Jefferson Pitcher - Alumni

JeffersonPitcher is a composer, improviser, and documentary filmmaker from Berkeley,California. He has released music with Camera Obscura, Moonpalace, Dutch East India, Wordson Music, and Tract Records.  Heplays guitar, influenced heavily by the sounds of our natural and human-madeenvironments.  Although much of hiswork explores feedback and prepared guitar, he also draws heavily from his lovefor modal jazz and the simplicity of minimalist composers.  He has toured as a soloist, in numerousensembles, bands, etc. and has recorded and performed with Fred Frith, Pauline Oliveros, Ikue Mori, Okkyung Lee, TimKeiper, Christian Kiefer, and others. 

September 2008 will see the release of an elaborate set of recordings about Americanp presidential historyon Standard Recording Co.  The project will feature a huge cast ofmusicians including, Xiu Xiu, Tom Carter of Charalambides, Califone, Low, Rosie Thomas, Mark Kozelek, andmany others.  He has just finishedediting and scoring a feature length documentary he co-directed about men whocease shaving for six months, which details the minutiae of their lives. His last video (The Winter of the Dance)played many festivals including Ann Arbor International Film Festival, Nashville International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, and Sonoma Valley International Film Festival. 

His work has long focused on the connection that we have to landscape and literature, howthat effects our perception, and the relevance of our daily lives as art.  His recent work both as a musician and scholar examines the human disconnect from nature. 

www.jeffpitcher.com