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 ICONOCLAST (Avant Jazz Duo) 

ICONOCLAST is a duo from New York City comprised of Julie Joslyn (alto saxophone, live electronics, violin, vocals) and Leo Ciesa (drums, percussion, keyboards, vocals). Ciesa and Joslyn have been composing, performing and recording as ICONOCLAST since 1987 and have released nine studio albums.

ICONOCLAST has performed throughout the United States, Canada and Europe and have performed at numerous festivals, including the Avantgarde Jazz Festival in Imola, Italy; Audio Art Festival in Krakow, Poland; Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary; International Ring Ring Festival in Belgrade, Serbia; Pohyb-Zvuk-Prostor Festival in the Czech Republic; II Festiwal Muzyka z Mozgu in Bydgoszcz, Poland; Interzone International Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia; The Humanisticni Maraton in Slovenia; The DUMBO Arts Festival, Festival of Women Improvisers and NYU Independent Music Fest, in New York City. The duo performed regularly beginning in 1988 at the New York clubs CBGB and the original Knitting Factory.

ICONOCLAST has been featured on various radio and television programs worldwide and have performed live on-the-air concerts on WFMU, WBAI and TV Metropolis (Belgrade, Serbia). Joslyn and Ciesa composed and performed the title theme music for the cable television series "Labor at the Crossroads," and has been featured on the TV series "Welcome to Nocturnia (The Art World)." The duo composed and performed the music for the documentary film "Savage Acts: Wars, Fairs and Empire" and the website “The Lost Museum” (both by American Social History Productions, Inc.). ICONOCLAST’s music provides the soundtrack for the short films “The Bench” (Poland, 2010) and “Con gli occhi di domain”/“With Tomorrow’s Eyes” (Italy, 2006). ICONOCLAST contributed compositions to the compilation CDs “The NYFA Collection: 25 Years of New York New Music” (Innova, 2010) and "Transforms: The Nerve Events Project" (Cuneiform, 1993). The duo has collaborated and performed with Polish poet Andrzej Dorobek.

Joslyn and Ciesa have received grants from Meet the Composer and from Arts International: The Fund for U.S. Artists at International Festivals and Exhibitions and are recipients of Artist's Fellowships in Music Composition from the New York Foundation for the Arts.

 CRITICAL ACCLAIM 

"If your ears have been begging for something different, it's time to check out Iconoclast. A vibrant duo consisting of Julie Joslyn and Leo Ciesa . . . With their film noir visuals, irreverent humor and fabulously devious imaginations, Iconoclast is a group deserving of its name." —All About Jazz—New York

"All the way from New York City, headlining act Iconoclast was simply amazing. . . . The raw power is entrancing, the performing energy of the duo is untamed. Julie Joslyn pumps the notes out of her saxophone like a high pressure fire hose. At other times, her saxophone's sound is melodious and pure. Leo Ciesa's lightning percussion work is enough to stir anyone's blood. The music is seamless. When they play they're incredibly sensitive to each other's playing direction, breathing as one individual." —The Gazette, London, Ontario

"Since 1987, saxophonist Julie Joslyn and drummer Leo Ciesa have been honing a surprisingly rewarding performance style built around short, sharp works that pick you up and throw you against the wall over the course of about two minutes. The Dreadful Dance is their latest set of jagged tonal tantrums." —The Village Voice, NYC

"Hailing from New York, what sounds like a large ensemble is merely the creation of two people's amazing energy and ability." —VOX, Calgary, Alberta

"These are two mighty dextrous musicians. Like beatniks on speed, they create stark, jagged-edged music, tunes located at the intersection of atonal punk-funk, be-bop, and free improvisation. . . . Kind of like drinking 12 cups of coffee, but nice." —Ear Magazine

"This is what happens when you sleep on a great album – other people review it first. All About Jazz liked New York duo Iconoclast’s latest album Dirty Jazz; we love it. It unwinds like a good noir film score, which is unsurprising considering that noir has been their signature style pretty much since they played their first gig at CBGB. There’s a lot going on in this movie for the ears: gritty cityscapes, a menacing cast of characters, pretty much relentless suspense, occasional brutal violence and sudden shifts from one to the other. It’s picture-perfect, oldschool pre-gentrification New York. Julie Joslyn alternates between eerily crystalline alto sax lines and explosive violin cadenzas, while Leo Ciesa’s drums colors and shift the suspense as much as the sax does; he also adds moody piano and keyboards." —Lucid Culture

"There exist far too few truly 'progressive' bands performing music in present American culture, and even fewer full-blooded rich-sounding duos. New York's Iconoclast fuels a universe of melody, unique arrangements and rhythm patterns . . . As moods vary, tumble and hover throughout the course of a frenetic living human being's daily breathing moments, so too do Iconoclast's musical moods behave." —The Retreiver, Baltimore, Maryland

 DISCOGRAPHY 

Collections
 * Dirty Jazz (Fang Records, 2010)
 * The Body Never Lies (Fang Records, 2006)
 * The Dreadful Dance (Fang Records, 2005)
 * In The Vodka Garden (Record One, Russia, 2005)
 * Paradise (Fang Records, 2000)
 * Blood is Red (Fang Records, 1995)
 * The Speed of Desire (Fang Records, 1992)
 * City of Temptation (Fang Records, 1990)
 * Sins of New York (Cassette, 1989)
 * The NYFA Collection: 25 Years of New York New Music (Innova, 2010)
 * Transforms: The Nerve Events Project (Cuneiform, 1993)

 REFERENCES 


 * All About Jazz
 * Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians: Julie Joslyn
 * Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians: Leo Ciesa
 * The Jazz Discography by Tom Lord :Julie Joslyn
 * The Jazz Discography by Tom Lord: Leo Ciesa

 EXTERNAL LINKS 


 * All About Jazz Review
 * Lucid Culture Review
 * Iconoclast Website