Ronin
Outside the Box

Ronin is a Modern Free Jazz ensemble, playing original compositions and our treatments of those by masters we admire, such as Charles Mingus, Thelonius Monk, and Albert Ayler, just to mention a few. We selected our "masterless samurai" band name to reflect our philosophy of deciding for ourselves the kind of music we perform and it is a strong representation of the collective forces of the three different souls in the band. Our music is formed by culmination of influences we have each had in our lives, so like so much creative music these days in an ever smaller world, it is a bit hard to classify.

The band consists of Kenny Mandell on saxophones, flutes, and percussion, Don Berman drums and percussion, and Nate Omdal bass. Kenny is originally from Brooklyn, New York and fell in love with free and avant garde music in his early teens while many of his cohorts were still deeply immersed in rock 'n roll. Since his arrival in Seattle in the 1970's Kenny has created ensembles doing everything from performance art to world music to various manifestations of creative jazz. His bands Voices, Pagan Babies, and One Hand Clapping performed in many Northwest venues and festivals, some of which Kenny created himself. He continues to compose, arrange, coach student ensembles, and lead Ronin. Don Berman, a Midwest native, earned music and percussion degrees at Oberlin College and the University of Illinois, prior to relocating in Seattle in the late 1970's. In addition to Ronin, Don currently leads his own quartet, DBQ. His musicial foundation is very broad and his focus on freer jazz playing is partially due to a 4 year stint with pianist/ composer Al Hood in the late 1990's, Kenny and Don have performed with such players as Perry Robinson, Joe McPhee, Michael Bisio, Jim Knodle, and Michael Vlatkovich, just to name a few. Bassist Nate Omdal, a Washington native, graduated from the Cornish School of the Arts in Seattle and has since led numerous projects of his own. Recently, he became Co-Director of the Seattle Jazz Composers Ensemble.