Karla Borecky and Loren Connors (Solo Piano Concert)

One of the world's most singular guitarists, Loren Connors is among few living musicians whose prolific body of work can be said to be wholly justified. Over more than 100 records in almost four decades on labels like Table of the Elements, Drag City, Ecstatic Yod, and his own Daggett Records, Connors has conjured distinct shades of his ephemeral blues, ever-shifting while remaining unmistakably his own. From his early splintered take on the Delta bottleneck sound through his song-based albums with Kath Bloom and on to the painterly abstraction that defines his current work Connors has earned the admiration of many, leading to collaborations with the likes of John Fahey, Jim O'Rourke, Keiji Haino, Kim Gordon, Thurston Moore, Alan Licht, and Jandek.

This year another chapter in the Connors story unfolds with The Red Painting, his first released piece of piano music. Undeniably Connors, his piano work evokes the "airs" of his '90s period—short, simple vignettes meant as a tribute to the traditional Irish song-form of the same name. Deftly shifting his focus from the fretboard to the sustain pedal, Connors' masterful control of attack and decay remains intact on the new instrument, his restraint unchanged as his expertly spaced melodic clusters drift elusively off into the horizon. This will be Connors' debut public performance on the piano.

Karla Borecky is a musician, painter, and member of the Anti-Naturals based in Amherst, Massachusetts. While she is best known for 28 years of piano and electronics work as a co-founder of stalwart avant-gardists Idea Fire Company, she has also played on records by The Shadow Ring and Tart and her music has been published by Kye, Ultra Eczema, and Swill Radio. On her solo debut, 2011’s Still In Your Pocket, Borecky’s hypnotic piano playing is given the spotlight apart from usual partner Scott Foust's deliberate discord. Her revolving melodies recall Satie and his pataphysical mischief, but Borecky's minimalist approach surrenders to a more romantic mood both humble and profound in its eccentric melancholy.