André Vida (born 1974) is an American-born German saxophonist, lyricist, avant-garde musician, and experimental composer. Vida has been on the forefront of several major developments in experimental music, including his membership in Anthony Braxton’s original Ghost Trance Ensemble, as founding member of New York collective the CTIA, performances with The Tower Recordings and subsequent ‘freak folk’ groups. He is based in Berlin.
Early life and education André Vida was born in 1974 in the United States. His father was Julius A. Vida (1928–2018), a Hungarian refugee to the U.S. during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956; and a prominent chemist and pharmaceutical businessperson in Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.. His sister is visual artist, Katie Vida.
Throughout the 1990s, Vida played in bands with Anthony Braxton, a professor of music at Wesleyan University. In 1995, Vida moved to New York City and co-founded the Creative Trans-Informational Alliance Presents (CTIA) with Brandon Evans and Dominique Eade. Vida graduated from Wesleyan University in 1997. He received a M.F.A. degree in experimental sound practices in 2005 from the school of music at California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).
Career In 2001, Vida moved to Berlin and soon after launched the Kreuzberg suite, a once a week concert series with Vida and a frequently changing musical guest creating improvisational music around the subject of "Fish And Green".
His musical language is informed by an awareness of the human body and its limits. Vida worked in a collaboration with Anri Sala for the exhibition "3-2-1" at The Serpentine Gallery in London. Vida was scheduled to perform over 400 improvisational saxophone concerts over the course of 51 days (from October 1 to November 20, 2011).
Vida was an Eyebeam Honorary Fellow in 2013. In 2013, as part of the Global Art Forum 7, Vida performed "Score" at the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, challenging the question what if we spoke music instead of words?
The 2015 Sculpture Park, Frieze Art Fair London presented a live performance by Anri Sala in collaboration with André Vida. The piece is called To Each His Own (in Bridges), it is based on 74 pieces of music, combining fragments of jazz, folk, and pop songs played on the saxophone, clarinet and trombone.
In 2016, Vida participated in the art exhibition, "Anri Sala: Answer Me,” at the New Museum in New York City. Vida live improvises sound with his saxophone next to a video of Jemeel Moondoc’s performance, shot on the balcony of a building in Berlin.
Vida has collaborated with artists such as; Elton John, MV & EE, Anaïs Croze, Kevin Blechdom, Oni Ayhun, Tim Exile, Anri Sala, James Tenney, David Rosenboom, Sonny Simmons, Cecil Taylor, Lee Ranaldo, Heatsick, Jim O'Rourke, Dean Roberts, Tony Buck, Hildur Gudnadottir, Jimmy Edgar, Chilly Gonzales, Mocky, Tyshawn Sorey, Susie Ibarra, Guillermo E. Brown, and many others.
Discography YearTitleArtist(s)Vida's RoleLabelNotes1994Composition No. 8 'Pinnacles & TentaclesBrandon Evans Quintet (Hildegard Kleeb, André Vida, Joe Fonda, Eric Rosenthal, Brandon Evans)Soprano saxophone, Hungarian shepherd's flute (Track 3)Parallactic1994Small Ensemble Music (Wesleyan) 1994Anthony BraxtonBaritone saxophone, tenor saxophone (track 1)Splasc(H)1995The Sky Has Melted AwayBrandon Evans, Andre Vida, and Dominique EadeSoprano, alto, tenor saxophone, Hungarian shepherd flute1996Tentet (New York) 1996Anthony BraxtonB♭ soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophoneBraxton House1997Octet (New York) 1995Anthony BraxtonBraxton House1999Four Compositions (Washington, D.C.) 1998 Anthony BraxtonBraxton House2001GTM (Knitting Factory) 1997Anthony BraxtonBraxton House2001FolksceneThe Tower RecordingsCommunion2002Ninetet (Yoshi's) 1997 Vol. 1Anthony BraxtonTenor saxophone, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, baritone saxophoneLeo2003Parallactic 54Anthony Braxton, Sonny Simmons, Brandon Evans, Shanir Blumenkranz, Andre Vida, and Mike PrideBaritone SaxophoneParallactic2 CD set, recorded May 2003 at Wesleyan University2003Ninetet (Yoshi's) 1997 Vol. 2 Anthony BraxtonTenor saxophone, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, baritone saxophoneLeo2005Ninetet (Yoshi's) 1997 Vol. 3 Anthony BraxtonTenor saxophone, alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, baritone saxophoneLeo2005MultiplyJamie LidellHornsWarp Records2005Child Real EyesAndre Vida, Anthony Braxton, Loren Dempster, Tyshawn SoreyAs band leader, composer, reedsVidatone Recordings2007Ninetet (Yoshi's) 1997 Vol. 4 Anthony BraxtonLeo2008I Dont Know Whats Wrong With Me, My Computer Eyes Or My Internet KneesAndre VidaAs band leaderInsubordinations20081956: Solo SaxophoneAndre VidaAs band leader2011BRUD Volumes I - III: 1995–2011Andre VidaAs band leaderPan2011Quartet (Mannheim) 2010Anthony BraxtonAlto saxophone, baritone saxophoneNew Braxton HouseRecorded at Enjoy Jazz Festival, Mannheim, Germany.2012Quintet (Tristano) 1997 Anthony BraxtonNew Braxton House
Publications
References
External links Official website André Vida/Vidatone performances on YouTube List of Vida's tracks on The Wire (magazine) Video interview with André Vida on Vimeo from Eyebeam