PURPLE GUMS on April 9, 2006 at the Luckman's Intimate Theatre

Los Angeles – The Luckman Jazz Orchestra's tubaist William Roper brings the aggregation Purple Gums, a group co-led by Roper, Bobby Bradford and Francis Wong, to the Luckman's Interactive Jazz Experience Series on Sunday, April 9, 2006, at 3:00 p.m. Part performance art, part concert, this unique event will take place in the Luckman’s 250-seat Intimate Theatre at Cal State L.A.

Purple Gums is a free-improvisation ensemble, eschewing charts, rehearsals and pre-performance discussions. The theme of the group's “program” is Improvisation as a Subversive Act. The group will dialogue with the audience on the “special circumstance” of improvising freely and how their personal politics inform their work.

Also appearing on the program will be guest cellist Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick. She will perform Roper's Poem For Emmett Till - A Freedom Song, a composed work that incorporates extensive free improvisation within its structure. Duke-Kirkpatrick will also join the ensemble for some improvisations.

Purple Gums brings a wealth of combined experience to its performances. Bobby Bradford is the venerable veteran of the ensemble, having played most notably with Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, John Carter, David Murray and Charlie Haden. Francis Wong is a co-founder of Asian Improv Records. He has performed with such artists as Glenn Horiuchi, Jon Jang, John Tchicai, James Newton, Cecil Taylor and Anthony Brown. A well-known Bay Area social activist, Wong has strong credentials to speak to the subject Improvisation as a Subversive Act. William Roper has sidelined with the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Yusef Lateef, Jimmy Cleveland, Wadada Leo Smith, Horace Tapscott, Vinny Golia and Glenn Horiuchi. Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick is an active soloist and specialist in contemporary music. She is a founding member of the California E.A.R. Unit, a Los Angeles-based new music ensemble.

The Purple Gums experience is as much performance art as it is a music concert. Extemporaneous spoken-word pieces and movement can erupt as easily as the real-time music compositions. Wong and Roper have a wealth of experience in theatre. Indeed, Roper's initial recognition came from integrating the tuba into performance, dance and theatre works. He has a distinguished visual arts resume, having exhibited throughout the country.