Darren Williams

Darren is a musical performance graduate from Toronto where he studied contemporary improvisation at York University with Professor Casey Sokol. Since 1997 Williams has been active as a performer devoted to musical improvisation in all its manifestations. Concert appearances have included collaborations with John Oswald, Eugene Chadbourne, Ig Henneman, Lori Freedman, and John Abram. As a diverse instrumentalist Williams explores timbral possibilities and various extended techniques on his saxophones with a penchant for reinvention of popular musical forms. Williams has been involved in a number of ensembles over the years, most notably as a member of Robots On Fire, which recently played in Victoria at the prestigious Open Space Gallery. Featuring the somewhat conventional instrumentation of trumpet, tenor sax, drums, and bass, The Robots are known for high-energy improvisations, and tender yet eviscerating versions of protest songs and pop tunes. Darren is also director and curator for nach Hause; a concert series devoted to the presentation of improvised and/or experimental music provided by local and international artists.

Wiliams' other current/recent ensembles include:

Saboga Bay (www.sabogabay.com)
Hurricane Felix and the Southern Twisters
The Fernwood Difficult Music Society
The Crawling Fantastic
Chad Van Gaalen