CartMAR 12–15 | Women in the Lead
Mar 12, 2020
Joe Henderson Lab
A standout talent in the national spotlight since her first year at Berklee, the prodigiously talented saxophonist, vocalist and composer Hailey Niswanger has distinguished herself as a bandleader and sidewoman hired by some of jazz’s finest players. The Los Angeles-based improviser launched MAE.SUN in 2017 as a simmering crucible for melding post-bop and fusion, funk, electronica, and neo-soul. The result is a quicksilver sound introduced on the band’s seductive debut release Vol. 1: Inter-be (Calmit Productions), an immersive, stylistically kaleidoscopic project featuring a cast of rising players.
In many ways MAE.SUN reflects Niswanger’s far-flung experiences. She’s delved into Ethio-jazz as a member of Boston’s vaunted Either/Orchestra and continued to expand her sonic palette when Danilo Perez tapper her for the inaugural class of Berklee’s elite new Global Jazz Institute in 2010. She had already released her debut album, Confeddie, which she followed up with 2012’s The Keeper and 2015’s celebration of her Portland upbringing PDX Soul. More recently, she’s toured and recorded with piano great Michael Wolff and drum veteran Mike Clark’s Wolff & Clark Expedition, and performed widely as a featured guest with the Soul Rebels Brass Band.
With MAE.SUN, Niswanger continues to blaze an alluring contemporary sound.
Personnel
Hailey Niswanger soprano saxophone
Andrew Renfroe guitar
Nikara Warren vibraphone
Axel Laugart keyboards
Aaron Liao bass
David Frazier Jr. drums
Wielding a strong sense of composition, unity, and structure, Mae.Sun brings convincing doses of originality attached to its genre-bending routines.
JazzTrail
Personnel
Hailey Niswanger soprano saxophone
Andrew Renfroe guitar
Nikara Warren vibraphone
Axel Laugart keyboards
Aaron Liao bass
David Frazier Jr. drums
Wielding a strong sense of composition, unity, and structure, Mae.Sun brings convincing doses of originality attached to its genre-bending routines.
JazzTrail
Watch & Listen
MAE.SUN
River of Perception
MAE.SUN
Continuous Recognition
MAE.SUN
River of Perception
MAE.SUN
Continuous Recognition