Multifarious jazz trio is comprised of Sue McKenzie playing saxophones, Susan Mayo on cello and Paul Elwood on banjo. Two of those instruments are obviously not often associated with jazz, yet Multifarious makes the combination enjoyable and hearing Elwood play might change your perception of "banjo music."
Chattanoogans have two chances to hear this trio when they perform at Barking Legs Theater, 1307 Dodds Ave., on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m., and at Cadek Recital Hall, 725 Oak St., on Thursday, Feb. 27, at 7:30 p.m.
There is a $5 suggested donation Wednesday at Barking Legs. Thursday's performance on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is free and sponsored by the Ruth S. Holmberg Professor of American Music.
In addition to playing jazz, the trio weaves inventive improvisations among its diverse sounds. They have played concerts in the United States, Scotland, France and Croatia.
McKenzie works regularly with the Glasgow Improvisors Orchestra and wrote "Faramach Suite" (for saxophone sextet and percussion), which received its world premiere in Croatia in 2018, featuring players from Costa Rica and Canada.
Elwood, banjo player and composer, is active in experimental, bluegrass and jazz music. He is on the faculty of University of Northern Colorado. This will be his third visit to Chattanooga.
Mayo is active not only in the classical world playing with the Wichita Symphony, but also with the Poke Salad Orchestra, a string trio rooted in American tradition; the WC Quartet, one of very few improvising string quartets; and the 21 Century Projects collective, a creative collaborative of musicians, visual artists and dancers. She was recently awarded a Tallgrass Artist Residency.
For more information: https://www.utc.edu/music.