Details:
On the evening of Sunday, December 15, we proudly hosted a collaboration between audio/video artist Benjamin (Bunjamun) Ahlteen’s (CMH) multimedia project Levitation Center and filmmaker Brandon Walley (DET), a duo between improvisers Gerard Cox and Billy Wolfe (CMH), and multi-instrumentalist Tristan Buie-Collard’s project My Name is Tristan (CMH).
About the artists:
The Levitation Center serves as a moniker for Benjamin (Bunjumun) Ahlteen’s ambient musical and conceptual art output. It is also an immersive performance space where levitation-inducing shows occur in a peculiar barn in Ohio. Bunjumun is a musician and multimedia artist based in Columbus, Ohio. They have spent eighteen years participating in the local music and arts scene. Over the past five years, they have focused on music for film and immersive experiences, with an interest in performance accessibility and audience participation.
Brandon Walley is a filmmaker and curator based in Detroit, Michigan. He creates 16mm, Super 8mm, and digital films that explore the abstractions between humanity, ecology, industry, and technology. For over a decade his films have been screened widely in festivals, museums, and cinematheques including Kunsthaus Graz (Austria), Strangloscope (Brazil), Rooftop Film (NYC), Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Iowa City Experimental Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, and more. Brandon has taught film production at various institutions including the College for Creative Studies, Lawrence Technological University, and YArts of Metro Detroit. Brandon has been Media City Film Festival’s Regional Artists’ Curator since 2008 and former Board Chair. He is the Special Programs Coordinator for Ann Arbor Film Festival and Program Director with Greater Farmington Film Festival. He was the Program Director at Corktown Cinema and Detroit Broadcasting Company and former Co-Director of the Detroit Film Centre. Brandon is an Artist Fellow with Kresge Arts in Detroit, awarded in 2020.
Gerard Cox (b. 1976) is a musician and improviser who embraces the challenge of creating meaningful and stimulating improvised music at a time when the languages of both jazz improvising and “free improvisation” can seem to have become overly codified and redundant. He rejects any sort of purism whether based in tradition or ideology in favor of an omnivorous musical surrealism where all kinds of improbable connections are made between different music traditions and styles. Free association threading the needle for “that oddly really makes sense” is the whole ideal at play and takes advantage of all the creative potential in synthesizing and recontextualizing. His interest isn’t postmodern irony or idle “what if?” mashups but to try and create a personal language and approach to improvising and spontaneous composition that is akin to rearranging furniture so that the room may feel fresh again. Maybe the problem after all isn’t the individual pieces of furniture, but how they are situated relative to each other and best using the space they inhabit together.
Cox’s primary instrument is piano but he also likes playing Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos, Hammond organ, synth bass, trumpet, percussion and drums. As a keyboard player he is particularly adept at being able to live-orchestrate with chords and basslines played together, and this means he can help a band shift gears or change direction on a dime. Notable collaborations have included playing keyboards with Lisa Bella Donna and Hasan Abdur-Razzaq in the free music/doom rock trio Wizards, drums with storyteller and pianist Dale Johnson in Winchester Howse Band, and currently: keys and synth bass in the free jazz/”free fusion” band Actual/Actual that features Bay Area saxophonist Rent Romus, vibraphonist/trumpeter Josh Strange, and drummer Troy Kunkler. Actual/Actual has three recordings to its name and has toured the U.S. several times.
Said Kyle Long of Indianapolis’ NUVO weekly: “A gifted and versatile musician, Cox’s piano could at once evoke the rich sonic tapestries of McCoy Tyner, only to be ripped apart with radical plunks a la Cecil Taylor.”
Born and raised north of Chicago in Mundelein, Illinois, Billy Wolfe began playing piano at the age of 5 and saxophone at the age of 10. Billy earned a bachelor of music degree from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, where he began his professional career playing with bands such as Vaughn Wiester’s Famous Jazz Orchestra, the Dayton Jazz Orchestra, and the Brian Michael Smith-John Vermeulen Octet. After spending roughly a decade in the Washington DC metropolitan area, Billy recently returned to Columbus where he can be found freelancing with a wide array of Ohio musicians. He currently leads Billy Wolfe Octet and The Tristano School Project as well as co-leading the nine piece MW9 ensemble with Baltimore based trumpeter Leo Maxey and the New Orleans trad/funk inspired District Brass alongside David Agee. Billy is also is a member of the Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra, Vaughn Wiester’s Famous Jazz Orchestra, The Rick Brunetto Big Band, The Brad Linde Expanded Ensemble, Joe Duran’s Projections, Will Strickler’s Parallel Structures, and the avant-garde quartet/quintet, “Team Players”.
My Name is Tristan (MNIT) is a Texas-born, Columbus-based singer-songwriter and performer known for a soulful blend of rock, pop, alternative, and folk. MNIT’s music journey began in 2006 after a spark of inspiration from Keith Urban, leading him to pick up a guitar and write his first song—a tribute to his sister’s bravery. As a local artist in Columbus, MNIT has honed his craft in the city’s live music scene, captivating audiences with introspective lyrics exploring love, loss, and self-discovery, all delivered with a sharp, emotive vocal tone. With singles like “I Do,” “Caroline,” and “Tradition,” MNIT’s unique sound is both authentic and relatable, making waves in the U.S. and beyond. Beyond music, MNIT is an advocate for mental health awareness, sharing the challenges artists face and inspiring others to pursue their creative passions. Driven and authentic, MNIT is a rising talent poised to make a lasting impact on the music world. Visit on social media @MNITmusic