Lisa Mezzacappa brings a rising tide of improvised music to the Bay Area

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Lisa Mezzacappa’s fellow musicians often describe her as a force of nature. 

Looking at her prolific array of ambitious projects, it’s easy to see why. A consummate bassist, improviser, composer, bandleader, producer and record label owner, the Berkeley-based Mezzacappa does seem powered by preternatural energy. 

A glance at her whirlwind schedule might suggest a tornado, but Mezzacappa has exhibited far more persistence than any storm. Rather, she’s a rising tide, determined to elevate fellow explorers plying the Bay Area’s creative music scene, and she’s in the midst of an extraordinary torrent of activity. 

Her June 19 performance at The Lab, which marks the debut of the sextet Lisa Mezzacappa 5(ish), comes in the midst of a yearlong initiative in which she’s releasing an album a month on her label Queen Bee Records. Launched in February, the undertaking celebrates two Mezzacappa milestones: Her 50th birthday and 25th year as a Bay Area resident. 

She wanted to devise a path “to feel positive about that, when it’s easy to look at milestones in a critical way,” says Mezzacappa. She credits a commute to Los Angeles last August with sparking the idea.

Driving down to oversee the JazzPOP series she’s long curated for the Hammer Museum, she found herself thinking, “let’s look around at my scene, the wonderful artists, creative thinkers and generous collaborators. They’re the reason I’ve been in California for 25 years, and many days the reason it feels great to get out of bed at 50.”

Queen Bee Records launched Mezzacappa’s scene-showcasing program last February with “Luminous Axis,” a recording by duo B., her drums-and-bass ensemble with Jason Levis, interpreting Wadada Leo Smith’s graphically-notated score.

Employing formats ranging from CD to digital to vinyl, the releases are all by Bay Area bandleaders, spanning through-composed works, free improvisation, and everything in between. 

“A lot of records have been sitting on the shelf since the pandemic, and I felt this impetus to get some collective energy together reflecting what we’re doing,” Mezzacappa says.

“It can be very lonely to release an album, especially if you’re an indie artist. The streaming world has taken the idea of releasing an album and diminished it. It’s hard to get a feeling of momentum about putting your music out, and it’s much more fun to do it together.”

In April, Mezzacappa held a label showcase at Thee Stork Club in Oakland to celebrate the first three releases. On July 10, she presents the next batch at the Queen Bee Records Microfest #2 at the Ivy Room in Albany.

It’s a triple bill featuring Never But Dream the Days with saxophonist Steve Adams and drummer Jason Levis, Bristle with saxophonists Randy McKean and Cory Wright and Murray Campbell on oboe and violin, and Sifter, with saxophonist Beth Schenck, trombonist Rob Ewing, and drummer Jordan Glenn (and Mezzacappa holding down the bass in all three ensembles). 

Impossible to pigeonhole, the ensembles cover a wide array of sounds and musical approaches. At the most tuneful side, Queen Bee is slated to release an album by Mission District guitarist and composer David James documenting his song cycle, “Mission Rebel No.1: Looking for Reverend Jesse James,” which premiered at Brava Theatre Center in 2023.

It’s not the kind of project Mezzacappa is usually associated with, but she’s a founding member of James’s band GPS (Good People, Son), and he credits her with providing steady encouragement and inspiration. 

“Lisa is, and does, so many things. First, she’s a great musician and a great improviser. That’s the easily understood part,” says James before describing her as, yes, “a force of nature in her drive and focus.”

But what stands out most, he says, is “her sense of community. She wants to bring her folks along and build this thing with people. It’s an amazing thing to see and be part of. She’s also got a great mind for conceiving and executing large, conceptual projects.”

Nothing better illustrates her ethos nor her stature on the improvised music scene than her upcoming residency at The Stone in New York City. A venue created by composer and saxophonist John Zorn, the nonprofit performance space is now located in the New School’s Glass Box Theatre, and landing her first four-day slot July 23-26 is another major milestone.

Rather than using the showcase to boost her profile by collaborating with name New York players, she’s bringing the Bay Area scene east, hoping to add to the synergy of the Queen Bee releases. 

“The great thing is that a lot of the groups performing at The Stone also have new albums and hopefully magnify each other,” Mezzacappa says.

“Every single group is making its New York debut. Some of these groups have been making records for 15 years, but almost no one there has heard these bands. It might make people wonder, ‘What is going on on the West Coast?’” 

The Stone residency concludes with the same band she’s bringing to The Lab (augmented by special guests), which reconfigures one of her long-running ensembles featuring vibraphonist Mark Clifford, tenor saxophonist Aaron Bennett and drummer Jordan Glenn.

They’re joined by new members Kyle Bruckmann on oboe and electronics and pianist Brett Carson. Guitarist Fred Frith, one of the pioneering musicians who drew Mezzacappa to the Bay Area from her native New York, plays an opening solo set. 

Mezzacappa plans to premiere a new suite of music, “the othrwrldly cycle,” inspired by her favorite science fiction writers. Designed for these specific musicians, the music can sound abstract and atmospheric, deeply grooving, or  sweetly lyrical.

She hopes that it serves as a portal that entices listeners to “suspend disbelief and immerse themselves in a new environment where the rules of engagement are familiar yet also different,” she says. 

As always, Mezzacappa seeks to create settings where musicians can respond in the moment to one another. The ensemble at The Lab is new, but it’s built on longstanding relationships that make their spontaneous composition cogent, and often thrilling.

Lisa Mezzacappa 5(ish) performs Thursday, June 19 at The Lab (2948 16th Street). Tickets are $17 and up; more info here.