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Contact:
Sasha Bogdanowitsch
1398 Millbrook Road
Middletown, CT 06457
860-346-4301

SaReel Project is...
Flowerpots, musical saw and didjeridoo--
Metal mixing bowls, Tibetan gongs and Japanese shakuhachi--
Jazz improv, minimalism, 8th century organum and a little hillbilly music--
All thrown into the same trough and stirred up with compositional styles of Darryl Gregory, Sasha Boganowitsch, Peter Hadley and Justin Piccirillo.

"..an engaging and mystifying East meets West sonic experience"

-The Birmingham Press

"...a musical mosaic...with chant-like elegance."

- The New York Times

Sa-Reel Project "...turns a mess of sounds into discernible music that is fascinating and pleasurable."

- The New Haven Advocate

The Sa-Reel Project began as a collaborative effort between composer/performers Darryl Gregory and Sasha Bogdanowitsch and grew to include the talents of Peter Hadley , Justin Piccirillo and Brian Rizzi. The ideal aspect of this collaborative 'avant-world' ensemble is to explore the myriad sounds available to composers using instruments from around the world as well as common household items, junk and Western instruments. This group of composers is moving on a path of total integration of styles: bluegrass and Indonesian gamelan, jazz structure and Indian improvisational techniques, rock back-beat and African polyrhythms; nothing is sacred and why should it be? This is a project about the transmigration of styles and the surprising sounds and forms from four young composer/performers.

With the release of their first CD, the self-titled SaReel Project, the group will begin a concert tour that includes NYC, Connecticut, and Alabama. The CD is a great representation of the composers' influences. Sasha's singing style is quite unique in his use of overtone singing mixed with language syllables that hint at mood and story as in the track Ya Ka Mey where the words in the title are used to express a sense that the singer is singing of something quite out of this world. The only vocal piece that is actually in any world language is a setting of Darryl's poem Life for voice and folk harp. Sasha and Darryl have explored many improvisational techniques and the pieces Overmotion for overtone flutes and percussion and Through Passage part I for flowerpots and percussion tree, are both captured improvisations that in a live context, show off the interactions between the performers of SaReel Project.

For booking information please call Darryl Gregory at 917-297-3113 or Sasha Bogdanowitsch at 860-346-4301

Performer Bios

Sasha Bogdanowitsch is a composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and teacher, whose work strives to unite East and West sensibilities by working towards a unique worldâ musical language. His compositional output has ranged from writing for unique chamber ensembles to multitrack tapes with live performance to music for theater, dance and film. He has a MA from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a BFA from the California Institute of the Arts. Sasha has worked extensively with artists and groups, such as Lou Harrison, the American Festival of Microtonal Music, New Music Works and Just Strings.

Darryl Gregory received his BME from Baldwin-Wallace College and a MM in trombone performance from The University of Akron in Ohio. He has composed for almost every style of music from pre-school through to professional groups and for dance and theater. He is a founding member of SaReel Project and a founding member of World in One Arts Collaboration. Darryl freelances as a multi-instrumentalist in NYC and teaches music to middle school children in Connecticut. For more information go to www.darrylgregory.com

Peter Hadley was born and bred in Australia and grew up playing the flute and the piano. At age 15 he started playing the didjeridoo starting an eclectic interest in many forms of music. As a composition major at the University of Western Australia, Peter started playing Indonesian gamelan music, an interest that lead to an opportunity to study in Central Java for 18 months. There he met his future wife, Jennifer Thom, and returned with her to Wesleyan University where he studied ethnomusicology.

Brian Rizzi (percussion) is a drummer of many traditions. He earned his bachelor's degree at Berklee College of Music where he studied world music and percussion from some of the finest musicians in the field. At age 20 he traveled to Ghana, Africa to study Ewe drumming, dance and song with master drummer Godwin Agbeli. Upon his return to the U.S. he formed his own group, Dagbe Percussion Ensemble and became in great demand as a teacher and recording/performing artist. Brian currently lives and teaches in Stamford, CT where he was born and first learned to drum, regularly making travels abroad to study ethnic music traditions.