Altus at The Buttonwood Tree

Middletown, CT: On Saturday, March 11th at 8 PM, The Buttonwood Tree announces the musical showcase of jazz-fusion and improvisational music group Altus. Admission is $20.

Altus is a collection of five musicians and composers with friendships reaching back more than ten years. Together these musicians create sonic narratives derived from Black American improvisational techniques that blur the line between listeners’ immediate experience and humankind’s mythologies. Three of the ensemble's five members, trumpet player Dave Adewumi, double bassist Isaac Levien, and drummer Ryan Sands, met in Boston fall of 2012 while pursuing their undergraduate degrees. Over the next few years as their personal and musical connections grew stronger they met and collaborated with tenor
saxophonist Neta Raanan and alto saxophonist Nathan Reising. Each of these musicians is accomplished in their own right, contributing their strong individual voice to the sonic pallet that is Altus. 

Altus had its first performance as a band late 2019. Just a handful of months later the band found themselves searching for ways to stay connected, sane, and musically fulfilled while cut off from the interactive and performative elements integral to Black American Music. This led them to their first EP, Riot Cycle, a set of collaborative compositions composed and recorded in isolation throughout 2020. Once the full band received their vaccines and grew comfortable performing again they organized shows once again including a sold out show at Green Lung Studio, a well received show at Harlem’s Room 623, a collaboration between Flux Studio and Giant’s Ledge Gallery, and multiple performances organized and hosted by the band and Môtô Spirits Distillery.

Currently, Altus performs regularly around New York City and prepares for the 2023 release of their first album, recorded summer 2022. Altus continues to develop a unique and enthralling sound, with each musician having a truly equal voice in the music. Drawing inspiration from jazz music, free music, hip hop, as well as film, visual arts, and storytelling Altus’s performances are at times challenging, at times fun, at times emotional, and always leave the audience asking for more.