Sangeeta Berardi Michael - Earthship

BIOGRAPHY: 1960-1963: Connecticut: Gigs with own band in clubs, at Providence College, Univ. of Conn./appearances with pianist Count Steadwell (Charlie Parker\'s choice to play piano whenever he played New Haven, CT.) 1963: Chicago: Gigs with the late organist Baby Face Willette, late organist Bobby Buster (shared the organ chair with his brother Eddie with Sonny Stitt\'s group and with Gene Ammons\' group.) Featured with guitarist Joe Diorio\'s Saturday morning jam session trio in quartet format (Scotty Holt, bass; Gerald Donovan, drums) and also with others sitting in such as trumpeter Gene Shaw (aka Clarence Shaw of the Charles Mingus album \'Tijuana Moods\'), the late Eddie Harris, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and others. 1964: Connecticut: Club gigs, also bass lessons with jazz and avant-garde classical virtuoso Bert Turetzky. 1965-1968: Manhattan: Associations at lofts, some performances in venues other than the usual music spaces with saxophonist Frank Smith, Steve Tintweiss (bassist on Albert Ayler\'s last albums), clarinetist Perry Robinson, trumpeter Dewey Johnson (Paul Bley sideman and on John Coltrane\'s album \'Ascension\'), alto saxophonist Noah Howard, trumpeter Johnnie Salgado, bassist David Izenson, drummer Muhammad Ali, and others/duo gig with bassist Scotty Holt at Louie\'s Tavern in Greenwich Village/CT gigs with bassist Mario Pavone and saxophonist Mark Whitecage. Studies with pianist Ronnie Ball, top student of Lennie Tristano. 1968-1969: Woodstock, NY/New Paltz, NY/Manhattan: Concerts as leader with bands featuring Mark Whitecage, sax; Mario Pavone, bass; Richard Youngstein, bass; Perry Robinson, clarinet; the late Earl Cross, trumpet; Juma Santos, bass/ percussion; Steve Tintweiss, bass; Ollie Anderson, flute/bassoon/percussion; David Shaw (aka Dahoud Shaar)of Van Morrison\'s band and others at St. Gregory\'s Church, Father Francis\' Church-on-the-Mountain, the Academy Theater, Bennett College and other venues. Also co-leading band with altoist Sonny Simmons featuring trumpeter Barbara Donald, drummer Paul Smith, bassist Juma Santos, trumpeter Earl Cross, and Ollie Anderson, flute/bassoon/percussion. Gigs with this band at Marist College, and at the Annual Sound Out Folk Festival which for the first time included Jazz (and Rock)groups. Appeared with pianist Burton Greene\'s group at Sound Out Festival. Appeared with altoist Noah Howard\'s group in concert in Woodstock. Co-leading group with drummer Sunny Murray featuring Dave Burrell, piano; Juma Santos, bass/percussion; Ollie Anderson, bassoon/flute/percussion; the late Rev. Frank Wright, saxophone; the late Earl Cross, trumpet; Jack Cross, trumpet. Major performance at the Woodstock Town Hall. Spring to Fall of 1968: Music Director at Group 212, a multimedia arts cooperative located near Woodstock, NY, that included a theater group, painters, a rock and roll power trio and dancers in both the folk and modern traditions. The previous director had brought avant-garde classical performers such as John Cage, Nam June Paik, and others to the area. Sangeeta brought jazz, especially cutting edge \'free jazz\', to Woodstock, nearby towns and schools. He organized two Openhouse/Festivals on Group 212 land. Sixty musicians from New York City, Boston, Connecticut and the upstate New York area came to the first one and participated in spontaneous performances and workshops. Some who attended were: Archie Shepp, Alan Silva, Burton Greene, Sunny Murray, Noah Howard, Mark Whitecage, Mario Pavone, and others. Archie Shepp, Sunny Murray and Sangeeta played as a trio, later joined by Alan Silva, cello, and Burton Greene, piano. The second Openhouse included workshops and also featured two days of outdoor concerts with several bands. Among them: The Mark Whitecage/Trevor Koehler Group; The Aboriginal Music Society featuring Sonny Simmons, Barbara Donald, Sangeeta, Ollie Anderson, and Juma Santos; the Noah Howard Ensemble featuring Earl Cross; Burton Greene Group; the Rev. Frank Wright Quartet with Sunny Murray; and others. Karl Berger, founder/director of the Creative Music Studio (CMS)said of Sangeeta: \'If it wasn\'t for him and what he did in the area I\'d never have done CMS. He showed it could be done outside of Manhattan.\' When Group 212 folded for lack of funds Sangeeta stayed in the Woodstock/New Paltz area and continued playing concerts with his own bands in various venues. 1970-1972: Manhattan and Upstate New York: Played at Manhattan Loft Festivals with own groups and in groups of others such as: Steve Tintweiss and the Purple Why ; duets with Stafford James, bass; and another duet appearance with the late drummer, J.C. Moses (drummer with Coltrane and many others) and with the bands of trumpeter James DuBoise and bassist David Izenson of Ornette Coleman\'s group. In 1971 as a member of Roswell Rudd\'s group (bassist Sirone, drummer Marvin Patillo)Sangeeta was featured as soloist playing Roswell\'s music with the Jazz Composer\'s Orchestra (JCO), which included Lee Konitz, Becky Friend, Enrico Rava, Karl Berger, Charlie Haden, Joe Chambers, Dewey Redman, and others. Co-led band with saxophonist Marzette Watts at the East Village Inn in a series of weekend concerts that also featured Archie Shepp, Sun Ra and his Arkestra, and others. Sat in with Alice Coltrane\'s band (Jimmy Garrison, Clifford Jarvis, Frank Lowe, Benny Maupin)at the East Village Inn. 1972: Upstate New York: Began a weekly concert/workshop series on the SUNY New Paltz campus. The basic quartet would often expand into a 20 piece big band with musicians ranging from blues master Eddie Kirkland to Thad Jones/Mel Lewis saxophonist Eddie Xiques. 1972-1980: San Francisco: Played gigs with own bands in venues in the Haight-Ashbury, at the Last Day Saloon, the Precita Valley Neighborhood Center, on TV Channel 20, and other venues. Appearances at the Keystone Korner with Archie Shepp (Clifford Jarvis, drums; the late Ronnie Boykins, bass; Siegfried $$$$$$$, piano)and at Mapenzie in Berkeley with the Pharoah Sanders Quartet (Kirk Lightsey, piano; Henry Franklin, bass; the late Jimmy Hopps, drums). Sangeeta also appeared at the Keystone Korner with his own band featuring bassist Steve Neil (currently with Pharoah Sanders) at a benefit for Rashan Roland Kirk. 1975-1980: San Francisco: Solo appearances at the Yoga Society of San Francisco, and with Murali playing tabla at the San Francisco Yoga Festival. Recorded \'Cosmic Healing Mantras\' with yogi Sant Keshavadas, harmonium and chanting, and Murali, tabla. Appearances at other ashrams, solo and with percussionists and flutes. 1979: Recorded \'Sangeeta: Divine Song\' as a leader, featuring Archie Shepp, saxophone; Roswell Rudd, trombone; Eddie Gomez, bass; Mario Pavone, bass and Rashied Ali, drums in Connecticut for the Beat City label. (Limited release, digital master currently on Sunjump Records future release schedule.) 1980: Recorded \'Inside the Outside\' for Beat City as a leader with Joe Diorio, guitar; Vea Williams, voice; Eddie Gomez, bass; Rashied Ali, drums; Geoffrey Gordon, tabla/percussion; and Rahiim Taalib, percussion/whistles. (Never released, digital master currently on Sunjump Records future release schedule, titled \'Music Is Love: Manhattan Sessions\'.) 1981: Manhattan: Gig at Tribeca club, Stilwende, with own band featuring the late Arthur Rhames, saxophone/piano; Vea Williams, voice; Fred Hopkins, bass; and Rashied Ali, drums. Dave Liebman appears on soprano saxophone. (Unreleased location recording of this band is currently on Sunjump Records future release schedule.) 1981-1984: Sangeeta opened up his 7th Avenue loft as a workshop/performance space. Nightly regulars included: Rashied Ali, Pharoah Sanders. Sahib Sarbib, Dave Schnitter (of Art Blakey\'s Messengers), Rashid al Akbar. Other musicians who frequented The Loft were: Drummers Greg Bandy and Idris Muhammad (both playing in Pharoah\'s bands); the late drummer Steve McCall (with the band, Air); drummer