the four bags

the four bags: Mike McGinnis: sax/clarinet Brian Drye: trombone Jacob Garchik: accordion Sean Moran: guitarThe four bags is a New York City-based ensemble comprised of trombone, accordion, guitar and clarinet/saxophone. Their music combines the vibrancy of modern jazz and popular music with the rigor and sophistication of a classical chamber music group. Besides their unusual instrumentation, much of the group's individuality results from its adventurous repertoire, which includes arrangements of music as diverse as Arnold Schoenberg, Alec Wilder, and Gustav Mahler. Each member of the four bags also brings a distinct compositional voice to the ensemble, creating a marvelously varied body of original work that transverses jazz, classical and pop with an astonishing array of tonal colors. These elements result in richly layered performances which are not only striking and sophisticated, but also highly entertaining. The four bags performed during 2003 at Symphony Space's Wall-to-Wall Joni Mitchell marathon concert, the annual concert of the Friends of Alec Wilder at St. Peter's Church, the "Celebrate Brooklyn!" festival in Prospect Park, and the "Next Next" festival at BAMCafe. In December of 2003, they presented a concert of their own music and Alec Wilder's music at the Symphony Space Thalia theater. During 2002, the four bags made a tour of Japan, making numerous appearances in new music venues, schools and festival stages, as well as appearing on a NHK national television. The group has also done regular live radio performances in the U.S. on WNYC's "Spinning on Air" with David Garland ,John Schaeffer's "Soundcheck" and WFUV with Jeffrey Cobb.