Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble at Finnish Hall, May 27, 2023

The Finnish Heritage Society & Outsound co-present Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble performing the complete Itkuja Suite
Finnish Hall
1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley, CA 94702 USA
8:00 PM, Saturday, May 27, 2023

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[8:00 PM] {RR welcome and greetings}
[8:02 PM] {HK introduction of 1st tune; HK starts on E-trumpet, but also plays kantele and recorder; RR starts on melodica, but switches to alto saxophone for most of the tune}

1. [8:03 PM] Porun Polka
   [8:12 PM] {RR banter; HK swaps to EWI; EO swaps to piccolo at end of the next tune}
2. [8:12 PM] Stands on Water, Falls on Land
   [8:24 PM] {RR banter; RR starts on flute, HK starts on recorder}
3. [8:25 PM] Itkust Iloon
   [8:31 PM] {RR banter; RR starts on soprano saxophone; HK starts on EWI}
4. [8:32 PM] Olin Kerran Onnekas
   [8:38 PM] {RR introduces the band; RR starts on soprano recorder, then alto saxophone; HK starts on tenor recorder then switches to E-trumpet; JM swaps to flute}
5. [8:41 PM] Itku Suistamolaisille Siirtolaisuudesta
   [8:49 PM] {applause at set end}
   [8:50 PM] {set break!}

[9:11 PM] {band noodling during setbreak}
[9:12 PM] {more noodling: seems like it's about time…}
[9:13 PM] {RR welcome for set two; RR starts on alto saxophone; HK on EWI}

1. [9:15 PM] Runkoteiran Halla
   [9:24 PM] {RR banter about itkuja style & reclaiming his Finnish heritage}
2. [9:26 PM] Hear Me When I'm Lost
   [9:35 PM] {RR introduces the next tune; RR swaps to flute; OB swaps to piccolo}
3. [9:37 PM] Suurimaa
   [9:43 PM] {RR banter; RR swaps back to alto saxophone}
4. [9:45 PM] Intrinsic Light
   [9:53 PM] {RR introduces the band again; HK swaps to E-trumpet + percussion; JM swaps to soprano saxophone}
5. [9:54 PM] Shapeshifter
   [9:59 PM] {final words from RR}
   [10:01 PM] {show ends}

Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble

• Mark Clifford: vibraphone, percussion, conductor;
• Cory Combs: contrabass;
• Max Judelson: cello;
• Eli Knowles: drums, percussion;
• Heikki ¨Mike¨ Koskinen: tenor recorder, E-trumpet, EWI, ?flute, kantele;
• Joshua Marshall: tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute;
• Erika Oba: flute, piccolo;
• Rent Romus: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, melodica, ? kantele, bells;
• Ann McChesney-Young: accordion;
• Safa Shokrai: contrabass. ## Notes

Tonight's show was pretty interesting. Chamber jazz of sorts, featuring compositions by Rent Romus & Heikki Koskinen. It's a shame there weren't more folks present to hear the show, but being a self-produced event, that outcome is probably just another marker of the difficulty in raising folks awareness about interesting things to attend. I'll definitely attend future sessions if I can!

Jeff Kaliss posted a promo article about the group with SFCV.

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2023 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2023 event list! ☸ On to the next event!