SeFa LoCo

SeFa means “delight” in Turkish. LoCo means “mad” in Spanish. “SeFa LoCo” also combines the opening letters of the names of this group’s members. A Rocky Mountain supergroup in the realm of creative jazz, this quartet links the talents of four accomplished musicians from Colorado and Wyoming. Their initial album, Creosote—reviewed here in All About Jazz—flowed from a spectacular freely-improvised recording session that was part of the Creative Music Series in Casper, in early 2021. It was the first meeting of these players.

Creosote, the group’s first record, is a study of the darker, dirtier side of jazz. Long improvised passages explore dissonance, coarse textures, shadowy melodic contrasts and meditative headspaces. The quartet’s virtuosity and fluid chemistry drive a sense of fearless adventure throughout.

SeFa LoCo’s recent releases have featured special guests as 5th members. Entanglements and Occurrency emerged from a recording session with trumpet master Hugh Ragin. Dance & Decay features woodwind virtuoso Vinny Golia, who was named one of the most influential musicians in jazz history by Jazziz Magazine. These albums’ extended tracks organically fuse sounds of multiple generations in epic fashion. Esoteria features soprano saxophonist extraordinaire Sam Newsome, and Soundpainting creator Walter Thompson (see Summit Quartet) joins the quartet on What Can We Say?.

Click cover artwork and on this page or links below to hear what we’re talking about..

“These artists know exactly when and when not to play in service of the greater good, and the results are not just delightful, but also reveal greater depths upon repeated listens. Group dynamics, textures, and play are a huge part of this album. Highly recommended listening.”
— Matt Benham

Meet SeFa LoCo:

Ron Coulter is the founding coordinator of the Creative Music Series and the impetus behind the project. He is a percussionist, composer, and improviser. He’s performed in 49 U.S. states, Europe, Canada, and Japan with artists such as the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Chicago Chamber Orchestra, David Murray, Sam Newsome, Vinny Golia and Linux Laptop Orchestra among many others. He has presented at numerous conferences, including: ISIM, PASIC, NIME, Futurisms, Soundlines and Montreal Jazz Festival, and co-founded the Percussion Art Ensemble, among others. Ron has created over 400 compositions for various media. See also his duo album with fellow percussion master Brad Dutz.

Saxophonist Bret Sexton grew up in Wyoming and moved south to attend the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music. He later led the bands Trio Fungus, Sanskrit, and many others. Cadence Magazine said, “Sexton is a passionate pointillist-expressionist, his playing is full of the unfettered imagination, fervent arrogance and tonal unpredictability that makes for a distinctive improviser.” Bret has played alongside musicians such as Joe Bonner, Hugh Ragin, Nate Wooley, Shane Endsley, and Farrell Lowe. His recordings are available here and here.

Farrell Lowe is a guitarist and multi-faceted artist. His work spans jazz, experimental, world fusion and free improvisation, and stylistic versatility places him among leading innovators of his instrument over nearly four decades. He’s released over 30 recordings, plus many others with collaborators. He continues to challenge limits and publish music that defies categorization. He’s also an accomplished stoneworker, painter, woodworker, and instrument maker. Farrell is featured in Episode 12 of the Right Brain Music Podcast and in Episode 28, which focuses on the Denver-Boulder creative music scene. He also contributed to the compilation album Guitar Improv Summit, Vol. 2, with The Low Mids.

Mike Facey has been playing bass and guitar for over twenty years, and has been an active teacher for over a decade. He’s shared the stage with NEA Jazz Master, Paquito D’Rivera and Grammy winner John McEuen, to name a few. He’s appeared on hundreds of recordings as a session bassist and guitarist. Here’s an interview of Mike. Bill McCrossen replaced Mike in the bassist role on Dance & Decay, and his credits are equally extensive. He’s been a professor, a frequent performer in the New York and now Denver scenes in a career that has spanned jazz, world music and free improv. Matt Smiley (see RACCA Trio) joins the band on bass for the albums Esoteria and What Can We Say?

Hugh Ragin was raised in Houston, Texas, and began playing trumpet in his early teens, taking lessons in classical music, and was a member of the Houston All-City High School Orchestra. He received degrees in music education from the U. of Houston, classical performance from Colorado State U. and a doctorate from the U. of Colorado. He later toured with Anthony Braxton, Maynard Ferguson and David Murray. Currently he’s a member of the legendary Art Ensemble of Chicago. Dr. Ragin is on the faculty of UC Boulder, where he leads a variety of ensembles, master classes, and workshops.

Vinny Golia plays every reed and woodwind instrument imaginable (and unimaginable). He’s also an award-winning composer and bandleader, who’s toured four continents. He’s performed or recorded with Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, the Rova Saxophone Quartet, the LA Philharmonic Orchestra, Patti Smith and Lydia Lunch, among many, many others. His work with SeFa LoCo highlights his talents for collaboration, adaptation and spontaneous construction.

 

Live at the Broadway Roxy in Denver, September 2023.

“Linked through blues telepathy, SeFa LoCo’s members have summoned the damp interiors of half-finished infrastructures, creaking doors left ajar, entries forgotten on sites of mutilated demolition… Contrasts like these make the group’s ravaging clamor all the sharper, their early-morning quiet all the dimmer. ”
— Ian Gwin, All About Jazz

Hear Occurrency on Bandcamp.