Multi-woodwind artist Matty Harris brings an all-star quartet to Berlin on his actual 40th birthday! Featuring Eric Carranza (PRINTS, Jest, Molly Brandt), Erik Fratzke (Happy Apple, Fake Accent, Junk Magic) and Chris Hepola (The Real Chuck NORAD, House on Fire, Brass Messengers).

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Matty Harris is a Twin Cities–based woodwind player, composer, and educator who studied music at CalArts with avant-garde luminaries Wadada Leo Smith, Susan Allen, Vinny Golia, and Charlie Haden. Performing on 10 different woodwinds, Matty draws from a palette of tone colors for wide-ranging collaborations in the Twin Cities. In 2015, he released the experimental large ensemble LP Double Septet, and in 2018, his quartet—Nick’s Cousins—released Live at Jazz Implosion before touring Nepal to perform at Jazzmandu: The Kathmandu Jazz Festival. Matty’s current projects include Gold Minefield, Brass Messengers, and The Real Chuck NORAD.

St. Paul–based musical artist and producer Eric Julio Carranza has a diverse pool of projects to juggle (PRINTS, Akebono, Jest, etc.). He also records and mixes for other artists and produces music and sound design for mobile games, apps, ads, and more. Eric collaborates and performs with many creative musical artists, including Lady Midnight, BHMC, Airlands, Jacob Mullis, and Molly Brandt. His guitar surrealism has been heard at Berlin with many outfits, including Desert Noir, White Dune, Damage Controller, Akebono, and PRINTS.

Erik Fratzke is a composer/performer/educator based in St. Paul, MN. Best known as the bassist of Happy Apple, he also leads his own quartet, Fake Accent. He is also a member of Craig Taborn’s Junk Magic and Cory Healey’s Beautiful Sunshine Band. As a guitarist, Fratzke is a member of The Dave King Trucking Company, the avant-metal group Abhorrent Expanse, Scott Miller’s Fifth Column Ensemble, The Gang Font feat. Greg Norton, and the instrumental rock group Zebulon Pike. His compositions have been performed and recorded by the new music group Zeitgeist. Fratzke has performed and/or recorded with Tim Berne, Ethan Iverson, Adam Levy, Michel Portal, Rhys Chatham, Airto, Benoit Delbec, and Yoshida Tatsuya (Ruins).

Chris Hepola is a drummer, pianist, and songwriter based in Minneapolis. He organizes many ensembles, including the House on Fire Band and The Real Chuck NORAD, and works to create musical environments that allow for open improvisation and personal expression.