# Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble at Finnish Hall, May 27, 2023

The Finnish Heritage Society & [Outsound](https://www.bayimproviser.com/EventView.aspx?e=20091) co-present [Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble](http://www.romus.net/lifesblood.html) performing the complete _Itkuja Suite_  
[Finnish Hall](http://www.finnishhall.org/)  
[1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley, CA 94702 USA](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=1970+Chestnut+St,+Berkeley,+CA+94702+USA&hl=en)  
8:00 PM, Saturday, May 27, 2023

[[2023-05-26|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2023|Up to the 2023 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2023#May_events|Up to the 2023 event list!]] ☸ [[2023-05-28|On to the next event!]]

## Set One

[8:00 PM] {RR welcome and greetings}  
[8:02 PM] {HK introduction of 1st tune; HK starts on E-trumpet, but also plays kantele and recorder; RR starts on melodica, but switches to alto saxophone for most of the tune}

01. [8:03 PM] _Porun Polka_  
[8:12 PM] {RR banter; HK swaps to EWI; EO swaps to piccolo at end of the next tune}
02. [8:12 PM] _Stands on Water, Falls on Land_  
[8:24 PM] {RR banter; RR starts on flute, HK starts on recorder}
03. [8:25 PM] _Itkust Iloon_  
[8:31 PM] {RR banter; RR starts on soprano saxophone; HK starts on EWI}
04. [8:32 PM] _Olin Kerran Onnekas_  
[8:38 PM] {RR introduces the band; RR starts on soprano recorder, then alto saxophone; HK starts on tenor recorder then switches to E-trumpet; JM swaps to flute}
05. [8:41 PM] _Itku Suistamolaisille Siirtolaisuudesta_  
[8:49 PM] {applause at set end}  
[8:50 PM] {set break!}

## Set Two

[9:11 PM] {band noodling during setbreak}  
[9:12 PM] {more noodling: seems like it's about time...}  
[9:13 PM] {RR welcome for set two; RR starts on alto saxophone; HK on EWI}

06. [9:15 PM] _Runkoteiran Halla_  
[9:24 PM] {RR banter about _itkuja_ style & reclaiming his Finnish heritage}
07. [9:26 PM] _Hear Me When I'm Lost_  
[9:35 PM] {RR introduces the next tune; RR swaps to flute; OB swaps to piccolo}
08. [9:37 PM] _Suurimaa_  
[9:43 PM] {RR banter; RR swaps back to alto saxophone}
09. [9:45 PM] _Intrinsic Light_  
[9:53 PM] {RR introduces the band again; HK swaps to E-trumpet + percussion; JM swaps to soprano saxophone}
10. [9:54 PM] _Shapeshifter_  
[9:59 PM] {final words from RR}  
[10:01 PM] {show ends}


## Performers

[Rent Romus' Life's Blood Ensemble](http://www.romus.net/lifesblood.html)

* [Mark Clifford](http://www.markcliffordmusic.com/): vibraphone, percussion, conductor;
* Cory Combs: contrabass;
* Max Judelson: cello;
* Eli Knowles: drums, percussion;
* [Heikki ¨Mike¨ Koskinen](https://www.heikkikoskinen.com/): tenor recorder, E-trumpet, EWI, ?flute, kantele;
* [Joshua Marshall](https://soundcloud.com/alistarblynd): tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute;
* [Erika Oba](http://www.erikaoba.com/music.html): flute, piccolo;
* [Rent Romus](http://www.romus.net/): alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, melodica, ? kantele, bells;
* [Ann McChesney-Young](https://www.facebook.com/ann.mcchesney.young/): accordion;
* [Safa Shokrai](https://www.safashokrai.com/): contrabass.
## Notes

Tonight's show was pretty interesting. Chamber jazz of sorts, featuring compositions by Rent Romus & Heikki Koskinen. It's a shame there weren't more folks present to hear the show, but being a self-produced event, that outcome is probably just another marker of the difficulty in raising folks awareness about interesting things to attend. I'll definitely attend future sessions if I can!

Jeff Kaliss posted a [promo article](https://www.sfcv.org/articles/preview/move-over-sibelius-heres-jazz-suite-based-kalevala-legends) about the group with SFCV.

{{tag>music Rent_Romus'_Life's_Blood_Ensemble Berkeley_Finnish_Hall Mark_Clifford Cory_Combs Max_Judelson Eli_Knowles Heikki_¨Mike¨_Koskinen Joshua_Marshall Erika_Oba Rent_Romus Ann_McChesney-Young Safa_Shokrai}}

[[2023-05-26|Back to the previous event!]] ☸ [[:#section2023|Up to the 2023 yearbox!]] ☸ [[:2023#May_events|Up to the 2023 event list!]] ☸ [[2023-05-28|On to the next event!]]