CARLOS NIÑO and FRIENDS

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2022 BIAMP PDX JAZZ FESTIVAL
CARLOS NIÑO and FRIENDS
Feat. Nate Mercereau and Surya Botofasina 

+ Original, Unreleased Music, DJ SET
by Carlos Niño with dance accompaniment by Paloma Rabinov

MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS | Doors 8:00 pm / Show 9:00 pm
$30.00 ADVANCE GA / $35.00 DOS (21+)

Carlos Niño, International Anthem recording artist, refers to himself musically, and in many aspects of his life, as a “Communicator.” Producing, playing and making music are facets of that to him. He considers his “presence, aura, energy field,” his voice, and many collected instruments (a unique and colorful assortment of bells, chimes, cymbals, gongs, keyboards, shakers, shells, and more) among his essence, and hence his intrinsic means of expression and communication. What is he communicating? “Feelings, experiences, perspectives, journey reflections, state of being,” he shares. “I am simply communicating, by being, offering, sharing… and mostly with sound.”

Niño describes his “& Friends” sound as “Spiritual, Improvisational, Space Collage.” He qualifies: “Why Spiritual? Because there is always a spiritual intention and center, feeling and vibrational message in these records. Why Improvisational? Because I approach the making of this music without any preconceived structures, I just open up to what I am hearing and feeling and experiment until I get the pieces where I want them. The preparation and information in the improvisations is our whole lives. It’s an open state of communication. Why Space Collage? Because it’s all about relationship and perspective, interval, layering, moving, listening, and massaging the mixes…”

From 2017 to present, Niño has been busier making music than ever. Amidst challenges in 2020 he was active in hosting small ensemble performances and recording sessions at private homes, studios, and outdoor spaces across the Los Angeles area. He also spent time going through his archive, creating new pieces from excerpts of solos, duets, trios and larger groups recorded in 2018 and 2019. Some of these passages coalesced into a new Carlos Niño & Friends album – More Energy Fields, Current – released on International Anthem in Spring 2021 is a definitive new peak in his recorded continuum. Featuring heavy contributions from many of the most exciting instrumentalists in the creative music constellation of Los Angeles (of which Niño’s has been a central force for over 2 decades), the album collects 10 pristine gems of collaborative communication helmed by the Southern Californian sage, elegantly presented in his unique “Spiritual, Improvisational, Space Collage” style.

NATE MERCEREAU (guitar)
Listening to Nate Mercereau’s music feels like staring down a kaleidoscope. The songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist surveys the fractured borders between sounds, and celebrates the beautiful moments where they collide. And when he’s not making his own music, he’s looking at the world of pop through his prismatic perspective —he’s produced or played on records by Jay-Z, Shawn Mendes, Lizzo, and The Weeknd, just to name a few. Moreover, Mercereau has learned that no matter what sounds he’s working with he needs to lean in close, to focus on the details. “When you keep zooming in on something, it keeps getting more detailed,” says the Los Angeles-based artist. “It’s like there’s worlds within that world.” His new album, SUNDAYS, embodies that as he dives headlong into a mystical, rich vein of sonic worlds, each song more intricate and intimate than the last.

SURYA BOTOFASINA (piano, keys)
Southern California native son. Based in New York for over the last decade.. Surya Botofasina believes in OneLove thru music and all of its mediums. He is the musician, who is your favorite musician’s friend. He is an actor whose has appeared on the critically acclaimed HBO shows ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and ‘Vinyl’. Raised by the example of Alice Coltrane, with influences ranging from Sanskrit chanting to classic hip-hop; Botofasina considers all music a blessing to be passed on to the next generations.