Nmperign is an experimental improvisational jazz group formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1998.
Early history
The idea for the group came when soprano saxophonist Bhob Rainey decided to embark upon an ambitious cross-country tour, choosing trumpeter Greg Kelley and percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani as his travelmates. The three, who had been playing together in various groups for a number of months prior (most notably with multi-instrumentalist Masashi Harada), then began rehearsing regularly as a trio and recorded their first album at Studio 7A West in Charlestown, Massachusetts that summer. The album was released as 44'38"/5 by the Twisted Village label and the group began their 6-week cross-country tour in November of that year. 2 weeks into the tour nmperign became a duo, with Nakatani departing for personal reasons.
Releasing an album of quiet abstract improvisations on a psych label and touring across the country garnered the group some attention. And despite Rainey's move to Chicago in 1999, the group remained very active that year, beginning their ongoing collaboration with electronic musician Jason Lescalleet, travelling out to the West Coast for a number of concerts and making a 7-week cross-country tour later that fall. All of this activity resulted in the release of This is nmperign's 2nd CD on Twisted Village (which featured the group's last performance with Nakatani and their first performance with Lescalleet) and the collaborative CD In Which The Silent Partner-Director Is No Longer Able To Make His Point To The Industrial Dreamer with Jason Lescalleet on Intransitive Recordings.
By the year 2000, Rainey was back in Boston and the group embarked on their first tour of Europe. It was at this time that the group began its relationships with a number of European improvisers including Axel Dörner and Andrea Neumann, with whom the duo would embark on a 4-week United States tour in September 2001.
Over the next few years, nmperign continued to travel the United States and Europe, including tours on both continents with percussionist Le Quan Ninh and dancer Yukiko Nakamura, an inexplicable pairing with noise provocateur Emil Beaulieau (including some collaborations which came to be known as nmpeRRRon), and collaborations with Jerome Noetinger & , and Gunter Müller.
The BSC
The BSC was formed in 2000 by Bhob Rainey as a way to explore the dynamics of large group improvisation. The group also includes his nmperign partner Greg Kelley on trumpet, Mike Bullock on double bass, James Coleman on theremin, Chris Cooper on prepared guitar, Vic Rawlings on cello & electronics, Howard Stelzer on tapes, and Liz Tonne on voice. The group has released one CD on Grob entitled Good (2003) and has collaborated a number of times with pianist Steve Drury and his Callithumpian Consort (performing graphic scores by Stockhausen, Cardew and Christian Wolff), as well as with composer Christian Wolff in a realization of his graphic score, Edges. In 2010, the group released 23% Bicycle and/or Ribbons of the Natural Order, a download-only release which was made available by posting a tweet or "liking" it on Facebook.
Damon and Naomi
In 2004, Damon and Naomi, via their mutual friends at Twisted Village, invited nmperign to play on a bill with them and subsequently to play on their new album, which would be the first on their own 20|20|20 label. Rainey and Kelley appeared on a number of tracks on their 2005 album The Earth is Blue and also began performing live with the duo and guitarist Michio Kurihara. Rainey became a touring member of the group and has performed with them throughout the United States, Europe and Japan. Both Kelley and Rainey have appeared on subsequent recordings with Rainey handling all the string and horn arrangements on their 2007 album Within These Walls.
Salt Peanuts
A seeming anomaly in the discography of nmperign is the 2003 CDr release Salt Peanuts released on American Tapes. Released in an edition of 80, the recording showcases 12 maniacal takes of the "head" section of the title standard as well 12 takes of the "head" of Donna Lee. Apparently the result of some good-natured heckling by John Olson and Aaron Dilloway of Wolf Eyes at the 2003 De Stijl/Freedom From Festival in Minneapolis, the recording showcases nmperign's sense of humor and conceptual rigorousness.