Hotel Elefant launches its 2017-18 season at the cell with an intriguing split bill, led by two composer-performer members of the ensemble. The first half of the program will be led by guitarist Hannis Brown (hannisbrown.com).Brown’s eclectic musical portfolio ranges from commissions from ETHEL, the Colorado Symphony, and Hotel Elefant to indie rock records and film and commercial scores. He has also provided original scores for the WNYC podcasts Note to Self, A Piece of Work and Death, Sex & Money. For the first half of Hotel Elefant’s season-opener, Brown explodes his podcast miniatures into Radio Free Music, a concert suite for flute, violin, guitar, bass, and percussion. Bassist Shawn Lovato (shawnlovato.com)leads the second-half of the evening: a semi-composed, semi-improvisational suite entitled Microcosms, for violin, saxophone, piano guitar, bass, drums, and percussion. Lovato’s set will combine Hotel Elefant musicians with special guests Michaël Attias (saxophone), Santiago Leibson (piano), and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums).
