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Filipino-American guitarist/composer Karl Evangelista presents Bukas (Tagalog for "Tomorrow"), a brand-new work that explores the intersection between intergenerational resistance and revolutionary music. Bukas premieres at two free concerts scheduled for May 27 at The Lab in San Francisco and May 28 at Oaktown Jazz Workshops in Oakland.

Bukas combines prerecorded interviews, documenting the firsthand accounts of veteran artists with histories in musical innovation, with cutting-edge sounds drawn from the realms of free jazz, electronic music, and noise. In doing so, this composition serves to both educate audiences on the stories of radical Black and Asian artists and thrust the narrative of creative music into the realm of tomorrow. With the end of social distancing, Bukas invites audiences of all stripes, including communities invested in activist and BIPOC causes, to enjoy a program of visceral and thought-provoking new music.

Bukas features Karl Evangelista's Apura ensemble, including special guest Andrew Cyrille (the legendary drummer of the Cecil Taylor Unit), Asian American jazz icon Francis Wong, Bay Area free jazz legend Lewis Jordan, daring bassist Lisa Mezzacappa, and Rei Scampavia, Evangelista's partner in acclaimed experimental duo Grex. Apura's 2020 debut record has been hailed as a "modern classic" (Free Jazz Blog) and "improv disc of the year" (Downtown Music Gallery).

While this brand new project is indebted to the work of artists like bandleader Horace Tapscott, South African drummer Louis Moholo-Moholo, and the late Milford Graves, Bukas is not content to revisit the past. Like fellow expressionists Moor Mother, Madlib, and Death Grips, Evangelista uses his experiences in underground art worlds to transform the language of vintage free jazz into a vivid melange of electronic sounds, abstraction, and pointed political commentary.

The premiere of Bukas coincides with the release of a stunning new album on the Astral Spirits label. This LP, entitled Ngayon, showcases Evangelista, Cyrille, and others performing five of Evangelista's fiery compositions. Copies of this album are available for review (upon request).