Jeffrey Agrell and Evan Mazunik have collaborated as performers and educators in the area of classical improvisation for over a decade. While they are both professionally involved in other areas of music, they are both noted experts in the field of improvising as classical musicians. Their recordings of this type include “Repercussions” (Wildwind Records), “Mosaic” (MSR Classics) with Duende (horn, piano & cello), and “Side Show Tim” (Dane Records). The purpose of this new blog is make a central gathering place to share not only their expertise in the subject, but also to invite guests to contribute their insights into the process.

Agrell and Mazunik are available for lectures, demonstrations, presentations, keynote addresses, workshops, concert, and residencies either together or singly. Contact jeffrey.agrell@gmail.com or emazunik.gmail.com.

Brief bios:

Jeffrey Agrell is a teacher, performer (horn), writer, composer, and improviser of contemporary classical music. His books, Improvisation Games for Classical Musicians and Improv Games for One Player are publisherd by GIA Music. His day job for the past decade has been teaching horn at the University of Iowa. His first career was as a professional symphony musician during a rather lengthy visit to Switzerland. He has scratched a long-time creative itch over the years with over one hundred published articles, a horn blog, and several dozen published compositions (many recorded on CDs by various performers). He is a mostly former guitarist (folk, classical, jazz), but still has a closet full of guitars (some for sale) as well as an enthusiastic if mostly amateur percussionist. Jeffrey Agrell’s horn blog is Horn Insights and his web site is the University of Iowa Horn Studio Web Site.

Evan Mazunik is a composer/performer raised on the prairies of Iowa and rooted in Queens, NY. Fluent in Soundpainting, a sign language for live composition, Mazunik is composer/director of ZAHA, his experimental chamber ensemble. His compositions include commissions for jazz band, chorus, theater, dance, and film, and his work was featured in a documentary for the Finnish Broadcasting Company. Mazunik has performed with Anthony Braxton, Walter Thompson, Carla Bley, Robin Eubanks, Danielson, and Sufjan Stevens, and has played at creative music venues such as Roulette, The Stone, Barbes, and Galapagos. He received a Bachelors degree in piano performance and a Masters in jazz studies from the University of Iowa and has taught improvisation at the University of Indiana and the Royal Academy of Music in London. Mazunik currently serves as music director at Resurrection Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, where he infuses ancient liturgy with contemporary innovation.