School of Music

San Francisco Bay Area composer, improviser, bassist, and ensemble leader Lisa Mezzacappa presents some recent work—from her ongoing serial audio opera, her electro-acoustic jazz sextet, and  collaborations with dance and video—and leads a discussion on topics of community, collaboration and crafting a life as an independent artist.

Bassist, composer and improviser Lisa Mezzacappa has been an active part of California’s vibrant music community for more than 20 years. Her music spans ethereal chamber music, electro-acoustic works, avant-garde jazz, music for groups from duo to large ensemble, and collaborations with film, dance, and visual art. Recent projects include Cosmicomics, a suite for electro-acoustic jazz sextet; Organelle, a chamber work for improvisers grounded in scientific processes on micro and cosmic scales; Glorious Ravage, an evening-length song cycle for large ensemble and films drawn from the writings of Victorian lady adventurers; and Touch Bass, a collaboration with choreographer Risa Jaroslow for three dancers and three bassists. This year she concludes her nine-episode serial audio opera, The Electronic Lover, a collaboration with writer Beth Lisick. In addition to leading her own projects in the US and Europe, Mezzacappa has performed as a sideperson with heroes such as Fred Frith, Marco Eneidi, Rhys Chatham, the Paul Dresher Ensemble, Mark Dresser's SIM Bass Ensemble, Beth Custer, Alex Cine, Ned Rothenberg, Phillip Greenlief, Vinny Golia and many others.