A wide-ranging band drawing from prog rock, jazz, modern composition, world fusion, and creative improvisation, Ut Gret (“Ut” signifying the lowest note on the medieval music organ and “Gret” an apparent reference to 12th century Barbarian invaders) were formed by multi-instrumentalist Joee Conroy in 1981 in Santa Cruz, California. Conroy moved to Santa Cruz in 1979 from Louisville, Kentucky. He had previously been a member of two bands with Steve Roberts. Roberts would later shift to keyboards and help to co-found Louisville Proggers French TV. Conroy was a fan of Fred Frith and Material. He also managed a record shop and worked for Greenpeace. Conroy played in several Santa Cruz groups before Ut Gret was formed. Conroy was the guitarist and violin player in the band. He was joined by David Stilley (saxes and brass, double reeds), and James Potter (clarinets). After gigging on the West Coast, Conroy convinced Stilley to come back to Louisville with him. In 1990, Ut Gret’s first album, Time of the Grets was released. The album was a mix of multi-track tracks from Kentucky and live sessions in California. Conroy and Stilley were accompanied by Gregory Acker, Misha Feigin and various guests, including Eugene Chadbourne and Davey Williams. Conroy and Stilley were regulars at Ut Gret, which was a related world music-informed and improvisational venue. Stilley decided to return to Santa Cruz in 1995 and Acker and Feigin joined Conroy to form a trio version. Conroy, Acker and Feigin would continue to play for a while, but Ut Gret was about to see more changes, starting with Feigin’s exit and Steve Good replacing him as reedman. Conroy met his old Louisville music collaborator Steve Roberts and they became friends over proggy. In 1998, Roberts would join Ut Gret. The group settled on a lineup that included Conroy, Good, Roberts and drummer Gary Pahler in the early 2000s. By 2006, the various lineups of Utgret, invited collaborators and guests had accumulated enough recording material to warrant the release on Louisville’s Ear-XTacy Records label of a three-CD archival set called Recent Fossils. Recent Fossils featured a disc with compositions for gamelan and other instruments of world music, as well as a disc that was recorded in studio improvisations. The final disc included Terry Riley’s performance of “In C” in a Louisville tavern. The album Radical Symmetry was recorded in 2009, but it wasn’t released until 2011. Radical Symmetry was highlighted by Roberts’ 16-minute Roberts composition, “Infinite Regress”, which featured Conroy on guitars. Good played clarinets and bassoons. Pahler played drums and percussion. Dane Waters sang as guest synthesist Denny Whalen. No one should be surprised to learn that Ut Gret’s lineup was changing. In fact, cellist Vaughn would be leaving in 2010, a band member since 2007. Also departing would be longtime member Acker, with bassoonist/contra-bassoonist Jackie Royce stepping in to add her own unique double-reed flavor to the mix. Acker, however, would still be there (playing flutes and percussion, didgeridoo and baritone Saxophone), in order to record at most a portion Ut Gret’s next album, Ancestors’ Tale, which was released by the Italian AltrOck Label in 2014. Acker and Royce were not the only Ut Gret members on the album. Roberts (pianos), Mellotrons, organs, vibes and samples), Good (clarinet) and Pahler (“drums”) also participated. Sydney Simpson, a double bass player and singer/songwriter from indie rock, was also featured on select tracks. Allmusic
