Lisa Mezzacappa Five(ish)

“One of the most imaginative figures on the Bay Area creative jazz scene” (Mercury News), bassist and composer Lisa Mezzacappa performs with her Five(ish) ensemble devoted to her adventurous original material.

For over two decades, Mezzacappa has been a driving force in experimental and improvised music, leading projects that span ethereal chamber works, electro-acoustic compositions, avant-garde jazz, and interdisciplinary collaborations with film, dance, and visual art. Her music is deeply informed by a spirit of curiosity, often drawing inspiration from literature, science, and history—such as her acclaimed projects avantNoir, which was informed by the potboiler crime novels of Paul Auster and Dashiell Hammett, and Cosmicomics, devoted to author Italo Calvino’s late 60s works of short fiction.

With Five(ish), Mezzacappa brings together five improvisers—sometimes more, sometimes less—in a flexible format that encourages spontaneous musical dialogue and creative risk-taking, reflecting Mezzacappa’s commitment to collaboration and exploration. Featuring a superb lineup of improvisors including saxophonist Aaron Bennett, oboist Kyle Bruckmann, vibraphonist Mark Clifford, pianist Brett Carson, and longtime Mezzacappa collaborator Jordan Glenn on drums, the ensemble’s performances are marked by intricate interplay, unexpected textures, and a sense of joyful experimentation, embodying the leader’s belief that music thrives when boundaries are blurred and genres are reimagined.