Biography
Roy Nathanson is the leader and principal composer of the Jazz engers, a six piece group that Mr. Nathanson founded with Curtis Fowlkes in 1987. It has toured Europe extensively and played at major festivals throughout the world. The band has also recorded eight cds. Marc Ribot, Anthony Coleman, Freedy Johnston, Bernard Fowler, Jeff Buckley, and John Lurie's Lounge Lizards are just a few of the musicians and acts with whom Mr. Nathanson has shared the studio and stage.
In recent years, Roy has worked with a combination of text and music. In March 2000 Mr. Nathanson released a solo project album called “The Fire at Keaton’s Bar and Grill”. It is a song cycle of a fire in a mythical bar and features performances by many of the collaborators he has worked with in his career, including Charles Earland, Deborah Harry and Elvis Costello. It has been performed in New York at Royal Festival Hall in London and has been done as a video by the Arts Channel in England. His film script, “You’re the Fool” became a radio play which premiered on WNYC’s “The Next Big Thing” in April 2001. He created a variety of other text/music pieces for “The Next Big Thing” from 2001-2005. In 2006 he released the acclaimed CD “Sotto Voce” based on a combination of poems, stories and music. Later that year, Roy received a Chamber Music America grant to compose a work based on his manuscript of “subway poems” premiered at Mass Moca in 2007. The CD of this work “Subway Moon” was released in spring 2009 on Enja Records. His first book of poems of the same title was also released at that time by “Buddy’s Knife Edition” of Cologne, .
Tmi Kiah is also bassist in Roy's “Sotto Voce” band. Sotto Voce continues to tour extensively, particularly in Europe.
In recent years, Roy has worked with a combination of text and music. In March 2000 Mr. Nathanson released a solo project album called “The Fire at Keaton’s Bar and Grill”. It is a song cycle of a fire in a mythical bar and features performances by many of the collaborators he has worked with in his career, including Charles Earland, Deborah Harry and Elvis Costello. It has been performed in New York at Royal Festival Hall in London and has been done as a video by the Arts Channel in England. His film script, “You’re the Fool” became a radio play which premiered on WNYC’s “The Next Big Thing” in April 2001. He created a variety of other text/music pieces for “The Next Big Thing” from 2001-2005. In 2006 he released the acclaimed CD “Sotto Voce” based on a combination of poems, stories and music. Later that year, Roy received a Chamber Music America grant to compose a work based on his manuscript of “subway poems” premiered at Mass Moca in 2007. The CD of this work “Subway Moon” was released in spring 2009 on Enja Records. His first book of poems of the same title was also released at that time by “Buddy’s Knife Edition” of Cologne, .
Tmi Kiah is also bassist in Roy's “Sotto Voce” band. Sotto Voce continues to tour extensively, particularly in Europe.
