Zoh Amba Sun Ensemble/Mark Cisneros & Nik Francis Duo

Zoh Amba Sun Ensemble, a remarkable project led by saxophonist and composer Zoh Amba, will release their debut record this spring on Smalltown Supersound. The ensemble blends avant-garde jazz with spiritual intensity, featuring Lex Korten (piano), Miguel Marcel Russell (percussion), and Kanoa Mendenhall (bass).

Opening set by Mark Cisneros and Nik Francis.

Zoh Amba (Roulette 2023-24 Commissioned Artist) is a composer, saxophonist, and flutist from Tennessee. Her music blends avant-garde, noise, and devotional hymns. Before studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory Of Music, New England Conservatory and studying with David Murray in New York, she spent most of her time writing and practicing saxophone in the forest near her home. Today, her powerfully unique avant-garde music is full of folk melodies, mesmerizing refrains, and repeated incantations. Amba released two records in 2022, her debut record O, Sun which was produced by John Zorn and released on the prestigious label Tzadik. Zoh Amba’s second record, Bhakti features Micah Thomas, Tyshawn Sorey, and Matt Hollenberg. She has collaborated with a variety of high profile musicians such as Jim White (Dirty Three), legendary jazz bassist William Parker, Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs), etc. Amba has also performed at well respected venues and festivals Roulette (NY), Ars Nova Presents (Philadelphia), Vision Festival (NY), and Angel City Jazz Festival (LA) along with a 2023 Big Ears Festival’s performance.

Mark Cisneros (Marcos Aurelio Cisneros) is a Washington, DC based Chicano/Indigenous American artist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser whose creative output shifts between the Jazz, punk, experimental, and improvised music worlds. Born in Los Angeles but relocated to the East Coast in his 20s. Before settling in Washington DC, he lived in Brooklyn, NY and studied as a saxophonist at the New School in Greenwich Village learning from such greats as Ahmed Abdullah, David Schnitter, Joe Chambers, and Tim Price. Though a tenor saxophonist primarily, over the past decade he has placed a dedicated focus on the Stritch. An antique straight saxophone (sibling of the Eb alto) whose modern name was coined by its most famous player, Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Cisneros has shared the bandstand with such contemporary greats as Luke Stewart, Jaimie Branch, Jamal Moore, Nik Francis, Anthony Pirog, Keir Neuringer, Aaron Martin, Mary Lattimore, Warren “Trae” Crudup, Mars Williams, Jarrett Gilgore, and Ian McColm. 

Nik Francis is an improvising musician with a primary focus on the drum kit, occasionally integrating electronics and small acoustic instruments to expand his sonic palette. He has collaborated with artists such as Jamal Moore, Jim Ryan, Tyler Higgins, Luke Stewart, and Thollem, exploring a broad range of improvised and experimental music. Through topology.systems, Francis maintains a library of his solo work and collaborative projects, documenting his evolving approach to rhythm and sound.