nmperign
nmperign began in 1998 as the trio of Greg Kelley (trumpet), Bhob Rainey (soprano saxophone) and Tatsuya Nakatani (drums and percussion). This line-up recorded the group’s debut CD, and toured the US before Nakatani left to pursue solo work. As a duo, Kelley & Rainey forged a unique style of improvised music informed as much by electronic music and noise as by the traditions of classical music (which Kelley studied at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore), modern composition (which Rainey practiced at the New England Conservatory), punk, and free improvisation.
The duo toured extensively in the late 90s and early 00s, highlights of which were documented on a CD published by Ralf Wehowsky‘s Selektion label. They would hone the nmperign sound to a sharp point that would bring them into contact with people who would become frequent collaborators: Gunter Mueller, Axel Doerner, Andrea Neuman, Jerome Noetinger, Lionel Marchetti, Damon & Naomi, Le Quan Ninh, and most importantly Jason Lescalleet, with whom they would record two albums as a duo, and each work on an album with individually.
