a donation of $15 for adults and $5 for 15-and-under available at the door on the days of the concerts. Please visit our website www.pianobynature.org or call 518 962 8899 if you have inquiries or would like to make a reservation, which is strongly suggested for these concerts. Attending the shows is a wonderful way to show your support for local and live music in the ADKs- we look forward to seeing you there!

All little more about the concert

Multi-instrumentalists and composers Will Northlich-Redmond (electric guitar) and Gene V. Baker (organ, piano) have been musical colleagues and friends for almost two decades, having first met at the Hartt School in Hatford, Connecticut. Both Gene and Will share an affinity for a wide variety of music, such as contemporary classical, jazz and free-jazz, R&B, funk, music from different ethnic backgrounds, and basically just about anything “weird” or out-of-the-ordinary. Such wide-ranging tastes have greatly contributed to Will and Gene’s skills and output as instrumentalists and composers, ultimately finding a unique harmony in their long-running duet project “FUN!” FUN! attempts to explore the more virtuosic idiosyncrasies of Will and Gene’s collective interests; each performance takes the listener on a journey through spirited and complex original compositions, nuanced improvisation a la Miles Davis and Tony Williams, middle-eastern inspired jazz, “country” style breakdowns, and even through-composed R&B ballads with multi-part vocal arrangements. Each performance of FUN! is as exciting as it is varied, and each performance presents a new opportunity for expansion and creativity. Perhaps what is most noticeable in a FUN! performance is the enjoyment Gene and Will have in challenging each other to reach new levels of originality in each area they visit, not to mention the palpable appreciation they have for each other as musicians. Treat yourself to a unique and original musical experience with two individuals who perpetually desire to “push the boundaries” of sonic exploration!

Gene V. Baker
Trumpeter, Organist, Composer, Arranger

Gene V. Baker is a trumpeter, Hammond organist, composer, arranger and educator. He holds a M.F.A. in Electronic Music and Recording Media from Mills College (Oakland CA), and a B.M. in Composition from The Hartt School. Gene has performed at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, The Barbican Theater (London, UK), Walker Arts Center (MN), Disney Hall (LA), Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Vision Festival in NYC, and The Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, among others. Gene has worked with Cecil Taylor, William Parker, Alvin Curran, Ingram Marshall, Fred Frith, Jason Kao Hwang, and Tyondai Braxton, among others. Recent original works include “8:33” (for 4 Hammond organs, wind ensemble, brass ensemble, electrified strings, percussion and text), and “i am a gorgeous wife”, an album of compositions performed by a 17-piece big band in which Gene is the lead vocalist and organist. Together with his wife, Esther, Gene is co-curator of The Bakery, an upstate NY concert series devoted to showcasing contemporary music from the 20th and 21st century. Gene is also the founder of experimental record label and publishing company, UTILITY-POLE 689.

Will Northlich-Redmond
Composer, Multi-Instrumentalist, Electronic Musician

Will Northlich-Redmond (aka BlipVert) is a composer, multi-instrumentalist, electronic musician, and educator. He has played concerts and appeared at festivals with Eyvind Kang, Graham Haynes, Ruins, Blaise Siwula, Ron Anderson’s PAK, Fennesz, Funckarma, Ceephax Acid Crew, Alec Empire, Richard Devine, Hans-Joachim Roedelius, and Robert Dick. Performance and studio collaborations include work with Elliott Sharp, Phillip Johnston and his Captain Beefheart tribute project Fast N’ Bulbous, Marilyn Crispell, Pauline Oliveros, Paula Matthusen, the Wesleyan Laptop Ensemble, and Troika Ranch.

Will’s compositions have been featured at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, University of Alberta, New York University, Wesleyan University, the NYC Fringe Festival, and numerous international venues. His work has been supported by the NYU Vilar Global Fellows, the Portland Flute Society, the STEIM research center, the Wesleyan Laptop Ensemble (Toneburst), the Wesleyan University Balinese gamelan ensemble, and the NYU New Music Ensemble. He has master’s degrees in teaching, music composition, and ethnomusicology.

Will’s recent compositions include a solo violin work for Yue Deng, Artist in Residence at the University of Alberta, and his first piano sonata to be premiered by renowned Canadian pianist Roger Admiral in 2019. Will’s composes electronic music under the pseudonym BlipVert, which showcases his most eclectic and personal creative work. He plays guitar in Blarvuster, a bagpipe-led rock and free-improv quartet led by bay-area based composer Matthew Welch. Will is currently a doctoral candidate in composition at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, and looks forward to blowing people’s heads open with all kinds of sound for a long time to come.