Saturday, October 21, 2023 @ 8:00 pm / VBI Theatre – 12 Vassar Street / Advance Tickets: $20; At the Door: $30 / Click HERE to purchase Advance Tickets

Sana Nagano

The Brooklyn-based noise-jazz violinist Sana Nagano leads an adventurous ensemble performing her compositions which bring together gorgeous chaos, explosive energy and exceptional musical dexterity, featuring Nagano on violin and effects, Anna Webber on saxophones, Jonathan Goldberger on guitar, Kim Cass on bass and Danny Sher on drums.

Sana Nagano was born in Tokyo, where she began playing violin as a child, and moved to the United States as an exchange student. She earned performance and composition degrees from the Berklee College of Music and the Aaron Copland School of Music of Queens College. Living in New York City since 2010, she’s been highly active as both a collaborator and bandleader. She has played as part of Karl Berger’s Improvisers Orchestra and Adam Rudolph’s Go: Organic Orchestra, in addition to working with artists such as William Parker, Daniel Carter, Harvey Valdes, and numerous others. Her debut album, Inside the Rainbow, was released in 2014, featuring Berger on vibraphone and John Ehlis on guitar. Nagano formed several ensembles during the decade, including avant-rock quartet Atomic Pigeons and experimental pop duo Peach and Tomato (with Leonor Falcon).

In 2018, Nagano played on the Grammy-nominated self-titled full-length by pop star Shawn Mendes, as well as Berger’s Tzadik-issued In a Moment and Coheed and Cambria’s Unheavenly Creatures. Astroturf Noise, a mutated bluegrass trio with mandolinist Sam Day Harmet and bassist Zach Swanson, issued their self-titled debut album on 577 Records in 2020. The same label also released Smashing Humans, a 2021 full-length featuring Nagano’s quintet of the same name, including saxophonist Peter Apfelbaum, bassist Ken Filiano, guitarist Keisuke Matsuno, and drummer Joe Hertenstein. The album’s pixelated cover art was designed by Michigan-based artist Rachel Viola (aka dr!p).