To honour the impending 50th Anniversary of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Scott Thompson proposes Ottawall Odwalla, a nod to the group's theme song “Odwalla,” composed by Roscoe Mitchell. Ottawall Odwalla is a spatialized piece for a mobile quintet, in which various solo and group improvisations will unfold at our Place Publique. Ottawall Odwalla is dedicated to trumpeter Lester Bowie.

 

Scott Thomson is an improvising trombonist and composer. He works extensively with singer and dancer Susanna Hood.  The Muted Note, Scott's song cycle based on P.K. Page's poems, was performed by Thomson and Hood as a duo and by quintet The Disguises. A version designed for stage, choreographed by Susanna, toured 40 performances in nine Canadian provinces in 2014. Scott co-founded the Association of Improvising Musicians Toronto (AIMToronto) in 2004 and served as its director until 2009. In 2007, he co-directed the AIMToronto Orchestra, specially conceived for a project with Anthony Braxton. In 2016, he convened the Montreal-Toronto Art Orchestra to play Roscoe Mitchell’s music. He founded Somewhere There, a Toronto creative music venue that hosted 850 concerts during his tenure, from 2007 to 2010. Scott has composed a series of site-specific works, ‘cartographic compositions’ for mobile musicians and audiences in unconventional performance contexts including, notably, the National Gallery of Canada and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Scott programs the Guelph Jazz Festival.