We’re thrilled to host JAZZ REFRACATIONS 2026 on Friday 10/23 featuring: Mark Dresser Gradience Quartet + Myra Melford’s Splash Trio

Schedule:

8:00pm – Mark Dresser Gradience Quartet

9:15pm – Myra Melford’s Splash Trio

Tickets:

$25.00 - General Admission

$15.00 - Students/Seniors

Limited parking onsite on first come, first serve basis. Additional parking spaces available on Casitas Ave and Minneapolis St. Safe and walkable neighborhood!

Following their stunning world premiere at The Stone in NYC in September 2025, Mark Dresser’s Gradience Quartet makes its highly anticipated debut at the Angel City Jazz Refractions. Bringing together a strikingly unconventional instrumentation, the ensemble fluidly blurs the boundaries of genre and traditional musical parameters.

Yet, beyond the structural innovation of their compositions, the defining force of this quartet is their profound emotional and improvisational synergy. Their performance promises a rare, captivating chemistry where distinct sonic worlds merge with breathtaking intimacy and power.

Mark Dresser is a Grammy nominated, internationally renowned bass player, improviser, and composer. At the core of his music is an obsession and commitment to expanding the sonic, musical, and expressive possibilities of the contrabass.

He has recorded over one hundred-fifty CDs including ten CDs as composer/bandleader, seven solo recordings and a DVD. His solo recording, “Tines of Change” was listed in the “Best Recordings of 2023” by Downbeat Magazine. His latest, solo recording In the Shadow of A Mad King features a duo with the late great poet Jerome Rothenberg, (Tzadik 2024).

Pianist and composer Myra Melford, and her trio, Splash will perform music from their recent Intakt Records release, Splash. Their project is the latest installment of Melford’s ongoing body of work inspired by and engaging with the work of Cy Twombly, entitled, An Extravagant Joy (for Cy Twombly).

Melford doesn’t attempt to directly translate Twombly’s work in sonic form; instead, she approaches her own musical language via techniques and processes using action words – “Splash” among them – to propel both compositions and improvisations, discovering means to capture the impression of spontaneity in concrete forms, and the energy and physicality of the gestures that made them.

Pianist, composer, bandleader and professor Myra Melford has spent the last four decades making original music that is equally challenging and engaging. Culling inspiration from a wide range of sources including the blues of her native Chicago, literature by Eduardo Galeano, visual art and architecture, innovative jazz artists such as Cecil Taylor and Henry Threadgill, and Eastern philosophy. She’s explored an array of formats, among them solo-piano recitals, deeply interactive combos and ambitious multidisciplinary programs.

We’re thrilled to welcome Sam Hirsh to Motivo on Friday, November 20th for a very special concert.

TICKETS >>>

the Ensemble

TBA

Tickets:

Doors: 7:45pm

Show: 8:30 - 10:00pm

One set. Open seating.

General admission: $30.00 pre-sale | $35.00 at the door

Student Price: $15.00

Limited parking on site on first come, first serve basis. Additional parking spaces available on Casitas Ave and Minneapolis St. Lots of street parking, safe and walkable neighborhood!

About Sam Hirsh

Pianist, composer and educator Sam Hirsh has been an active member of the Los Angeles jazz community for over a decade and is gaining recognition for his soulful, energetic sound.

Sadamu Samuel Hirsh was born in Kyoto, Japan. He and his family moved to Portland, Oregon, USA, when he was four years old. Sam started playing piano shortly after, and eventually acquired classical training. He began playing jazz his freshman year of high school and one year later was working professionally, leading his own piano trio and working with various local artists. 

In 2009, Hirsh moved to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music where he was mentored by Alan Pasqua, Russ Ferrante and Otmaro Ruiz. He can be seen playing as the leader of the Sam Hirsh Trio/ Quartet and as a sideman with John Clayton, Willie Jones III, Charles McPherson, Terrace Martin, Gilbert Castellanos, Ralph Moore, Chuck Redd and John Holiday, among others. Sam has performed at many notable venues including Lincoln Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, SF Jazz Joe Henderson Lab and Mezzrow Jazz Club.

Hirsh’s debut album Quite Frankly (2020), featuring saxophone icon Ralph Moore and bassist John Webber made JazzWeek Radio Chart’s top 20. His second album Quarantine Dreams (2022), features the immense talent of various Los Angeles based artists. Hirsh aims to carry on the tradition of this art form and simultaneously create his own voice in the music.

Sam is also a dedicated educator. Along with a thriving private practice, since 2017, he has accompanied UCLA undergraduate Jazz Vocal classes with Ruth Price and Luciana Souza. Hirsh was named piano faculty at the first annual Quincy Jones Jazz Camp in the summer of 2019 and was invited to be on faculty of the COJAC Monterey Jazz Festival Summer Camp alongside Gerald Clayton and Katie Thiroux in 2020. In 2024, he accepted a faculty position at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music. He has given masterclasses at several institutions internationally.