West Coast Progressive Chamber Jazz with Matt Small & Motoko Honda
October 9, 2025 @ 8:00 pm – 10:30 pm
Presented in partnership with
Doors at 7:30pm
8:00pm – Simple Excesses Quartet
Motoko Honda – piano/compositions
Cory Wright – woodwinds
Matt Small – bass
Jordan Glenn – drums
9:15 pm – Crushing Spiral Ensemble
Matt Small – bass/compositions
Steve Adams – tenor/soprano saxophones
Cory Wright – alto saxophone
Chris Grady – trumpet
Motoko Honda – piano
Jordan Glenn – drums
Motoko Honda’s Simple Excesses Quartet
Simple Excesses Quartet presents an exciting repertoire that unite classical chamber music, jazz, free jazz, and experimental music. Their intricate and dynamic performances transport audience to a realm of ethereal music.
Matt Small’s Crushing Spiral Ensemble
“Beautifully surreal and hauntingly languid…demonstrating Small’s affinity for wry humor and quiet grandiosity“
– San Francisco Bay Guardian
“Seductive and mysterious…shifting effortlessly among klezmer, pop, rock, and improv jazz…Small infuses his quirky compositions with both breadth and intimacy
– San Francisco Weekly
Matt Small
Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as “a gifted San Francisco bassist and composer whose alluringly original music draws on a rich range of classical, jazz and indigenous music,” Matt Small has been developing his own cutting-edge, multi-genre work in the Bay Area since 1997.
With a deep dedication to his craft and an unrelenting spirit of curiosity, Small explores a wide variety of musical traditions while exercising “a strong aesthetic sensibility” (Down Beat Magazine). Small has found inspiration from a vast array of music, including jazz, experimental, popular, Western classical, and indigenous music styles from around the world.
http://www.mattsmall.org/
Motoko Honda
Motoko Honda is a critically acclaimed Japanese concert pianist, composer, and sound artist who has created a distinctive sound through her holistic approach to music, and her exceptional sensitivity in relating to other art forms and technologies.
Employing a “virtuoso technique paired with her intensely imaginative mind” (Susan Dirende, L.A. Splash Magazine), and with stylistic influences ranging from jazz, world music to contemporary prepared piano with electronics, Motoko’s compositions and structured improvisations are intended to affect the skin, organs and minds of the listener rather than simple recitations of rhythmic and harmonic themes.
Portrayed as a “keyboard alchemist” (Chris Barton, L.A. Times), and an “embodiment of a muse” (Greg Burk, Metaljazz), Motoko’s performances transport audiences on sonic adventures that transcend the boundaries and conventions of contemporary music.
https://www.motokohonda.com/